A NEW APPROACH TO THE ANALYSIS OF TIMBRE by MEGAN LAVENGOOD A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Music in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2017 ii © 2017 MEGAN LAVENGOOD All rights reserved ABSTRACT A New Approach to the Analysis of Timbre by Megan Lavengood Advisor: Professor Mark Spicer Two distinct approaches to timbre analysis exist, each with complementary strengths and limitations. First, music theorists from the 1980s adopt a positivist mindset and look for ways to quantify timbral phenomena, often using spectrograms, while avoiding any cultural dimensions in their work. Second, writings of the past five years focus on the cultural as- pects of timbre but make no use of spectrograms. This dissertation builds upon these two ap- proaches by synthesizing them: discussion is grounded in spectrogram analysis, but situated within a broad cultural context, through interactions with listener experience and ethno- graphic study of music periodicals and other published interviews. The theory is applicable to any genre of music, but 1980s popular music is used as a case study, with a particular fo- cus on the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, used in much of this music. Chapter 1 outlines a methodology for timbre analysis and establishes a system of op- positional vocabulary for the analysis of the spectrogram. After providing a history of syn- thesizers in popular music to contextualize study of the Yamaha DX7 in Chapter 2, in Chap- ter 3, several hit singles using Yamaha DX7 preset sounds are analyzed in terms of texture and instrumentation, establishing three distinct categories of textural function: core, mel- ody, and novelty sounds. Through the analysis of texture, instrumentation, and timbre, tim- bral norms are established for each of the three textural functions. Chapter 4 demonstrates iv v how musical meaning can be created through the dialectic transgression of the norms artic- ulated in Chapter 3. Chapter 5 focuses on the interactions between acoustic and cultural as- pects of timbre through the close analysis of one particular DX7 preset, E. PIANO 1, which was often compared to the Fender Rhodes electric piano. A larger argument about the “’80s sound” is made by interweaving arguments from Chapters 3, 4, and 5. The 1980s can be ret- rospectively seen as a genre, created through a homogenization of timbre facilitated by the Yamaha DX7 presets. This description of the ’80s sound is valuable in its own right, but these studies also aim to show the value of studying timbre in music analysis more broadly. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I must first thank my supervisory committee for all their support and guidance at various stages throughout my dissertation. My advisor, Mark Spicer, persuaded me early in my Ph.D. to pursue popular music research, and pointed me toward the Yamaha DX7 and its factory preset sounds as the object of my study. Mark has continually stimulated my work and kept me focused on my goals. Jonathan Pieslak sparked my interest in pursuing ethnog- raphy as part of timbre analysis. My methodology was refined through abundant and bril- liant feedback from Zachary Wallmark. Poundie Burstein has provided me with an outsider’s perspective on my work in popular music and timbre analysis, which has been particularly welcome when writing proposals and abstracts. I am also grateful to many other colleagues throughout the field. My interest in both timbre and popular music grew from a final paper in a seminar at Florida State University taught by Michael Buchler, who supported my leap into the uncharted territory of timbre analysis. David Blake then gave me feedback that inspired an entire chapter of this disserta- tion when I presented this seminar paper at a conference. Joseph Straus and William Roth- stein have both been wonderful mentors throughout this process, inside and outside of their monthly dissertation group meetings. My wonderful classmates at the CUNY Graduate Center have influenced my research and uplifted me throughout the years. My participation in a reading group in semiotics, founded and led by Aaron Harcus, Tom Johnson, and Noel Torres-Rivera, had an immense impact on my thinking throughout my dissertation. Drew Fleming lent his expertise in gui- tar distortion techniques as I wrote about markedness. My cohort Simon Prosser has been a constant source of support and understanding through the highs and the lows. I also thank vi vii all the fellow students who sat with me in cafes and in the student lounge for many hours while we worked together—Elizabeth Newton, Nathan Pell, David Pearson, and too many others to name—whose presence motivated me without saying anything at all. Finally, I thank my family, particularly my loving parents, who supported my notion to be a musician from the very beginning. And above all, I thank my husband, Evan Williams, for his patience, his good nature, and his unflappability during my process of writing, and for the millions of things he did to keep me feeling loved, fed, and happy. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................... vi List of Examples ................................................................................................................................ ix Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Defining Timbre ..................................................................................................................... 4 Review of Existing Work ....................................................................................................... 5 Why 1980s popular music? ................................................................................................. 10 Outline of Dissertation ........................................................................................................ 11 Chapter 1 - Methodology ................................................................................................................. 13 Spectrograms ....................................................................................................................... 14 Oppositions ........................................................................................................................... 16 Binaries ................................................................................................................................. 26 Context dependency ............................................................................................................ 28 Markedness .......................................................................................................................... 29 Interpretation ...................................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 2 - The Yamaha DX7 in Synthesizer History .................................................................. 36 The Arrival of the DX7 ........................................................................................................ 38 Defining Features of the DX7 .............................................................................................. 41 Reception of the DX7 ........................................................................................................... 51 After the DX7 ........................................................................................................................ 57 Chapter 3 - Norms of Timbre and Instrumentation in 1980s Popular Music ............................ 59 Textural Functions .............................................................................................................. 61 Establishing Norms .............................................................................................................. 71 Instrumentation and Form ................................................................................................. 82 Timbre and Instrumentation .............................................................................................. 84 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 86 Chapter 4 - Timbral Dialogues ........................................................................................................ 88 “Do They Know It's Christmas?” ........................................................................................ 88 “Girls” ................................................................................................................................... 97 Doctor Who ............................................................................................................................. 99 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 101 Chapter 5 – “What Makes It Sound ’80s?”: The Yamaha DX7 Electric Piano Sound ............... 103 Digital Synthesis and the ’80s Sound ............................................................................... 104 Analysis: E. PIANO 1 ..........................................................................................................