Making Meaning in Musical Mixes

Authors

  • Kyle D. Stedman Rockford College

Keywords:

music, sound, sonic rhetoric, arrangement, development, mix,

Abstract

This piece explores the musical rhetorics at work in a mix CD I created for two (at times contrasting) purposes: as a gift for friends, and as an accompaniment in the car as I moved across the country. I suggest that in a linear, musical mix, the term "development" as used in music composition is an apt explanation of rhetorical arrangement. The essay walks its audience through the mix's development track by track, considering issues of audience, expectation, melody, rhythm, time, voice, and memory along the way. Readers are invited to experience the mix, both as a whole and through various audio clips that draw attention to important moments.

Author Biography

Kyle D. Stedman, Rockford College

Assistant Professor of English

Published

2013-04-06

Issue

Section

Issue #9: Sonic Rhetorics