Musicians Language

The majority of people like music… right? Be it of which ever genre. Our love for songs goes further than just the sound. We idolise its performer. This is not simply for the sake of music they make but also for the person they present themselves as. What is it about how they present themselves and how they talk that particularly makes fans and people think they are ever so cool?

Of course being that there are different genres, there is going to be a difference in perhaps how Katherine Jenkins, a famous opera singer and Eminem; a rapper, present themselves through the English language. However in turn there are similarities. There's a field specific lexicon that many though not all musicians will use when playing instruments in practise. A placement of fingers or a hitting of notes at the same time becomes a chord. This may be a word non-musicians will be familiar with. Examples such as chromatic scale and octave however may not be. More examples may be found here: http://images.pcmac.org/SiSFiles/Schools/KS/UdallSchoolDistrict/UdallMiddleHigh/Uploads/Forms/STUDYGUIDE.pdf.

The point is that what musicians have in common is the technical terms that give them the ability to play music; by knowing what the chord of C is on each instrument allows you to play that chord. A musician knowing these terms means they can follow them with the action and this field specific lexis goes beyond just being language it is also a skill which fans can admire.

Let's talk about slang. What makes music different from other hobbies and professions is that there is a definite slang for each genre. Take surfing, you either know the meanings of the slang terms or you don't. In music it is different you may be a musician but when placed in a room full of Jazz enthusiasts you may not have a clue about what is being said. Musicians do this to form an identity and make the solidarity of their group stronger. Many words today have been formed from certain genres of music's lexicon. Words such as bad, meaning good or bread, meaning money have originated in the jazz community. More examples can be found here: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/jazz-slang-by-aaj-staff.php#.U6inAvldV8E.

Many of these words have become extensively used in our language today which shows just how much of an impact music has on us.

I read an article on hip hop vocabulary http://rappers.mdaniels.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/. Though used within songs, the researcher is looking at the vocabulary choices of the artists; finding that some of the rappers exceed Shakespeare's width of obscure language and exceed the vocabulary of even Moby Dick. In the data it was also found that the origin of the music affected the obscurity of the vocabulary with some places using far less obscure words than others. Though this is not natural speech so it cannot be taken literally, from this research it can be shown that rappers have vast lexicon that rivals or surpasses literary geniuses.

The language of musicians is a tricky subject, but identity seems to be a driving force within it. Musicians may have a talent but require uniqueness to succeed. If they were all the same no one would listen to them. This will by necessity reflect upon the way they present themselves outside their music through the language they use which will in turn relate to the vocabulary of their songs.

Tabby Turner