A Blaze of Light in Every Word by Victoria Malawey
The human singing voice holds immense power - to convey mood, emotion, and identity in songs, provide music's undeniable "wow" moments, and communicate a pop song's meaning perhaps more than any other musical parameter. And unlike the other aspects of musical content - like harmony, form, melody, and rhythm, for which generations of scholars have formed sophisticated analyses - scholarly approaches to vocal delivery remain grossly underdeveloped. An exciting and much-needed new approach, A Blaze of Light in Every Word presents a systematic and encompassing conceptual model for analyzing vocal delivery. Author Victoria Malawey focuses on three overlapping areas of inquiry - pitch, prosody, and quality - while drawing on research from music theory and pedagogy as well as gender studies and philosophy to situates the sonic and material aspects of vocal delivery among broader cultural, philosophical, and anthropological approaches to voice. Malawey develops a much-needed and innovative set of analytical tools through in-depth analyses of popular song recordings in genres spanning from hip hop to death metal. A Blaze of Light in Every Word brings new clarity to the relationship between the voice's sonic content and its greater signification, helping us understand the complexity and uniqueness of singing voices.
A Blaze of Light is a valuable addition to the field of music theory and analysisMalawey combines various bodies of scholarship while proposing an original model for understanding and analyzing the sound of the singing voice. Because of its engaging tone, clear explanation of complex parameters, and thorough survey of literature, the book will be a helpful pedagogical resource. * Michèle Duguay, Music Theory Online *
This is the first 'complete' study of the popular singing voice. It will of course be a benchmark study for anyone doing research on the popular singing voice, performativity, and musical signification. * Kevin Holm-Hudson, Professor of Music Theory, University of Kentucky *
This is the first 'complete' study of the popular singing voice. It will of course be a benchmark study for anyone doing research on the popular singing voice, performativity, and musical signification. * Kevin Holm-Hudson, Professor of Music Theory, University of Kentucky *
Victoria Malawey is Associate Professor of Music at Macalester College. Her articles have been published in scholarly collections and journals such as Popular Music, Music Theory Online, The Journal of the Royal Musical Association, and Indiana Theory Review.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780190052218 |
| ISBN 10 | 019005221X |
| Title | A Blaze of Light in Every Word |
| Author | Victoria Malawey |
| Series | Oxford Studies In Music Theory |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press Inc |
| Year published | 2020-08-13 |
| Number of pages | 216 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |