Music and socionics¶

Most, if not all socionists would agree that information signals relevant to socionics can be conveyed not only through words, but also through images, sounds, and art. Here we will collect music samples from the public domain which appear to convey certain types of information or represent the preferences of different quadras or other socionic groups.

For a discussion of the intricacies and challenges of applying socionics to music, read this article.
Musical Typology by Olga Tangemann.

Rock¶

Rock music that is focused on ethics is typically expressive, emotional, and full of embellishments, and less “functional” or structurally focused than logical music. Here is a good example from Steve Vai:

Tender Surrender (Steve Vai)

Vai’s guitar “wails” like a human voice, which produces an emotional connection. His own mimicry and body language heighten the sense of expressiveness and passion contained in the music itself.

For a contrast to Vai’s passionate delivery, here is an example of logical music:

Fracture (King Crimson)

This “mental” music is dominated by repeating patterns. Very little attention is given to sound texture, and the focus is on notes and rhythm patterns. This music focuses more on the internal logic () of the music and produces a thoughtful state rather than an active one. Here is another logic-dominated song, but with an external, focus:

Surfing with the Alien (Joe Satriani)

This music certainly has elements of (functionally “superfluous” expressive playing at the end of the song), but seems to dominate. The song has an active, even beat that makes one want to move and do things. In addition, the chord changes are predictable and purposeful and occur at even intervals of time. The lead guitar lines are rarely emotionally expressive, but are driven and purposeful.

Here’s some music that betrays an emphasis with strong elements as well:

Bad Horsie (Steve Vai)

The aspect of this song is the plodding, heavy base line throughout most of the song that conveys a state of physical strength and vitality. On top of this, Vai adds his typical flourishes and embellishments, imitating the sounds and spirit of an unbridled horse.

Here is an example of a song that conveys a focus:

Won’t Get Fooled Again (Pete Townsend)

This music (putting lyrics aside) is basically composed of many different autonomous sections that aren’t very musically connected. The rhythm and strumming style of these sections is often quite different, and transitions between sections are abrupt. This creates a mentally stimulating effect – “What is this song about?” “What is he trying to say?”

Here is some music with an Alpha emphasis – specifically and :

Shiny Happy People (R.E.M.)

The chords here are simple and straightforward, and the music is free of any dissonance that would create apprehension or alarm. seems to be conveyed mostly through the lyrics and the music video.

Birdhouse in Your Soul (They Might Be Giants; see TMBW entry)

This song and video are centered around the Alpha quadra elements, which is probably a reflection of the performers’ types (though it need not be).

Fe: At the beginning and middle (~1:37) the camera focuses on the performer’s face, putting the focus on its distinct emotional expressions. The trumpet sounds like a person throwing a temper tantrum, and in the video the trumpet itself even has a “face”, which imbues it too with an human emotional quality.

Ti: A constant beat permeates the song. The video depicts people with robotic, clearly delineated movements. There is an array of light bulbs, which, although individually of different shapes, are of the same form and occupy the same rectangular grid. There are no extraneous visual elements.

In addition, both the lyrics and vocal style have a strong focus, with an emotionally flat, talking-out-loud singing style and lyrics that make use of repetitions and somewhat convoluted logical structures that create a “mental” atmosphere (quite similar to the style of David Byrne of the Talking Heads). For example:

“I’m your only friend. I’m not your only friend, but I’m a little glowing friend, but really I’m not actually your friend, but I am.”

Ne: The lyrics specifically reflect Ne. Mundane, uninteresting phrases such as “not to put too fine a point on it” and “say I’m the only bee in your bonnet” are juxtaposed to create an intriguing effect. “My story’s infinite” conveys a sense of intellectual freedom.

Si: Si is represented by the topic of the song: a nightlight (represented by the birdhouse) that “watches over you”, giving a sense of coziness and protection. The use of words like “little” de-emphasize Se forcefulness. Alliteration as in “bee in your bonnet” gives the song a child-like feeling of playfulness (also related to Ne). In the music, dissonance is avoided.

Jazz¶

Here is a piece of jazz that conveys a sense of inner seeking and mystery related to .

Above the Treetops (Pat Metheny}

The smooth, flowing sounds throughout the song (especially the beginning and end) in the absence of clearly defined rhythm heighten the feeling of inner space and freedom. At the same time, there is a bit of tension or anticipation, as the chords are never fully resolved as they tend to be in music with a focus. There is also a good deal of in the song, especially in Metheny’s solos, which produce a sense of rejoicing within the overall atmosphere of the piece.

Here’s a song in between jazz, soul, and pop that clearly conveys :

I Love You Just the Way You Are (Billy Joel)

The beautiful, tender, endearing melody and touching lyrics all contribute to the introverted ethics of this piece. If you listen to the lyrics, he is singing about stable feelings of attachment that “never change” and don’t depend on any outer influences. Here in concert it is played slightly faster than in recordings, which convey the () a bit better because it is quieter and more tender.

Pop¶

This song by David Hasselhoff focuses mostly on introverted ethics:

Hooked on a feeling (David Hasselhoff)

This song is all about feelings of attachment () and tenderness. Some might interpret the song as sappy.

Soul¶

Here is a piece that is brimming with ethics (mostly ), even if you disregard the heartfelt lyrics:

Love Ballad (performed by George Benson)

Benson modulates his voice and wails on the long high notes just like Steve Vai’s guitar wails in Tender Surrender (see “Rock” section). The focus is not on musical structure or “functionality,” but on the emotion-filled embellishments Benson adds to the music to convey strong feeling and passion.

Classical music¶

Bach’s fugues are an example of music with an overtly logical () focus.

Fugue in B-flat minor (performed by Stephen Ham)

Here, the focus is directed inwards, at the internal structure of the musical lines. With few exceptions, one note is produced per each unit of time (just like much of Fracture in the “Rock” section – see above). In addition, there is very little variation in volume or expression. This focuses the listener’s ear exclusively on the harmonic structure of the composition.

Here is a piece of music with a sensing () focus:

Morning (Edvard Grieg)

Somehow this music effectively evokes nature imagery, as it is intended to do (hence the name of the piece). The sound texture is soft and flowing, but – unlike that with a focus – sticks to rich major and minor chords that are most “comfortable” to the ear. In doing so, it avoids feelings of mystery and apprehension or anticipation, bringing instead gratification and satisfaction.

Here’s a piece that expresses the searching reflectiveness of

, combined with an expressive outlook of

Adagietto from Symphony #5 (Gustav Mahler)

Although the music often expresses intense calmness (like some Si or Fi examples), it always has searching, reflective quality, constantly finding different harmonic nuances at every turn, and dwelling on subtle dissonances and ambiguities, such as the fact that C&A don’t uniquely define F major without the F (i.e., could be part of A minor). The piece makes extensive use of extension in timing, pauses, etc., appearing to make time slow down, in a way to help induce a reflective state. The listener is drawn to the symbolic potential of the harmonic lines, such as hopefullness in a gradual resing in pitch, or distress when the melody suddenly sinks into lower notes.

Here’s a piece that appears to express an

focus:

Piano Concerto #1 (Franz Lizst - excerpt)

Note that the music is able to express a showy, powerful quality without necessarily always being loud. After the opening, the music appears to dwell primarily on Fi.

Here’s a piece that expresses

, but this time combined with a sense of external order characterized by

Polovetsian dances (Alexander Borodin)

Here, the Ni doesn’t seem mystical, but it’s still reflective. Some hint of Fi appears in the oboe solo. The faster, exciting portions suggest a reflection of Se.

Beethoven’s 7 as an example for fuller analysis¶

Many examples understandably focus on individual information aspects (sort of like paintings that are based on a given primary color). Naturally, just as paintings may feature a wide palette of colors, music can involve a much more complex interaction of information elements.

Here’s an example of a piece that seems to focus on achieving a sort of transcendent interaction of the information elements:

Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 (1st movement - Carlos Kleiber conducting)

(Sorry…though it’s important that the recording be with this conductor so as to show a comparison later on, unfortunately the poster cut off the ending in the most inopportune place and put it up separately, except that this starts several minutes before the place where the first part was cut off: :[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzHt-_i_FcE&mode=related&search=The rest of it])

Primary values

From the opening chords, there seems to be a clear emphasis of

(though it is possibly other than acc-

, given the highly ordered nature of the music). Nevertheless, immediately after the strong “attacks,” the music is much more peaceful and congenial. This may indicate an

combination. (An alternative view is that

is emphasized but as representing the “struggle” with a weak or even unfavored function, such as an emphasis on the vulnerable function, or an apparent

that’s actually there to emphasize the rational aspect (Fi/Te).)

The piece also appears to show a great deal of value on creating an environment of external order, strongly suggesting . Again, this does not appear to be acc- because of the impression that decision points come only through a process (even a struggle), rather than as a starting point. That would tend to indicate crea-, but the music has a more rational character than might usually be expected with crea-.

The more peaceful sections (e.g., with the woodwinds) seems to be forshadowing something. This may be seen as an indication of Ni values; over-all, the music tends to focus on long-term rather than short-term satisfaction.

The melody played by the winds is also indicative of . In fact, through the whole piece, there is an undercurrent of , but it is highly different from other examples displaying because of the very strong influence of .

Secondary values

Ti, Si, Ne, and Fe aren’t left out, however. There appears to be a strong concern for how the individual pieces are put together with perfect voice-leading (Ti); the excitement of the crescendi may seem Fe at times; the bucolic, folksy quality may suggest Si.

Ne appears to have a role in a sort of inverse way: The music seems to strive for such a perfectionist ideal that it suggests that many options were considered in order to find just the right ones. We know this is true of how Beethoven worked; however any evidence of different ways the music could have gone is excised from the final product, which is presented forcefully and authoritatively. The strong use of Ti and Ne, together with the comparatively stronger emphasis of Gamma-related information aspects as values, roughly suggests an overall outlook of ILI; however the information aspects are more balanced than in a usual case, with particularly strong emphasis on together with as a unit, and on Se.

Note, in particular, the sense of anticipation in the upward runs in the beginning; they suggest an / submissiveness to the external elements ( and ) that dominate the structure of the piece. Notice also how structure always seems to be projected outward, as if there is great value placed on being surrounded by order.

Same piece, different conductor

Although the main issue here is the information aspects expressed by the piece, the fact that so many information aspects play a prominent role allows different performance interpretations to affect how these are heard. To show how a piece may be interpreted in more than one way, here’s a recording that appears to completely transform the information aspects:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8eigkwmMEo&mode=related&search= (Same piece, but with Herbert Von Karajan)

Although sonically more polished, this recording seems to change the nature of the information aspects highlighted. Notice the subtle thing Von Karajan does with the upward runs: He makes the tempo slightly faster and has the strings play the runs with a very precise staccato. This tends to emphasize the Ti aspect of the piece. Similarly, the solos in the woodwinds are more outwardly expressive, suggesting a mild form of Fe. Also, notice how the precise, staccato repeated notes again seem to emphasize Ti/Se, whereas with other conductors the repeated “E” notes may suggest more of a hopeful anticipation of something to come.

As this unique recording demonstrates, different interpretations may shift information aspects. In this case, what appears Gamma in nature with some other conductors seems here more Beta, suggesting an LSI perspective.