Improvisation in Music and Philosophical Hermeneutics - by Sam McAuliffe (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In the first book to examine the overlooked relationship between musical improvisation and philosophical hermeneutics, Sam McAuliffe asks: what exactly is improvisation? And how does it relate to our being-in-the-world?

Improvisation in Music and Philosophical Hermeneutics answers these questions by investigating the underlying structure of improvisation. McAuliffe argues that improvising is best understood as attending and responding to the situation in which one find itself and, as such, is essential to how we engage with the world. Working within the hermeneutic philosophical tradition - drawing primarily on the work of Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Jeff Malpas - this book provides a rich and detailed account of the ways in which we are all already experienced improvisers.

Given the dominance of music in discussions of improvisation, Part I of this book uses improvised musical performance as a case study to uncover the ontological structure of improvisation: a structure that McAuliffe demonstrates is identical to the structure of hermeneutic engagement. Exploring this relationship between improvisation and hermeneutics, Part II offers a new reading of Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics, examining the way in which Gadamer's accounts of truth and understanding, language, and ethics each possess an essentially improvisational character.

Working between philosophy and music theory, Improvisation in Music and Philosophical Hermeneutics unveils the hermeneutic character of musical performance, the musicality of hermeneutic engagement, and the universality of improvisation.

Review Quotes

"A lively exposition of the structure of improvisation in music and everyday life! McAuliffe builds on the work of thinkers in both the continental and analytic traditions, consolidating their insight and providing a good deal of his own. Readers will discover that improvisation in music reflects the experience of interpretation in general." --Bruce Ellis Benson, University of Nottingham, UK

"This is a ground-breaking volume which widens our understanding of the scope of philosophical hermeneutics. Using the example of musical improvisation, the author argues convincingly that understanding an artistic practice involves both identifying and participating in the spontaneously unfolding rationale that is its heart." --Nicholas Davey, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Dundee, U.K

"Beyond the theme of improvisation in music, both classical and jazz, Sam McAuliffe reads philosophical interpreters from philosophical hermeneutics to analytic music aesthetics and including the performers themselves. By offering a phenomenology of improvisation 'in the moment', this is a study of vital new perspectives." --Babette Babich, Professor of Philosophy, Fordham University, USA

A lively exposition of the structure of improvisation in music and everyday life! McAuliffe builds on the work of thinkers in both the continental and analytic traditions, consolidating their insight and providing a good deal of his own. Readers will discover that improvisation in music reflects the experience of interpretation in general.
Bruce Ellis Benson, University of Nottingham, UK

Beyond the theme of improvisation in music, both classical and jazz, Sam McAuliffe reads philosophical interpreters from philosophical hermeneutics to analytic music aesthetics and including the performers themselves. By offering a phenomenology of improvisation 'in the moment', this is a study of vital new perspectives.
Babette Babich, Professor of Philosophy, Fordham University, USA

This is a ground-breaking volume which widens our understanding of the scope of philosophical hermeneutics. Using the example of musical improvisation, the author argues convincingly that understanding an artistic practice involves both identifying and participating in the spontaneously unfolding rationale that is its heart.
Nicholas Davey, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Dundee, U.K

About the Author

Sam McAuliffe is a philosopher and musician living in Melbourne, Australia. McAuliffe completed his PhD at Monash University, Australia and his work has been published in numerous journals, including the Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Critical Horizons, and the Journal of Aesthetic Education.