Communication through musical symbols: a comparative study of selected piano pieces by Frédéric Chopin

𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 Communication is omnipresent and semiotic in nature. Within communication, a message is typically sent through a channel by means of a system of symbols, which is verbal and/or nonverbal in nature. Music is a communication channel, which can, unlike spoken language, communicate across language barriers. During the communicating of the message, the musical symbols within the music score function as a unit. For various reasons, publishers make modifications to music scores. This study aimed to investigate the impact that modifications have on the communicated message. Additionally, a more holistic understanding of communication phenomena within the context of music was obtained and the importance of selecting the appropriate edition demonstrated. This is achieved by analysing four nocturnes by the Romantic composer Frédéric Chopin to investigate meaning modifications within different editions of the same piano compositions. To achieve this, quantitative analyses were conducted to identify any modifications within the sample. This was followed by a qualitative semiotic analysis of each composition. There is shown in this study that the most frequent modifications are made to phrase markings, dynamic symbols, articulation symbols, and pedal markings. In addition, it was found that changes were made to some of the notes and/or rests used within certain compositions. These changes have an impact on the communicated message of each composition in the sense of changing the emotion and atmosphere, and hence the communicated message. The findings of this study highlight the importance of considering the implications of making changes to an original score and choosing the most appropriate edition for a performance. ___________________________________________________________________