Signata
Annales des sémiotiques / Annals of Semiotics
6 | 2015
Sémiotique de la musique
Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related
Variants: An Exploratory Analysis of Orchestration
Handbooks
Lucas Takeo Shimoda
Publisher
Presses universitaires de Liège (PULg)
Electronic version
URL: http://signata.revues.org/1060
DOI: 10.4000/signata.1060
ISSN: 2565-7097
Printed version
Date of publication: 31 December 2015
Number of pages: 43-64
ISBN: 978-2-87562-087-3
ISSN: 2032-9806
Electronic reference
Lucas Takeo Shimoda, « Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related Variants: An Exploratory
Analysis of Orchestration Handbooks », Signata [Online], 6 | 2015, Online since 31 December 2016,
connection on 29 March 2017. URL : http://signata.revues.org/1060
Signata - PULg
PrimitiveS
Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related Variants:
An Exploratory Analysis of Orchestration Handbooks
Lucas Takeo Shimoda
University of São Paulo (GES-USP)
1. heoretical background
Compared to other approaches, the discursive perspective on timbre has a
signiicant advantage. Its theoretical background provides a considerable heuristic
potential largely acknowledged by the linguistic research in the ields of both
grammar and discourse. Just as the linguist should outreach the mere gathering
of accidental “language facts” in order to decode the systemic rules of language,
so should the semiotician be capable of articulating her/his indings with correlate
discursive phenomena which can be veriiable in other semiotic systems.
In this regard, taking timbre as a connotative phenomenon can beneit
of other conceptual distinctions made within Hjelmslev’s intellectual project,
especially the oppositions “form vs. substance”, “schema vs. usage” and “invariant
vs. variant”, which are closely related to each other. In his thesis’ chapter titled “O
uso como elemento determinante para a escolha dos instrumentos que compõem
um arranjo”, Coelho (2007, pp. 130-147) brings up two theoretical propositions
with considerable impact upon the semiotic studies on timbre.
he irst one classiies musical instruments on a semiotic square according to
its sustain. he second one concerns the key role of usage in the selection of timbre
for song arrangements. It also discusses why musical genres are always performed
with a certain established instrumental setting despite the virtually ininite possible
combinations.
Despite their revealing insights, these propositions leave a gap about timbre
role in meaning production. In the present work, we argue that timbre is an usage
element in itself regardless its manifestation in speciic musical genres. Formulated
in these terms, the issue unveils its convergence with Carmo Jr.’s relections on the
44
Primitives
timbre pertinence to the connotative level of analysis (Carmo Jr. 2007, pp. 137147) as well as with Dietrich’s statements about unusual instrumentation in
arrangements (Dietrich 2008, pp. 137-142).
Carmo Jr. proposes to organize the sound parameters into a relational net
(Zilberberg, 2006b) and to distinguish categories pertaining to the schema and to
the denotative level from those pertaining to the usage and to the connotative level.
he irst group consists of minimal suprassegmental units named by the author
as “tonemes”, “chronemes” and “dynamemes”, which correspond respectively to
pitch, note duration and loudness. he second group comprises tempo, dynamics
and timbre, as shown below in the tables 1 and 2 extracted from Carmo Jr.’s work
(2007, p. 146).
Table 1: Relational net of schema categories: pitch, note duration and loudness
Table 2: Relational net of usage categories: tempo, dynamics and timbre
he irst three parameters can be freely articulated with each other. At the
schema level, there are no combination constraints. At this point, we can make a
comparison with the vowel system of natural languages, which can be organized in
a similar relational web according to its distinctive traits. In fact, what we ordinarily
designate as “vowel” is the resulting combination of these traits.
Despite the harsh criticism of the structuralist view of grammar, this can
provide useful insights of the common principles underlying language and music.
As observed by the semiotician Claude Zilberberg, the pronoun “we” 1 results from
the combination of categories of person (irst person), number (plural) and case
(nominative) (Zilberberg, 2006b, p. 86). In this regard, it seems likewise reasonable
to consider a musical note as a combination of pitch, duration and loudness.
1.
French “nous”, in the original text.
Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related Variants
45
So far, our discussion remained at the schema level, whereas no structural
constraints are imposed to the parameter combinations, resulting therefore in
symmetrical settings. At the usage level, asymmetries are immediately noticeable,
specially what concerns timbre. It is widely believed that this category cannot be
analyzed in terms of binary dependencies.
On one hand, it is impossible to deny that it takes part in the syntagmatic
(“and…and”) relation which constitutes a musical note. On the other hand, it still
remains hard to draw clear boundaries of this category. Carmo Jr. points out this
conundrum precisely and suggests the need for a satisfactory answer:
O timbre parece um limiar dentro do sistema. Não podemos considerá-lo
como uma categoria porque esta pressupõe um efetivo mínimo de dois membros,
uma oposição binária simples. Por outro lado, o timbre é o suporte sobre o qual
as diferenças caracterizantes — que constituem a base da melodia — repousam e
geram sentido. (Carmo Jr., 2007, p. 116) 2
For our purpose in this paper, it will suice to assume that each musical
instrument corresponds to a given timbristic register taken as default despite
possible similarities between them. In this respect, this set would include the open
category of timbre labeled according to the source instrument. he inclusion of this
parameter into the relational web would lead to the setting shown in the table 3.
Table 3: expanded relational web of usage categories: tempo, dynamics, tessitura and
timbre
It is important to point out the sui generis character of timbre in comparison
to other sound parameters. While the three irst behave as a closed category, timbre
seems to be an open category. At this point, a comparison with the distinction
between grammatical and lexical morphemes in natural languages can be drawn,
whereas inite classes tend to control open classes (cf. Zilberberg 2000, p. 19).
2.
English translation: “Timbre seems to be a threshold of the system. It cannot be considered as a
category because it presupposes at least two members, a simple binary opposition. On the other
hand, timbre is the material base on which the characterizing diferences — which constitutes
the identity of the melody — lie and generate meaning”.
46
Primitives
2. Orchestration handbooks and the written register of musical praxis
Assuming this hypothesis to be reasonable, we will point out evidences of constraints
between timbre, tessitura, dynamics and tempo at the usage level. In order to argue
for this approach, we have collected and analyzed excerpts from instrumentation
and orchestration handbooks, as they register collective judgments about the
musical praxis of a given socio-historical context.
he range of musical instruments described in such works is usually limited
to a restricted aesthetic domain. hus, a real descriptive exhaustivity can barely
be expected. When a wider range of instruments is covered, the description
becomes less detailed and is occasionally reduced to a mere index of musical
objects. Conversely, when the description provides more speciic details, the set of
described instruments becomes considerably reduced. his limitation to the most
canonical instruments works as an ambivalent argument to legitimate the choice
for this material.
hough questionable, such a selection turns out to be favorable and even
necessary for analyzing open categories such as timbre. In a few words, what lies
beneath such descriptions is the documentation of which possible combinations
of pitch, duration and loudness are considered as ordinary or unusual for each
instrument.
From a semiotic perspective, technical and mechanical matters determining
these limitations have a secondary role and concern rather the discourse of the
musical performance than the musical discourse itself (see Dietrich, 2008, pp. 1936). To the instrumentalist and the musicologist, such details regarding the
performance plays a major role. To the semiotician, it suices to recognize the
enunciative marks produced by the instruments and let in the enunciate. he same
caution is also valid to the instrument, which matters rather for its corresponding
timbre than for its mechanical construction itself. For the purposes of this work,
we will hence regard timbre as a discursive igure (cf. Greimas & Courtés, 1979,
pp. 148-149), as proposed by Dietrich (2008, pp. 137-148).
At this point, we should anticipate the critics that orchestration handbooks
tend to assume rather a prescriptive than a descriptive attitude. his analytical
choice can be justiied by an analogy with the descriptions of natural languages. It
is widely known that linguists should not use normative grammar and writing style
guides in order to describe a given language, since such works do not correspond
to the actual state of the language. Instead, it is necessary to determine a data set
extracted from authentic linguistic material. In this case, the description should
outline the rules lying at the schema level.
Nevertheless, such writing guides and prescriptive grammars could be used
in a study about value judgments about the norms of a given speech community.
When a prescriptive grammar rejects the use of a certain form in favor of another
one, it registers a valuation of these forms. he same applies to dictionary entries
labeled as “archaic”, “neologism”, “slang” among others. According to the threefold
Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related Variants
47
division of the Saussurian parole proposed by Hjelmslev (1971, pp. 78-90), the irst
case mentioned above lies at the norm level while the second lies at the usage level.
In both cases, the object of analysis is beyond the schema level.
It is not reasonable to ignore that written descriptions can barely comprise the
whole spectrum of possible manifestations. In artistic praxis, this gap may be even
larger than that one stated in the linguistic ield. Nevertheless, this approach can
give us helpful hints to understand how timbre can be described from a semiotic
point of view.
In the next section, we will show how Hjelmslev’s concept of selection explains
remarkable constraints observed in timbre descriptions present in orchestration
handbooks as well as the reasons why some parametric combinations (pitch, range,
duration) seems to be more prototypical when manifested by a certain timbre but
not by other ones.
3. Selection between timbre and other sound parameters
In his Résumé of a theory of language, Louis Hjelmslev has deined “selection” as a
relationship between a constant and a variable (Hjelmslev, 1975, Def. 27). In other
words, we can speak of a selection when a member of a category presupposes a
term of another category, but the opposite does not necessarily apply. Giving an
example used by Hjelmslev himself, the Latin preposition sine requires the ablative
case, whereas the ablative does not always require this preposition (Hjelmslev,
1968, pp. 43-44).
Examples of selection between timbre, pitch range, duration and loudness
can be found in orchestration handbooks when observed from a semiotic point of
view. We will present here at least one example of each possible selection. Rather
than giving an exhaustive description of one or another instrument, we intend
to demonstrate how these treatises provide evidences for the constraints between
timbre and pitch, loudness and note duration.
he presented excerpts were extracted from the following works: Traité de
l’orchestration – Vol. I (Koechlin, 1954), he Technique of Orchestration (Kennan,
1983), he Study of Orchestration (Adler, 2002), Principios de orquestracion com
ejemplos sacados de sus próprias obras (Rimsky-Korsakov, 1946) and Orchestration
(Piston, 1955). he analyzed sample was limited for practical reasons. Nonetheless,
one shall not infer that the validity of these data is restricted to these authors. As
the aesthetic domain is rather circumscribed to the occidental music, a high degree
of convergence between diferent works on this subject can be presumed.
3.1. Timbre and pitch
he selection between pitch and timbre is perhaps the most easily recognizable
one in an instrument description. Ater giving the most general information,
48
Primitives
the authors usually present the instrument range. In other words, this constraint
between categories states that, except for few cases like the organ and sound
synthesizers, a given timbre cannot manifest the whole pitch range available.
In natural conditions, a note in the high pitch, i.e. a C6, will never be played
in a timbre of tuba as well as a trumpet can never reach a really low pitch, i.e.
C2 3. Even if the selection between pitch and timbre is evident in any instrument
description, we would like to show a concrete evidence of such a constraint. In the
following excerpt of his Traité de l’orchestration, Charles Koechlin points out the
severe range limitations of children’s voice.
Il est bon de rappeler, à ce sujet, que les voix [enfantines] très étendues
sont assez rares ; pourtant, j’en ai connu qui pouvaient atteindre le contre-mi
[E5] et descendaient fort bas. Mais c’est l’exception, et je ne conseillerai jamais
d’écrire ces notes extrêmes pour une choral enfantine ! La plupart des enfants
d’ailleurs ne cultivent pas assez la voix ; les sons ne se trouvent pas bien ‘placés’,
d’où nécessité de ne pas exiger des notes aiguës, qu’avec un bon entraînement ils
arriveraient fort bien à sortir. (Koechlin, 1954, p. 141) 4
Another striking example is the general notion that a given timbre becomes
more expressive in a speciic register. Cases like this occur more evidently in wind
instruments. A sample can be found in Piston’s observations on how to enhance
the performance of the orchestra trumpeter.
But whereas the clarino player was admittedly a high register specialist, the
orchestra trumpeter of today is expected to be at his best in the medium part
of the range. It would be folly of him to weaken this more valuable aspect of
trumpet playing for the sake of extending his range upward. (Piston 1955, p. 257)
3.2. Timbre and note duration
he percussion instruments are the most evident case of selection between
timbre and duration. It is not reasonable to ignore that some instruments have
a considerable expanded pitch range, like timpani, Glockenspiel, chimes among
others. However, this capability is rather limited to most of the percussion
instruments like membranophones and unpitched idiophones, which cannot
match the strings and the wind instruments in this matter. Due to their short
3.
For practical reasons, we decided to use solely the scientiic pitch notation, whereas C4
corresponds to the central C written in the irst ledger line below a staf with treble clef. When
staf notation was eventually used in the quoted excerpts, the notes were replaced for the
corresponding scientiic notation written in square brackets.
4.
English translation: “In this respect, it should be noted that [children] voices with a large
extension are rather rare; nevertheless, I have known some which could reach the E5 as well
as the low register. However, it is an exception and I would never advise to write such extreme
notes for a children choir! Most children nowadays do not cultivate the voice, the notes are not
well ‘placed’, therefore the need to demand no high notes, which they would manage to produce
well only with a good training”.
Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related Variants
49
note duration, the percussion instruments require a minimum amount of speed.
Likewise, such a constraint also led to the exclusion of the harpsichord from the
modern orchestra. he following excerpt of Adler’s treatise gives a clear example
of this process.
During the baroque era and even in some of the early Haydn symphonies,
the harpsichord was always present in the orchestra to realize the continuo parts.
When the orchestra expanded and the style changed this instrument was no
longer needed as an integral part of the ensemble; because of its relatively small
sound, it was replaced by the piano. (Adler 2002, p. 478)
In contrast to these predictable examples, we would like to show an opposite
scenario, where timbre is rather incompatible with short durations. Due to its
sluggish reaction time, the pipe organ performs poorly in fast runs. It requires a
minimum amount of duration, as stated by Charles Koechlin in the excerpt below.
Des accords solides, pleins, avec le grand jeu et f, ont en général une sonorité magniique: mais il est bon que les notes puissent durer un certains laps de
temps. Pour une réalisation polyphonique à 4, 5 parties, l’orgue ne se prête pas
aussi bien que l’orchestre à de multiples mouvements rapides (d’ailleurs, en
général d’exécution fort diicile) et mieux vaut, dans le cas des grands f, soit des
accords qui se prolongent un peu, soit une seule partie (ou deux) parcourant le
clavier en gammes ou arpèges. (Koechlin 1954, p. 131) 5
Likewise, low-pitched wind instruments (i.e. bassoon, contrabassoon) perform
at best when playing in a decreased tempo and the note length is extended. In his
handbook, Piston explains why such instruments cannot achieve good results in
fast phrases, as we quote below
heoretically, anything playable on the bassoon is playable on the contrabassoon,
but the slow vibrations and inertia of the large instrument prevent anything
approaching nimbleness or easy agility. A certain clumsy impression is inevitable.
[…]. he staccato is dry and heavy. Faster repeated tonguing is diicult because
of the slow response of the air column. (Piston 1955, p. 203)
3.3. Timbre and loudness
Examples of selection between loudness and timbre are less frequent since the
technical development of the instruments and the playing technique evolution
contributed to overcome limitations in this matter. Due to such transformations,
this kind of constraints is more easily found in instruments used in ancient and
5.
English translation: “Solid, full chords with a great set of notes and f have mostly a terriic
sonority: but it is advisable that the notes can be sustained for a certain time lapse. For a
polyphonic composition with 4 or 5 voices, the organ does not perform as good as the orchestra
in multiple fast runs (by the way, mostly hard to be performed) and, in the case of great
fortissimos, it is more worthy either sustaining chords, or a single part (or two) running the
keyboard in scales or arpeggios”.
50
Primitives
baroque music. With the volume increase caused by the growth of the European
orchestras as well as the technical improvement of the instruments, these
instruments were gradually overcome throughout history.
Overwhelmed by the technical lexibility of the piano, the harpsichord is a
clear case of constraint between timbre and loudness. Its presence in the modern
orchestra has been rather restricted due to its weak sound projection as well as its
limited range of dynamic variations. he following quotation extracted from Kent
Kennan’s handbook attests precisely this process.
Although the harpsichord was frequently used in combination with other
instruments during the Baroque period (generally to supply the realized igured
bass), its appearances in the modern orchestra have been few. One problem is
the fact that its tone is so light as to be easily covered by other instruments and
easily lost in a large hall. […] In writing for this instrument, one must remember
that it cannot make diferences in volume by means of a lighter or heavier touch.
(Kennan 1983, p. 360)
Despite the considerable technical progress made in the 20th century, such
constraints never vanish completely. In our days, they are still widely present in the
plucked strings (i.e. acoustic guitars, harps). A clear example of longstanding and
successful combination of timbre and sot dynamics is the harp: “El timbre tierno y
poético del arpa es favorable a todos los matices dinámicos, pero nunca es pujante; el
orquestrador deberá pues, usarlo con precaución” (Rimsky-Korsakov 1946, p. 33). 6
Likewise, one of the most productive cases of this kind of constraints is the
acoustic guitar. Interestingly, the same feature taken as a law in an orchestra (e.g.
harpsichord) has turned the guitar into a good accompaniment to the human
voice. Its eicacy is largely corroborated by several examples of the Brazilian
popular song, namely the interpretation style of João Gilberto and Bossa Nova. he
following excerpt registers the loudness limitation of the guitar, making it more
adequate to performances in closed places and smaller ensembles.
La guitare s’allie merveilleusement bien à la voix humaine : c’est, entre tous,
l’instrument des sérénades… […] il serait à souhaiter que l’on écrivît des œuvres
de musique de chambre où la guitare jouerait son rôle : je suis certain qu’elles
pourraient être très réussies, et que par exemple un petit groupe instrumental :
Flûte avec alto (ou Cor anglais et violoncelle) se fondraient parfaitement à la
guitare. Quant à son utilisation dans l’orchestre elle n’est à sa place qu’en des
cas exceptionnels ; en général on se contente d’évoquer plutôt la guitare, par des
combinaisons de l’orchestre normal. — De toute façon, si vous l’écrivez comme
faisant partie de l’orchestre, rappelez-vous qu’elle a peu de sonorité; en conséquence, veillez à ne la point couvrir. (Koechlin 1954, p. 210) 7
6.
English translation: “he harp’s sot and poetic timbre is favorable to all dynamics, but it is
never powerful; the orchestrator should use it carefully.”
7.
English translation: “he acoustic guitar matches wonderfully well with the human voice:
among all, it is the instrument of the serenades … […] It would be desirable to write chamber
Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related Variants
51
On the other hand, some timbres seem to manifest the opposite constraint.
Besides instruments with rough dynamics control (e.g. bagpipes), this applies
usually to brass instruments, whose potential of expansion to the higher levels of
loudness is widely known.
he full dynamic power of the brass is a dominating force capable of
obliterating the sound of the rest of the orchestra, and it is oten allowed to do so
by conductors lacking either authority or discrimination. he limit of loudness
and tone-weight of strings and woodwinds is a physical fact. Forcing them to
compete with the brass simply results in disagreeable sounds, with the brass still
far in the lead. (Piston 1955, p. 203)
Until this point, we have identiied how timbre selects pitch, duration and
loudness separately. Such constraints result in an asymmetrical set of semiotic
units, which manifest concretely as sounds and characterizes the prototypical
physiognomy of each timbre. Speaking in terms of semiotic modes of existence (cf.
Greimas & Courtés, 1979, p. 138), every combination is possible in the virtualized
mode. However, some combinations are rarely attested in the actualized and
realized modes. In other words, these conigurations occur rather rarely with
certain timbres, even if they are predicted.
he practical consequences of this issue can be exempliied by a simple
hypothetical case. We can consider three diferent sound events: an E6, a note in
f and an eighth note. Regardless of further variables such as aesthetic preferences
or composition rules, a given listener will evaluate these events as ordinary if
manifested respectively in the timbre of a soprano, a trumpet and a snare drum.
However, if we swap these timbres respectively for a child voice, a harpsichord and
an organ, these sound events will be evaluated rather as unusual or extraordinary.
Before we discuss in more depth what it means in semiotic terms, we would like to
showcase more complex examples of selection, i.e. those involving more than two
categories.
3.4. Timbre, pitch and duration
Constraints between pitch and duration are considerably frequent, especially when
the sound production depends on human breathing capacity (i.e. wind instruments,
singing). Discussing how the potential of human voice can be explored at best,
Charles Koechlin points an interesting fact out about its diiculty in performing
long notes in the high register.
music pieces where the guitar plays its own role: I am sure that they could be quite successful
in a small ensemble: lute with alto (or English horn and cello instead) would blend perfectly
with the guitar. What concerns its use within an orchestra, it has no place except for exceptional
cases; in general, it suices to evoke the guitar through a combination of the usual orchestra. —
Nonetheless, if you write for it [guitar] as a part of the orchestra, keep in mind its little sonority;
consequently, beware to not cover it”.
52
Primitives
Cela nous mène à la conclusion suivante, que nous avons souvent vériiée
par expérience : d’une façon générale, la voix humaine se fatigue bien plus à rester
plusieurs mesures sur des notes hautes mais point extrêmes, qu’à donner accidentellement, avec éclat et dans la force, une ou deux notes extrêmes. (Koechlin,
1954, p. 142) 8
In this excerpt, a semiotician can recognize a tensive mechanism underlying
the lyrical singing, since the high register is more prone to the impact. Hence, the
energy required (tonicity in Zilberberg’s terminology) is too high so that it cannot
last long in this register. he same efect applies also to the pizzicati in the bowed
strings, whereas a severe speed limitation is identiied in the low registers.
Los dedos de la mano derecha, encargados de dar el pizzicato, no tienen la
presteza del arco; los pasajes pizzicato no pueden, pues, ser tan rápidos como los
que se ejecutan con el arco. Además, la velocidad posible del pizzicato depende del
espesor de las cuerdas; en los contrabajos, no podrá hacerse el pizzicato sino en las
notas donde la sucesión sea mucho más lenta que lo que debiera ser en los violines.
(Rimsky-Korsakov, 1946, p. 31) 9
3.5. Timbre, pitch and loudness
he selection between timbre, pitch and loudness splits the instrument’s range
in speciic zones with diferent possible variation in dynamics. One of the most
canonical examples is the so-called chalumeau register of the clarinet. To some
extent, this is a speciication of the same phenomenon observed above in the
harpsichord and the acoustic guitar. For these, the constraint of loudness applies
to the whole pitch range, whereas it applies only to a speciic segment of the range
in other instruments.
For instance, we can mention the uneven distribution of dynamics in the
woodwinds. Even though they have a considerable dynamic versatility, it is not
distributed equally in the whole pitch range. he western concert lute is a clear
example of this asymmetry and how it gives a peculiar character to its timbre. he
following excerpt taken from Charles Koechlin illustrates well this aspect:
De toute façon, il est assez illusoire de compter sur un vrai f pour la première
douzième de l’instrument ; mais on peut écrire cette nuance f : l’exécutant
l’interprètera de son mieux en donnant tout le son possible. — Il existe une assez
8.
English translation: “his leads us to the following conclusion, which we have veriied through
experience: in general, the human voice tires much more when remaining many bars in the
high register but not extreme than reaching eventually, with impact and strength, one or two
extreme notes”.
9.
English translation: “he ingers of the right hand, which are responsible to perform the
pizzicato, do not have the speed of the bow; hence, the runs in pizzicato cannot be as fast as
those performed with the bow. Moreover, the possible speed of the pizzicato depends on the
thickness of the strings; in the double basses, the pizzicato can just be performed if the notes
succession is quite slower than it should be in the violins”.
Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related Variants
53
grande latitude du pp au f de la lûte; on notera seulement que si, d’une part, le
grave n’est jamais réellement f, l’aigu à partir de [Re6] n’est jamais réellement pp.
(Koechlin, 1954, p. 8) 10
A similar efect occurs in the timbre of the brass instruments. In these
instruments, notes tend to become increasingly louder as they reach the higher
registers. In his treatise, Rimsky-Korsakov highlights emphatically this aspect of the
brass: “Hablando en general, para todo el grupo, el timbre resulta más esplendoroso
y la sonoridad más fuerte cuando se va hacia el agudo, mientras que yendo hacia el
grave, el timbre se ensombrece y la sonoridad decrece algo”. 11 (Rimsky-Korsakov,
1946, p. 25)
On the other hand, the bassoon has an exact opposite behavior. While
fortissimo notes in the low register are rather rare and not expected in the western
concert lute, they seem to be the general rule in a bassoon’s timbre: “he lowest
ith of sixth of the range is sonorous and vibrant, with a little roughness. It is rich
in audible overtones. It is not easy to attack sotly, and it is incapable of anything
like the pianissimo of the bass clarinet” (Piston, 1955, p. 93).
3.6. Timbre, loudness and duration
At last, we should consider that loudness and duration are rarely combined in
the same proportion. his statement applies especially to low-pitched wind
instruments, for instance tuba and trombone. In these timbres, loud notes tend
to fade away more quickly. An increase in their duration leads inevitably to a
reduction of their loudness, as noticed by Koechlin’s description of the trombone
quoted below: “Conseil important à formuler, touchant les f : les instrumentistes y
dépensent beaucoup de soule ; en conséquence il n’est pas possible de prolonger
longtemps un son f”. 12 (Koechlin, 1954, p. 88)
In some cases, the execution is considered even as impossible and only
a musician with outstanding technical skills could manage to achieve it. In the
example pictured below, the rests for breathing are an inevitable hurdle for the
tubist, which cannot hold loud notes in a too lengthy phrase.
10.
English translation: “Anyway, it is quite illusive to expect a true f in the irst twelve notes of the
instrument; One can however write this nuance f: the performer will interpret it given his/her
best to produce its best sound possible. — here is a quite great range from pp to f in the lute;
nevertheless, one will notice that, on one hand, the low register is never really f, on the other
hand, the high register from D6 on is never really pp”.
11.
English translation: “Generally speaking for the whole instrument set, the timbre becomes
more splendorous and the sonority becomes stronger when it goes up towards the high register,
whilst when going down towards the low register, the timbre becomes darker and the sonority
decreases somehow”.
12.
English translation: “An important advice regarding the f: the performers must spend there too
much blowing air; therefore, it is not possible to sustain a f sound”.
54
Primitives
he most important thing to consider when writing for the tuba is that it
requires the expenditure of a great deal of breath in performance. […]. When
the performer is faced with a situation such as the one that occurs in the inale
of Tchaikovksy’s Symphony N. 6, a fortissimo pedal E that extends over nine ¾
measures at Moderato assai, he must break the sustained tone at several points in
order to breathe. (Kennan, 1983, p. 156)
his inverse relationship between loudness and duration also occurs when
the sound volume of the double-basses is boosted up by increasing the number of
players. Discussing about the role of the double bass in the orchestra, Piston points
out that a loudness increase in this timbre inevitably results in a speed decrease.
Likewise, a reduction in loudness permits a longer note duration. “It will help to
remember that the aggregate sonority of the whole bass section tolerates a slower
moving bow than does the tone of a single solo bass, and that longer tones are
possible in sot nuances than in loud ones”. (Piston, 1955, p. 94)
hough the examples above illustrate inverse relationships between loudness
and duration, a direct relationship is also predicted. One typical example of
convergence between these parameters is the pipe organ. Its ability to sustain notes
in fortissimo can barely be overwhelmed by unplugged instruments, as observed
by Samuel Adler: “he organ’s great attractions as an orchestral instrument are
its ability to sustain pitches at a constant volume indeinitely […]” (Adler, 2002,
p. 481).
he sounds of the celesta seem to show the same correlation, though toward the
opposite direction. In general, the celesta’s timbre minimizes both note duration
and loudness, which leads to its peculiar sonority: “he gentle tones of the celesta
have a bell-like ring but do not last long, nor can they be played staccato. Easily
covered by other sounds in the orchestra, they are used primarily for decorative
coloristic touches in sot nuances” (Piston, 1955, p. 348).
4. Schema and usage
hough the cases discussed until now seem to be incidental, orchestration and
instrumentation handbooks provide several other similar examples of selection
between timbre and pitch, loudness and duration. Such constraints between
these parameters limit the set of resulting combinations. In other words, certain
rhythmic, melodic and dynamic patterns are more likely to be manifested in a
given timbre, while others tend rather to be avoided. It supports at least partially
the hypothesis that timbre pertains to the usage level, as proposed by Carmo Jr.
and discussed above in this paper (cf. Section 3). his conclusion can be better
understood by a simple test with the categories presented in the table 1.
According to it, a musical note considered as a semiotic unit results from the
combination of pitch, duration, loudness and timbre, as we have been discussing
until now. Virtually, all combinations of these categories are possible. Considering
Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related Variants
55
the usage categories as presented in the table 3, some combinations are rather
privileged, as shown by the treatises’ excerpts, while others are unusual and even
restricted. Albeit predicted, a combination like [high pitch and long duration and
piano and lute] is rather unexpected. Based on the excerpts presented above, the
same applies to combinations like [low pitch and long duration and forte and tuba],
[high/low pitch 13 and short duration and piano and pipe organ] among others.
hese constraints result in asymmetrical sets, which are commonly referred
to as the “language” of an instrument. Widely spread among musicians and in
the common sense, this analogy is not a mere metaphor, but highlights a striking
similarity to the so-called natural languages: forms predicted by the rules of schema
are rarely manifested in the usage. his mechanism applies also to grammar rules as
well as to discourse-related aspects. In order to explain this idea in more depth, we
will draw comparisons with diferent levels of natural language, namely phonetics,
phonology, morphology and lexis.
First, we would like to present asymmetries in the domain of phonetics and
phonology. Based on the canonical IPA vowel chart as presented by the Handbook
of the International Phonetic Association (1999), the features roundness, height
and backness distinguish approximately thirty-six diferent vowels. However, due
to a principle of economy, a given natural language never makes use of all vowels
to build up its sound inventory.
For instance, Brazilian Portuguese has seven distinctive vowels, assuming that
nasal vowels are not considered as phonemes (cf. Silva 2003, pp. 171-172). It is
important to underline that the features roundness and backness are redundant
in this language. In other words, it means that all front vowels are necessarily
unrounded. Likewise, all back vowels are necessarily rounded.
Hence, a vowel combining the features [+ front] and [+ rounded] (i.e. [Y])
is not predicted in the phonological system of Brazilian Portuguese. he set of
possible occurrences is once more restricted by phonological rules specifying
which morphophonological, prosodic and phonotactic contexts are favorable for
the occurrence of certain sounds.
For instance, in Brazilian Portuguese close and close-mid-vowels are
neutralized in unstressed word-inal syllables. Although the vowels /e/ and /i/ are
contrastive in the vowel system of Brazilian Portuguese, this contrast is neutralized
in the mentioned phonological context, what reduces the number of possible
sounds within this context from seven to three (Battisti 1996, pp. 173-174).
Another clear example of constraint is the distribution of consonants within
the syllable. Still discussing data of Brazilian Portuguese, the consonants /s/ and /r/
never occur together in the same syllable segment. he consonantal cluster /s/+/r/
occurs only in exceptional cases (e.g. /iS.Ra.’eL/ “Israel”) while the cluster /r/+/s/
is more frequent, especially when the phoneme /r/ occurs in the coda and /s/ is
the onset of the next syllable (e.g. /aR.se.’naL/ “armory”, /’uR.sO/ “bear”) (cf. Silva
13.
Speciically in this example, this category is indiferent.
56
Primitives
2003, pp. 157-161). With a few examples taken from the expression plan of natural
languages, one can verify that the number of realized items is always smaller than
the number of realizable ones. 14 When we take the content plan into consideration,
the set of realized forms becomes even more restricted.
Let us suppose that the vowels /a/, /e/ and /o/ and the consonants /k/, /m/ and
/l/ occur in a given word. For this sample test, we will exclude the combinations,
which violating the rules for a well-formed syllable in Brazilian Portuguese and
we will place arbitrarily the lexical accent on the second syllable. In this scenario,
a total of thirty-six diferent forms can be obtained. Despite the high number of
results, a native speaker would acknowledge just a few of them as meaningful
words, as shown in the table 4:
Table 4: phonologic possible sequences in Brazilian Portuguese
Although all the constructions listed above are well-formed according to
phonologic rules (i.e. phonotactics, syllabic structure), just a limited number
of them is incorporated in the word stock of Brazilian Portuguese, which leads
to an asymmetric distribution. Such asymmetries can be easily recognizable in
morphology, semantics and lexicon. In linguistics, this phenomenon is widely
known as “hole in the pattern” or “gap” and occurs when a given linguistic form
does not exist although it is predicted by the systematic rules of a particular
language (Crystal, 1991, p. 149).
In morphology, there are several examples of such gaps. To illustrate this,
we would like to highlight the case of defective verbs. For instance, forms like “I
rain” or “they snow” never occur in English. Likewise, the French verb “falloir”
is conjugated just in the third person singular. Another clear example is the so14.
About the terms “realizable” and “realized”, see Fontanille & Zilberberg (1998, p. 130).
Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related Variants
57
called unpaired negatives, i.e. negative words whose positive counterparts are
rarely or never attested in language usage. he pair “uncertain” – “certain” is
absolutely regular in opposition to the pair “unspeakable” – * “speakable”, since
the positive form “speakable” hardly occurs, at least with the opposite meaning
of “unspeakable” (as something hideous or impossible to be described in words).
In semantics, we can mention gaps in the gender distinction in the semantic
ield of family members. For instance, the sequence father – mother – parents
shows an even distribution (masculine – feminine – neutral). In contrast, the
sequence uncle – aunt – ? lacks a neutral term corresponding to “parents”. An
opposite coniguration occurs in the sequence ? – ? – cousin, where the masculine
and feminine terms are neutralized and only the neutral term is present. A similar
case is observed in verb semantics. he semantic opposition mieten – vermieten
in German becomes neutralized in languages like Brazilian Portuguese (“alugar”)
and French (“louer”).
Gaps in the domain of lexicon are by far the most easily recognizable for
the semiotician, since the French Semiotics has traditionally employed and
incorporated lexical analyses in its analytical toolbox. In his notorious study
about the anger De la colère : étude de sémantique lexicale published in Du sens II
(Greimas, 1983), 15 A.J. Greimas observes that lexemes are frequently a condensed
form of complex narrative and discursive structures (Ibid., p. 225).
In Greimas’ account, certain narrative, thematic and igurative conigurations
are condensed in and manifested by already existing lexical units. In contrast,
other conigurations do not correspond clearly to any lexeme available in a given
language. his iltering mechanism afects also the discursive passions, conceived
as a product of the social crystallization of speciic modal values.
In Sémiotique des passions (Greimas & Fontanille, 1991), this principle of
organization is named “connotative taxonomy” (Ibid, pp. 86-99). In this book,
A.J. Greimas and J. Fontanille declare: “[…] la langue naturelle est à cet égard
comme le témoin de ce que l’histoire d’une culture a retenu comme passions parmi
toutes les combinaisons modales possibles” (Ibid, p. 111). 16
J. Fontanille and Cl. Zilberberg corroborate this account. Discussing the
enunciative praxis, they observe that the semantic ield of self-esteem is irregularly
lexicalized in French, since the sememes and the distinctive features are not evenly
matched (Fontanille & Zilberberg, 1998, p. 141). A noteworthy aspect of such
accidental gaps, be it in phonology, morphology, semantics or lexis, lies in its
close relationship with the usage level. Forms predicted at the schema level are not
manifested at the usage level, though they are expected to occur.
15.
An english translation of this article was published with the title “On Anger: A Lexical Semantic
Study” (Greimas, 1987, pp. 148-164).
16.
English translation: “Natural language is in this respect a demonstration of what the history of
a given culture has retained by way of passions among all the modal combinations possible”
(Greimas & Fontanille 1993, p. 101).
58
Primitives
his ilter is closely related to the enunciative praxis, which regulates the
emergence and disappearance of linguistic and semiotic forms in daily use. A
clear example is provided by neology. Despite its creativity efect, a neologism
comprises a phonic chain and a semantic structure, both already available in the
schema level of the language. Contrary to appearances, such forms labeled usually
as “creative” are indeed predicted by the language schema, but remains by any
reason unexplored by the enunciative praxis. his notion is not properly new since
Saussure’s Cours de linguistique générale:
C’est donc une erreur de croire que le processus générateur ne se produit
qu’au moment où surgit la création ; les éléments en sont déjà donnés. Un mot
que j’improvise, comme ‘in-décorable’, existe déjà en puissance dans la langue ;
on retrouve tous ses éléments dans les syntagmes tels que décor-er, décor-ation :
pardonn-able, mani-able : in-connu, in-sensé, etc. et sa réalisation dans la parole
est un fait insigniiant en comparaison de la possibilité de le former. (Saussure,
1962, p. 227) 17
5. Implication and concession
he examples presented until this point show how timbre imposes constraints
on the output set of all possible combinations of pitch, duration and loudness. In
natural languages, a similar process is also observed in phonology, morphology,
semantics and lexis. According to the semiotic basic principle that the same
structural rules should apply to both verbal and non-verbal systems, we claim in
this article that the constraints observed in timbre as well as in the grammar ield
have the same nature.
However, an important diference between these systems must be noted.
In natural languages, the so-called ungrammatical constructions represent a
signiicant part of the constrained forms, since they will never be uttered by a
native speaker. On the contrary, it is barely defensible to speak of a corresponding
instance of ungrammatical forms at the discourse level, especially what concerns
the issue of timbre discussed here. Unlike grammaticality rules, it is virtually
impossible to disprove any occurrence of discursive forms.
When the authors of orchestration handbooks and treatises note the
limitations of a given instrument, they are doing nothing else than pointing out
what is considered as predictable or rather uncommon to its timbre. When we
17.
English translation: “It is wrong to suppose that the productive process is at work only when
the new formation actually occurs. he elements were already there. A newly formed word
like in-décor-able already has a potential existence in language; all its elements are found in
syntagms like dé-corer ‘decorate’, dé-coration ‘decoration’, pardonn-able ‘pardonable’, maniable ‘manageable’: in-connu ‘unknown’, in-sensé ‘insane’, etc. and the inal step of realizing it
in speaking is a small matter in comparison with the build-up of forces that makes it possible”
(Saussure 1959, p. 166).
Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related Variants
59
recognize a speciic timbre, we can anticipate which melodic-rhythmic patterns are
more likely to occur, opposed to those which are rather improbable. What seems
particularly intriguing is that timbre shit alone can turn a trivial sound event into
an extraordinary one.
We would like to illustrate this with a simple comparison. A given phrase
can sound as complex and unusual in the timbre of an acoustic guitar due to its
melodic progression. However, the same phrase would sound trivial in a timbre
of a piano due to its broader lexibility, as is known. he opposite situation is also
possible. A melody considered as ordinary in the timbre of a piano may become
extraordinary if performed in a timbre with less lexible pitch range and dynamics
(for instance, recorders and ocarinas).
In order to explain this efect in semiotic terms, we would like to recall
the relections of the semiotician Cl. Zilberberg (2006a) about the opposition
between the regimes of implication and concession. According to this author, the
implication regimen is related to the reiteration of predicted events, which conirm
the expectations of a subject (parvenir). A classical case of implication regimen is
the causal logic underlying Propp’s studies on narrative. he regimen of concession
is related to the sudden intervention of unexpected events contradicting the
predictions of the causal logic (survenir). A clear example of concession is found in
the epiphanic experiences as studied by A.J. Greimas in De l’imperfection (Greimas
1987).
From this standpoint, we propose that the descriptions presented by
orchestration treatises should be read in terms of implication and concession
regimen, rather than a description of “ungrammatical constructions” in music. In
other words, such kind of works present what should be considered as ordinary or
extraordinary for each particular timbre.
his interpretation in terms of tensive semiotics brings more satisfying
answers, as it takes into account not only the canonical repertoire, but also what
can still be achieved as aesthetic movements and performance techniques evolve.
In order to illustrate the approach of the tensive semiotics on this, we would like to
recall the aforementioned Koechlin’s excerpt about the human voice (see Section
3.4.). As noticed by this author, the human voice cannot sustain long notes in the
higher register without being burdened.
In the regimen of implication, this feature could be described by the following
formula: “Human voice cannot last many bars in the higher register because it
tires quickly”. However, the opposite relation cannot be a priori excluded. he
empirical experience of artistic performances shows how musicians are able to
innovate and surpass the given aesthetic limits. herefore, we could describe the
regimen of concession in this example with the following formula: “Human voice
can last many bars in the higher register although it tires quickly”.
60
Primitives
he most signiicant advance brought by this account lies in the close
relationship between the implication and concession regimen and the veridiction. 18
According to Claude Zilberberg’s proposal in his Éléments de grammaire tensive
(Zilberberg, 2006a), the entry “concession” presented in the glossary at the end
of his work explains that the regimen of concession is related to the unbelievable.
Likewise, the regimen of implication is related to what is expected and believable:
“Et c’est justement peut-être la dimension iduciaire qui est à même d’exhiber
le fonctionnement sémiotique de la concession. La dimension iduciaire a pour
verbe-pivot ‘croire’ et pour alternance élémentaire le couple : croire vs. ne pas
croire” (Zilberberg, 2006a, p. 204). 19
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the term “unbelievable” refers
to something that is “too improbable for belief; of such a superlative degree as to be
hard to believe”. In this respect, virtuosity could be considered as the best example
of regimen of concession. he astonishing efect caused by the performance of the
virtuoso lies precisely in its superlative character as well as its unpredictability,
both aiming to surpass the established aesthetic limits.
he boundaries between the implication and concession are outlined by the
discursive praxis. J. Fontanille and Cl. Zilberberg observe that both the acceptance
of innovative and the rejection of obsolete semiotic forms require a collective and
intersubjective sanction (Fontanille & Zilberberg, 1998, p. 134).
his aspect may be easily observed not only in the development of the
instrument construction but also in the performance developments called
“extended technique”. What was considered as extraordinary a few centuries ago
is nowadays evaluated as ordinary. Likewise, what is evaluated as extraordinary in
our days will probably be overcome in the future.
To illustrate this, we can consider the aforementioned case of harpsichord (see
Section 3.2.). Combinations of dynamics and duration considered as extraordinary
at the time of the development of this instrument are nowadays rather habitual. he
same applies to the development of electric instruments and synthesizers. In few
words, what these devices do is overcome limitations of traditional instruments by
rendering a wider range of combinations between pitch, duration, loudness and
timbre possible.
From a semiotic point of view, we can airm that both technical development
as well as neology are closely related to the domain of usage. he innovation efect
caused by the linguistic and musical (or discursive, to be more precise) creativity is
apparently unlimited because the subset of language usage is necessarily embedded
within the wider set of language schema.
18.
About the deinition of “veridiction”, see Greimas & Courtés (1979, pp. 417-418).
19.
English translation: “And it is precisely the iduciary dimension which is capable of showing
the semiotic mechanism of the concession. he iduciary dimension has as key-verb ‘to believe’
and, as an elementary alternance, the opposition: to-believe vs. not-to-believe”.
Semiotic Description of Timbre and Usage-Related Variants
61
What concerns timbre speciically, we can conclude that partial descriptions
in semiotic terms are possible, considering that the constraints analyzed so far
impose limitations to the timbre inventory and build up prototypical sound
physiognomies, usually labeled by musicians as the “instrument language” (i. e.
the language of guitar, lute, mandolin etc.).
6. Conclusion
his study brings concrete evidences against the belief that timbre can be simply
switched without afecting other musical parameters. his inding has been
rendered possible due to the discretization of hierarchized level of analysis,
as traditionally proposed and employed by the French Semiotics as well as by
the European structuralist linguistics, namely L. Hjelmslev. In this paper, the
distinction between schema and usage plays a major role and gives to the semiotic
approach a considerable advantage over other methods, which cannot distinguish
diferent levels of pertinence in the meaning generation.
Considering the constraints extracted from orchestration and instrumentation
treatises and presented herein, we can assert that usage-related limits are imposed
to timbre. In this respect, the major role of enunciative praxis works as a key feature
shared both by the musical system (i.e. timbre constraints) and the linguistic system
(i.e. accidental gaps), as discussed before. Due to its discursive and usage-related
character, no combination between timbre, loudness, pitch and duration can be
excluded a priori; instead, it is more reasonable to treat them in terms of expected/
unexpected and its semiotic correspondent implication vs. concession, according
to Claude Zilberberg’s propositions (see Section 5). As the semiotic analytical
tools remain essentially the same, our approach of timbre can take advantage of
its theoretical background. Likewise, it can also reveal interesting mechanisms that
should be also valid to other codes, such as verbal language, painting, photography
and so on.
he major limitation of this work is the use of binary oppositions to the
categories of loudness (forte vs. piano), pitch (high vs. low) and duration (short
vs. long). hough suicient when treating timbre as a discontinuous feature, this
articulation should be enhanced and evolved to a continuous scale with gradual
values. Furthermore, the current study has only examined written descriptions
provided by handbooks and orchestration treatises. Whilst this approach can
provide useful insights on how meaning efects are generated by timbre, it is
strongly recommended that further research takes concrete manifestations into
account. Future studies describing particular orchestration and arrangements
styles could correct and/or enhance the results obtained so far.
he conclusions of this study support at least partially the idea of timbre as
a particular physiognomy, as proposed by Carmo Jr. (2007, pp. 145-147). his
standpoint seems to explain the considerable resistance to transigurations of
62
Primitives
the canonical timbres established along the history of occidental music. hese
indings could also point to a systematic description of musical styles (e.g. samba,
jazz, folk, blues, chamber music, etc.), speciic instrument sets (e.g. strings, brass,
woodwinds, etc.) and composing styles (e.g. Richard Wagner, Claude Debussy,
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Paul Dukas, Maurice Ravel etc.).
Due to its exploratory nature, such a semiotic approach of timbre still needs
substantial improvement in its theoretical basis as well as analysis-oriented eforts
to corroborate and/or falsify the outlined propositions. Nevertheless, semiotics can
thus play its key role as pilot science (as once pursued) beside psychoacoustics,
musicology and aesthetics towards a better understanding of timbre.
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