GuitarBizarre

The way he did it has a lot of parallels to semiotics - How do we know something means what it means?

If I say 'Tree' to you, you think of a large leafy object. Or do you? If I say it with an irish inflection the same word means 'three'

There is a lot more to determining the meaning of an object or a word than simply the object itself. Much like modernism failed because it sought to elevate art outside of the world, attempting to nail down a definition or meaning to an object without an understanding of whats happening AROUND that object is pointless. Nothing happens without being affected by everything else that happens. The renaissance held ideals about grand narratives and so on, that simply don't apply to a post-industrial society. Without that understanding though, the renaissance period in music makes a considerable deal less SENSE. We don't understand why composers thought the way they did about their music without that context of what was popular thinking at the time.

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Daktari

Hello again,

Ok, this really is getting way too complicated for what is really a simple question. We are starting to trip over our own points here.. It really is getting to the stage where we can't see the woods for the 3's, ha, ha...

Some folks are gonna think one way and myself and others are gonna see it the right way.... joking there..... Really, there is no right or wrong way, what the hell does it matter as long as it produces decent sounding music !

Simple point: A computer in the hands of a talented artist can produce real art but it doesn't make it a paint brush.

We did agree on the main point, you said that a computer is nothing but a tool. That's what it is. A tool that can be used by a musician to make music.

Take care and have a great weekend, Gordon.

Back to my guitar and djembe for some more music making...really..

GuitarBizarre

No, we DIDNT agree on the main point. I spent a paragraph explaining how we didn't agree on the main point.

NOTHING has a FIXED definition of WHAT it IS. All meaning, reference, understanding and concepts of being, are CONTEXTUAL.

Without everything that exists AROUND an object to give it meaning, the object itself HAS no meaning.

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Guybrush

Aside from your point that anything needs something else to have meaning, would you say that terms like "mammal" or "insect" are contextual?

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Something Completely Different

GuitarBizarre

Yes, because of word etymology, descended language, word roots (I don't know if either word is descended from greek or latin, but many other english words only mean what they do by context of latin roots that have been twisted.

They're categorical, but without examples they'd just be gibberish. As it is, I'll admit its nigh-on impossible to misread them for something else, but slang and vernacular uses of 'insect' to mean someone lower than you and worthless are contextual meanings, yes?

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