Musical Time

In order for musical structure to be understood and appreciated as coherent design, the raw material must be shaped and clarified by the listener's perceptual processes of selection and organization. Going beyond the boundaries of traditional analytic observation, Barbara Barry explores the concept of experiential time in a specifically musical and philosophic context, delving into the aspects of perceptual process (the interrelationship between subjective and objective perception of musical compositions and performance). A wealth of published experimental findings and writings on music theory and the philosophy of time are cited, accompanied by numerous musical examples, here brought together in a supporting interpretation and theoretical exemplification.