The British Journal of Aesthetics · 2011 · 10 citations · 0 references
HumanitiesMusicologyPerforming ArtsMusic CriticismMusic TheoryPerformance PracticeMusical InterpretationMusical KnowledgeMusical MeaningMusical OntologyMusical TheoryOntological Analysis
In a recent article in this journal, Lee B. Brown criticizes one central kind of project in higher-order musical ontology—the project of offering an ontological theory of a particular musical tradition. I defend this kind of project by replying to Brown’s critique, arguing that musical practices are not untheorizably messy, and that a suitably subtle descriptivist ontology of a given practice can be valuable both theoretically and practically.