semiotic analysis

Method of analysing music according to theories of meaning drawn from linguistics. In practice, the musical work is divided up (‘segmented’) into units which are then grouped into similar classes or paradigms; the relationships between these paradigms within and outside the work in question are then explored. There is no single technique of semiotic analysis; the method is distinguished by the desire to treat music as a structured, communicative form, and by the attempt to define the nature of musical meaning and relate it to meaning in other art forms.