In music theory and especially in the branch of study called the aesthetics of music, formalism is the concept that a composition's meaning is entirely determined by its form.
Formalism describes the critical position that the most important aspect of a work of art is its form – the way it is made and its purely visual aspects – rather than its narrative content or its relationship to the visible world.
: the practice or the doctrine of strict adherence to prescribed or external forms (as in religion or art) also : an instance of this. 2. : marked attention to arrangement, style, or artistic means (as in art or literature) usually with corresponding de-emphasis of content. formalist.
Formalism. Related to absolute music is formalism, which is the concept that a composition's meaning is entirely determined by its form. It advocates for music for music's sake, and the idea that music has no extra-musical meaning and is to be appreciated for its formal structure and technical construction alone.
Formalism does not consider the author's personal history, cultural influences, and the actual content in the work itself. Instead, it focuses on the form and genre of the writing. For example, formalism is concerned with the use of grammar and syntax, and meter in poetry.
The name "Formalism" derives from one of the central tenets of Formalist thought: That the form of a work of literature is inherently a part of its content, and that the attempt to separate the two is fallacious.
Musical formalism holds that music's nature is innate, self-evident, able to be systematically deduced, and rational. According to formalism, musical meaning is defined by things objectively 'there' in the music, musical experience relies on cognition, and music is less a matter of sense than of mind.
The Formalism definition is exemplified by the minimalistic geometric paintings of Piet Mondrian. The shapes depicted within his paintings lack any meaning, yet the geometric form of their lines and color form a visual aesthetic never before seen in art.
Musical formalism holds that music's nature is innate, self-evident, able to be systematically deduced, and rational. According to formalism, musical meaning is defined by things objectively 'there' in the music, musical experience relies on cognition, and music is less a matter of sense than of mind.
The Formalism definition is exemplified by the minimalistic geometric paintings of Piet Mondrian. The shapes depicted within his paintings lack any meaning, yet the geometric form of their lines and color form a visual aesthetic never before seen in art.
Formalism was not confined to evaluating art; it was also used liberally in both music and literature. In music, the theory was used to explain that music is judged based on the basic composition of the notes, and only intellectual understanding is of value when assessing musical pieces.
For example, formalists within mathematics claim that mathematics is no more than the symbols written down by the mathematician, which is based on logic and a few elementary rules alone.
Leave a Reply