Events

Musical experience involves a particular combination of perception and imagination. One might call this "metaphorical" listening (Peacocke 2009), in the sense that listeners map on what they hear dimensions which are not normally heard. I will contend that many people in the world go beyond mere metaphor and actually encounter in sound things that they couldn’t encounter otherwise. They often attribute agency as well to these things, which I call sonic beings. I will present an example from a class of Greek popular music in southern France. The participants were trying to grasp the concept of makam. Makam is a cornerstone of the ottoman legacy that some Greek musicians seek to revive in their music. We will see how makam Saba was approached by the participants through verbal images, sung examples and instrumental attempts. I will propose that "possession" is more effective than "metaphor" to capture the sense of presence that characterizes successful renditions of makam Saba. The horizon for this discussion is a better understanding of how sonic beings come to feature as social agents in human interactions.