Semiotics

Abstract

The field of musical semiotics has developed since the 1970s, and it consists of a wide range of approaches and analyses into different genres of music and dance (e.g., art, popular, ethnic, folk), even extending into that sphere of animal life called zoomusicology. In general, the term semiotics refers to the study of meaning making and of sign process. The background of semiotics can be traced back to the first half of 20th century, with reference to the development of theoretical linguistics and the consequent application of linguistic models to other fields of expression and communication. The term semiotic was introduced by the American logician and philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce as part of a broad epistemological theory on cognitive processes known as pragmatism. For Peirce, semiotics consists of the study of any kind of sign not only artificial, linguistic, or symbolic but also even natural. While semiology investigates conventional and voluntary signs and signals, semiotics focuses upon elaborating a general theory of meaning making. With the foundation in 1969 of the International Association for Semiotic Studies, this term became the common referent. This entry provides an overview of the history of semiotics and the development of musical semiotics.