Sonic Strokes and Musical Gestures - The Difference between Musical Affect and Musical Emotion

Abstract

Musicological theories traditionally address the expressive powers of music within a framework of signification, in which musical affect is considered as a meaningful musical gesture. Consequently, affect is regarded as a property of the music instead of as a bodily reaction of the listener. I will outline a different conception of musical affect that takes into account the bodily nature of perception. I will introduce the notion of sonic stroke, i.e. a sound that induces affect in the listener. A sonic stroke thus is responsible for the occurrence of musical affect. By relating the notion of sonic stroke to musical gesture the differences between the two can be articulated, as well as how they can be related to musical affect and musical emotion. I will conclude that musical emotion is the result of the interpretation of musical affect and that, while sonic strokes can induce musical affect, a musical gesture is the result of the listener’s reflection on the music she is confronted with, a reflection that is initiated by a sonic stroke.