15/9/2015 FrancoFabbri|ATheoryofMusicalGenresTwoApplications(1980)

ATHEORYOFMUSICALGENRES:
TWOAPPLICATIONS
FrancoFabbri
Thispaper,deliveredattheFirstInternationalConferenceonPopularMusicStudies(Amsterdam,
1980),wasoriginallyprintedinPopularMusicPerspectives(ed.D.HornandP.Tagg1981,Gteborg
andExeter:InternationalAssociationfortheStudyofPopularMusic,pp.5281).Pageturnsinthe
originalaremarkedbetweenbraces,e.g.{5253}astheboundarybetweenpages52and53.

ViewPDFversionofthistext
PleasenotethatFabbrihasfurtherexpandedtheideaspresentedbelowinhisbookIlsuonoincui
viviamo(1996,Milan:Feltrinelli)undertheheadingsChegeneredimusica?(pp.732)andIgeneri
musicalieilorometalinguaggi(pp.3341),aswellasinthepaperBrowsingmusicalspaces:categories
andthemusicalmind(1999).

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Structureofthisstudy
Thisstudyisdividedintothreeparts.Inthefirstpartadefinitionofmusicalgenreisstatedand
commentedon:fromthisbasisobservationsandexamplesaremadeaboutthetypesofrulesthat
contributetothedefinitionofagenreandonthewaysinwhichtheyareacceptedbyvarious
communities.Inthesecondpartananalysisismadeofthegenrescharacterizedbythecanzoneformin
Italytoday,inthewidermeaningintendedwithcanzone.Thissynchronicanalysisisaimedatexplaining
thestructureofasubstantialpartofthepresentItalianmusicalsystem,andatillustratingthepossible
distinguishinglinesbetweensimilargenresusuallyconfusedunderthecommonheadingoflightmusic.
Inthethirdpart,oneofthesegenres,thecanzonedautore,isanalysedinitscoursethroughtimethis
diachronicanalysisisaimedattheinvestigationofthewaysbywhichagenrebecomescodified,andits
possibletransformations.

1.1.Definition

Amusicalgenreisasetofmusicalevents(realorpossible)whosecourseisgovernedbyadefiniteset
ofsociallyacceptedrules.

Thenotionofset,bothforagenreandforitsdefiningapparatus,meansthatwecanspeakofsubsets
likesubgenres,andofalltheoperationsforeseenbythetheoryofsets:inparticularacertainmusical
eventmaybesituatedintheintersectionoftwoormoregenres,andthereforebelongtoeachoftheseat
thesametime.

Formusicalevent,thedefinitionofmusicgivenbytheItaliansemiologistStefanimaybeconsidered
valid:anytypeofactivityperformedaroundanytypeofeventinvolvingsound.Thisdefinitionis
controversial,butthatwhichhasmadeitsoisexactlywhatweneedinthiscase,thatisthefactthatitis,

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ifanything,toobroad.Thismeansthatthosewhoarenotinagreementcanrefertoasetofrulesthat
defineamorerestrictedset,buttheycannotpreventacommunity,smallanddiscreditedthoughitmay
be,fromconsideringamusicaleventthatwhichthey,theobjectors,donotconsidermusicatall.

Excessivebroadnessisadefectalsoofmyowndefinitionofgenre:itallowsme{5253}tocallgenre
anysetofgenres,andthereforesomewhichusuallygounderothernames:musicalsystems,ethnic
music,eventerrestrialmusic(aunionofallthetypesofmusicalproductionandconsumptiononthis
planet)orgalactic.

TheonlysolutionIhavefoundtothisproblemistodecideeachtimewhetheracertainsetofmusical
eventsisbeingconsideredinrelationtootheropposingsetsinwhichcaseIwillcallitagenreorin
relationtoitssubsetsinwhichcaseIwillcallitasystem.Inanycasethisdefectispreferabletothe
oppositerisk,thatis,notrecognizingasagenresomethingwhichisconsideredassuchbymillionsof
people.

Referencetotherealityorpossibilityofmusicaleventsmayappearredundanttoo:itdoesnotreferonly
tothepeculiarcharacteristicofagenretocollectexistantworksandatthesametimeinvitethe
composingoffutureworks,but,forexample,tothequestionofwhetherascoreisarealoravirtual
workaquestionwhichIbelieveimplicit,withtheanswertoit,inthechosendefinitionofamusical
event.Thisreference,however,shouldhelptoavoidanyforcingwhichcouldderivefromamechanical
applicationofthetheoryofsets:theemptygenre,correspondingtotheemptyset.

Accordingtothedefinition,asimilargenrewouldimplythatagivencommunityhadagreedonacertain
setofrulesrelativetothecourseofmusicalevents(realorpossible),andthattheseeventsdidnotexist:
whichisnotonlyaparadoxfromalogicalpointofview,butmostlyfromasociologicalone(andfrom
manyothers).Thesituationnearesttothiswouldbetheproclamationofamanifesto,ofanaesthetic
programme:inthiscase,ofcourse,thegenreisnotempty,butatleastconsistsofthepossiblemusical
eventsthatcanbemadeaccordingtotherulesofthatprogramme.Thereforetheemptygenrecanbe
reducedtoaroleofpurelytopologicalabstractioninordertoguaranteethecarryingoutofoperations
withsets,withoutitsrealitybeingquestioned.

ThenotionofcourseisalsoconnectedwithStefanisdefinitionandwiththeconceptionofactivity
containedinit,butthisisofsecondaryimportance.

Thecodifiedcharacterofgenericrulesisassociatedwiththeregulationoftherelationbetweenthelevels
ofexpressionandofcontent.

Now,duetotheparticularaspectassumedinmusicbyeverysemanticquestion,andtothenatureof
performanceofthisart,and,asacombinedconsequenceofthesetwofactors,duetotheimportance
assumedwithregardtothisbythecontext,thecircumstancesandtherelationsbetweentheparticipants
inamusicalevent,itisimpossibletotrytopickoutonepoint,onemomentinwhichoronwhichgeneric
rulesperformtheirregulatingtask.Thedefinitionmustthereforecontainamultifunctionalterm
applicable,accordingtorulesandgenres,bothtotheformalchoicesofanineteenthcenturycomposer
andtothereactionsofrock{5354}concertfans,andinthesamewaytotheacousticsofajazzclubas
tothethanksgivingceremonyofacontemporarycomposerafterafirstperformance:courseseemedto
meanidealtermtheruleswillthendefinethesenseinwhichithastobeintended.

Thefactthatthesetofrulesbedefiniteseemedtomesufficienttonumberamongstgenresnonwritten
poeticsandaboveallgenresbasedonoraltradition,andnecessaryinordertoavoidaninfinite
multiplicationofvariants.

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Ihavenotimposedlimitsonthecommunitywhoseagreementformsthebasisforthedefinitionofa
genre:itsextensionisnotaproblem(thedecisiontostudyVerdismelodramaorpoliticalsongsofthe
1972studentmovementinMilanStateUniversitywilldependonindividualinterests)neitherisits
composition.Agenrewhichamalgamatescomplicatedrelationsbetweencomposers,performers,
audience,criticsandorganizers,eachwiththeirownparticularrules,maybenomoreworthyofattention
andanalysisthanagenrebasedonanarbitraryagreementbetweentwelvejournalistsandarecord
producer,whoallincludeinitmusicaleventsapparentlyheterogeneousaccordingtoobscure
idiosyncraticrules.

Awordaboutthewaythissocialacceptanceworks,thereforeabouttheprinciplesofcodification:thisis
obviouslytheheartofthediachronicdevelopmentofgenres,theircollocationinsystemswherethe
singlegenreschangetheirfunctionaccordingtothetimes,andwithinthemthemusicalevents.This
aspectwillbedealtwithfurtheron,andexemplifiedinthelastpartofthisstudy.BeforethisIthinkthata
surveyofthevarioustypesofruleswhichcombinetoformthedefinitionofagenreisnecessary.

1.2.Typesofgenericrules

Imustpointoutthatthefollowinglist,howeverhopefullycomplete,cannotpossiblygiveallthetypesof
rulethatcanbeinvolvedinthedefinitionofagenre.Ihavenottriedtoconstructcategoriesoutside
history,buttolookforthosewhichseemtobeeffectivelyoperatingtoday:thisisnotanattemptto
resolvetheproblemofanalysisofgenresonceandforall,buttoindicateitscomplexity.Whatshould
emergefromthispanoramaisthenecessityforaninterdisciplinaryapproach,sothateverycustom,
musicalornot,amongstthoseformingagenre,isexaminedwiththemostappropriatetheoreticaltools.

Thiswouldnotpreventamusicalsystemorapartofitfrombeinganalysed,onceaseeminglyrelevant
groupofruleshasbeenfound,onlyinthelightoftheserules.

Asystemsoexaminedwouldappearlikeamatrixwithrowsofrulesandcolumnsofgenres,inwhich
eachsingleelementaijwouldindicatethevalueoftheruleiforthegenrej.Obviouslyasimilarmatrix
wouldonlybeusedtojogtheresearchersmemory.{5455}

Nospecifichierarchicalorderisgiventotherulespresentedhere.Ontheotherhand,inthedescriptionof
eachsinglegenresomerulesaremoreimportant,andafewmuchmoreimportantthanothers,tothe
pointwheretheseotherscansometimesbeconsideredmarginalandignored.Inthiscasetheexistence
couldalsobeclaimedofasortofhyperrulewhichestablishesthishierarchytothishyperrulewecan
easilyattributethenameofideologyofthatgenre.Othercaseswillinvolvethedifferenceinthe
strengthofcodification.

1.2.1.Formalandtechnicalrules

Thereflectionsjustmadeontheideologyofagenreandthehierarchyformedbythiscanbesurely
appliedtotheformalandtechnicalrules.Inmostmusicologicalliteraturewhichhastackledtheproblem
ofgenres,frompositiviststoveryrecentexamples,theformalandtechnicalrulesseemtobetheonly
onestakenintoconsideration,tothepointwheregenre,styleandformbecomesynonymous.Withallthis
scientificconfusiononecannotexpectcommonsensetobemorepreciseandinfactthesetermsare
easilyinterchangedindailyuse.Itmustbesaid,however,thatarecordbuyingadolescentoftodayhas
clearerideasonmusicalgenresthanthemajorityofmusicologistswhohavemadesuchafussabout
them.

Undoubtedlyeachgenrehasitstypicalforms,eveniftheoppositeisnottrue,i.e.thataformisnot
sufficienttodefineagenre.Itisalsowellestablishedthatstylesofgenreexist:butthepracticeof

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stylisticquotationhasbecomesofamiliarthatnooneiswillingtoacceptastyleofgenreasanidentity
documentanylonger.

Inanycasetheformalandtechnicalrules,onacompositionallevel,playamajorroleinallmusical
genres,notonlyinthesocalledcultivatedones.Thereareruleswhichhaveawrittencode,in
theoreticaltreatisesorteachingmanuals,andothers,nolessimportant,whicharepassedonbyoral
traditionorthroughmodelworks.Thisisalsovalidforthoseruleswhichrefertoperformance
techniques,toinstrumentalcharacteristics,toamusiciansability.Thetrumpetplayerinaclassical
orchestraandtheoneinabigbandarecertainlyonthesamelevelfromthepointofviewofsightreading
andmemory,butfromthatofembouchure,extensionandimprovisationtheyarenotinagreementand
theinterpretationofarhythmicalpatternofdottedquaversandsemiquaverswillfindthemin
disagreement.TheguitaristsinapunkgroupandAndresSegoviahavedifferentideasontheconceptof
tuningandmemory,nottomentionalltheotheraspects.Thebanalityitselfoftheseexamplesshowshow
wellrootedtherulesofgenresareinourmusicalculture.But,toreturntothelevelofcompositional
structure,onecannothelpbutnoticethenumberofconventionsomitted,thecodesgoverningthese
aspectsofmusicinsuchawellrootedwayastoappearbanal,butwhichdoshowtheirimportance{55
56}whencomparedtoothermusicalculturesorwhentheyarequestionedbyhistoricaldevelopment,or
also,asinthiscase,whenonetriestofindtheirnuances.

Thisisthecaseofthechoicebetweenmusicalsoundsandnoise,ofnotesystems,oftheconceptionof
musicaltime,oftheimportancetobegiventovariouselements(melodic,harmonic,rhythmic),ofthe
levelofcomplexitythatanentiremusicalsystem,orasinglegenreispreparedtoadmit.Thereisa
commonelementtotheseaspectsanditisthateveryinstantofaneventinvolvingsoundcontainsan
enormousquantityofinformationcomparedtothatwhichitishumanlypossibletomanage.Themusical
codesreducethisquantityshowingwhatissignificantandwhatisnot,whatisworthrelatingtoother
factsandwhatshouldbeconsideredbackgroundnoise(asinthedefinitionofsilence).Thetypicalunease
ofthosefacinganunknownmusicalgenreorsystemforthefirsttimeconsistsinthefactthattheydont
knowwhattolistentotheharmdonetonewmusicbybadinterpretationcanbetracedtothisroot.
Whenfacingmusicalgenrescharacterizedbytheexistenceofatext,theformalandtechnicalrules
referringtoitshouldalsobetakenintoconsideration.Theuseofsyntax,metre,thelexicalchoicesall
contributetotheidentificationofamusicalgenrenolessthantheyindividualizethestyleofasingle
author.Moregenerally,theconceptionoftherelationshiptextmusicandtheformalsolutionsusedto
broachthesubject,andthesubjectsideologyitself,varyenormouslyfromgenretogenre.

1.2.2.Semioticrules

Ofcoursealltherulesofgenrearesemiotic,sincetheyarecodeswhichcreatearelationbetweenthe
expressionofamusicaleventanditscontent.Butinthecontextofruleclassificationitseemedtome
moreusefultocallbythisnamethosenearertothetraditionalfieldsofresearchinthissubjectorsomeof
itsbranches.SinceIhavejustcitedthecaseofmusicalgenreswithatext,itshouldbeaddedthatnot
onlycanamusicaltextbestudiedfromthepointofviewofnarrativestrategy,astheobjectoftextual
semiotics,andwithreferencetothevalueofthepossibleworldscreatedbyanarrativetypeoftext,but
thatverycircumstantiatedrulesofgenreonthissubjectexisteveniftheyarenotwritten.

Thenarrativityitselfisinquestioninsomegenresbothinthetextand,inparticular,inthemusic.The
factthatinthislastfield,researchonattentioncontrolandonrhetoricaldevicesisnotyetwelldeveloped
doesnotalterthefactthatcertaindifferencesintheconceptofmusicaldevelopmentbetweendifferent
erasandgenresappearobvious.andwellcoded.

ThentherearethoserulesreferringtothecommunicativefunctionspointedoutbyRomanJakobsonin
hislinguisticstudies:referential,emotional,imperative,phatic,metalinguistic,poetic.Jakobsonholds
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thattheyareallmoreorlesspresent{5657}simultaneouslyineverymessage,butthatonedominates
theothers.Therulesofgenredeterminethisdominance:amusicwhichismainlyphaticisbackground
music(aninterestingcasewhereagenremayincludeworksoriginallyintendedforotheruses).
Attentiontotheaestheticpoeticfactor,indifferentdegreesandwithdifferentintentions,distinguishes
artmusicfromtheothers,asitdistinguishesprogressiverockfromhardrock,thechansondautore
frompopsong.Themetalinguisticfunctionisasfundamentalindefiningtheavantgarde(who
makenodistinctionbetweenspeakingofmusicalsoinmusicandmakingmusic)asisthe
imperativefunctionwhichpredominatesindancemusicandtheemotiveoneinfilmmusicand
advertisingjingles.

Thesearerulesofgenre,ofcourse:thereisanonwrittenagreement,forexample,onthepermissible
levelofemotionalexcitementwhichcanbeinducedbycontemporarymusicabovewhichthemusic
becomespamperorneoromantic.

Thesemioticrulesdonotnecessarilyrefertothemusicaltext(ortheverbaloneconnectedtothemusic)
inastrictsense:thechosendefinitionofmusicaleventwithitswiderangeinvitesconsiderationof
parallelcodesreferringtothecontextinvolved.Thelatterisalsoacaseofprosemicruleswhichreferto
thespacingoftheparticipantsinamusicalevent.Eachgenrehasitsownspacesetoutinaparticular
way,andthiswouldnotbeworthmentioningifthischaracteristicdidnotcontributetothedefinitionof
themeaningofamusicalevent.Therelationshipbetweenthespace,thecommunityoccupyingit,the
intensityofsoundandthesyntheticforceofthemusic,treatedbythemodernpressinreferencetobig
rockfestivals,wereearlierdealtwithbyPaulBekkerinhisstudyofsymphoniesandbyAdornoinhis
essayontheuseofmusicinradio.Thedistancebetweenmusiciansandaudience,betweenspectatorand
spectator,theoveralldimensionsoftheeventareoftenfundamentalelementstothedefinitionofagenre,
andoftenguidetheparticipants,intherightorwrongwayindeterminingwhattheyshouldexpectabout
otherrulesofgenreoftenhowyouareseatedsaysmoreaboutthemusicthatwillbeperformedthana
posterdoes.

Codescloselyparalleltomusicalonesare,forexample,gesturalmimiccodes:notonlytheobviousones
stronglycodedbyvariousdanceforms,butalsothosereferringtotheposturesandmovementsof
singers,instrumentplayers,conductors,thelistenersandeventhecritics.Rulesregardingdressarealso
similarintheirprincipaleffectwhichconsistsofreassuranceabouttheidentityofthemusicaleventin
actandinthechoiceofothercodes.

Butwithfashionwearemovingfromtheconfinesoftheusualsemioticfieldtothoseofthesciencesof
behaviourandsociology.{5758}

12.3.Behaviourrules

Methodsofapproachtothistypeofrulevaryenormously,fromthoseofthevariouspsychologyschools
tothoseofsocalledmicrosociology:butitisbeyonddoubtthatmanyofthestudiesofthistypemade
inthemusicalfieldhavefoundregularities,evenwhentheywerenotlookingforthem,withinthesame
genre.Manyofthesestudiesareaimedatthepsychologyofmusicians,inparticularconcertperformers,
orchestralmusiciansorsessionmen,whosereactionswhenfacedwithanaudienceoranunknownscore
wereanalyzed.However,theaudiencealsohaspsychologicalandbehaviouralreactionscodifiedfrom
genretogenre.Wewillseeforexamplehowtheperformerssincerityisvalueddifferentlyaccordingto
genres.

Itiswellknowntothosefamiliarwithmorethanonegenrethateachgenreischaracterisedbyrulesof
conversation,smallerandlargerritualswhichmorethananyotherrulehelptomakeanexclusivecircle
ofagenreandtoquicklyshowupanyintruderwhoisnotwellinformed.
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1.2.4.Socialandideologicalrules

Everygenreisdefinedbyacommunityofvaryingstructurewhichacceptstherulesandwhosemembers
participateinvariousformsduringthecourseofamusicalevent.Distinguishingbetweengenres
accordingtotheirsocialfunctions,theirinternalsocialstructure,ortheirclasses,groupsorgenerations
thatpreferthemisnotthetaskofthissectionofmypaper:itiswellknownthatthishasbeenthe
favouredaimofgenrestudysincethefirstsociologicalstudiesofmusicweremade.

Buttherearecasesinwhichthissociologicalinformationbecomesapartofthesetofrulesforagenre:it
isbynomeansunusualforsociologicalanalysistobeanticipatedbythepreciseawareness,onthepartof
participantsinamusicalevent,ofthesocialmeaningandstructureofthatinwhichtheyareparticipating.
Forexample,thedivisionoflabourtypicaltoagenreisalsoarule,andagain,thelinkbetweenagenre
andcertainagegroupsorsocialclassescanbecomearule,eventothepointwheresingleindividualscan
denytheirgrouporclassbytheadoptionofacertaingenre.

Similarthingscanbesaidaboutideologicalrulesasaboutsocialrules.But,bearinginmindwhatwesaid
aboutthesocalledhyperruleswhichcreatehierarchiesamongtheotherrules,itseemsmoreinteresting
tobringideologybacktoitsoriginalmeaningoffalseconscience,ratherthanlimitourselvestothe
observationofthepoliticalorideologicalconnotationsofthisorthatgenre.

Inthissenseitshouldbenotedthatknowledgeoftherulesofagenrebyoneofitsparticipantsisalmost
alwaysofanideologicalnature,andthis,amongstother{5859}things,hasstoppedmanymilitantcritics
(oftenmilitantinonegenreonly)fromcarryingoutascientificstudyofmusicalsystemsandtheirgenres
withoutprejudice.Ideologycannotonlygivemoreimportancetocertainrulescomparedtoothers,but
canactuallyconcealsome,whenthesearefoundtobeincontrastwithothersconsideredmorenoble.
Howeveritshouldbestressedoncemorethatahierarchyofrulesneednotnecessarilybeofan
ideologicalnature,norneeditdependonthecodifyingforceofeachrule(Iadmitthatthiscanbe
consideredakindofscientificideology).

1.2.5.Economicalandjuridicalrules

Amongsttherulesofgenre,thesehoweverreadilyavailableforcriticalanalysis,arethosemostoften
subjecttoideologicalconcealment.Onedoesnotexpectamusicianoralistenerofagivengenretoletus
knowtheeconomicalandjuridicalbackgroundthatguaranteethesurvivalandprosperityofthatgenre
onedoesexpectthisfromanavidcriticofthatgenre.Thisisaveryrepresentativeexampleofthe
differencebetweenideologicalhierarchiesandhierarchiesformedduetotheforceofcodification:these
rules,thestrengthandimportanceofwhichhasactuallybeentransformedintostatelaws,canbe
concealedbehindtheartistsindependenceortheangerofageneration.

Naturallytheoppositecanalsohappen:thisisthecaseofcertainpseudosociologicalorpseudopolitical
studiesinwhichtheimportanceoftheeconomicalstructureisblownupoutofproportionandtheother
elementsaredeclaredaccessory,notonthebasisofascientificanalysisbutmerelysothattheycannot
influencetheconclusionsalreadydrawn.

1.3.Themusicalcommunity
Amusicaleventcaninvolvevariouslystructuredcommunities.Thankstothetypeofdefinitionwehave
acceptedhereforgenreandmusicalevent,thecommunityinvolveddoesnotnecessarilycoincidewith
thatphysicallypresentatthemomentinwhichthesoundsmaybeheard.Thismaybebanal,butit
indicatesclearlythatastudyofgenrescannotcoincidewithasociologyofmusicalconsumption(with
whichthepressoftenconfusesit)evenifthiscanbeincluded.Proofofthiscanbeseeninthefactthata

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genre,inordertobecalledsuch,doesnotnecessarilyhavetohavewhatisnormallymeantbytheterm
audience.Thislaststatementistothepoint.Thestructureofamusicalcommunityistypicalofagenre,
tothepointwhereitoftenbecomespartofitsrangeofrules(aswehaveseenin1.2.4.,above).Butwe
mustkeepinmindthehistoricityofthecategoriesthroughwhichwecananalysethisstructureand,more
importantly,ofthosewhichbecomepartoftherulesofgenre.{5960}

Commonnotionsofcomposer,player,manager,listener,criticandsoonaretooobviouslyconnected
withadefiniteperiodandculture:wecanusethesetostudyvariousphenomenatakingplaceoutsidethat
area,butonlyforconvenience,specifyingtheconditionsinwhichtheyareused.Itisnotnecessaryto
delvetoofarback,findingreferencesinancienthistoryorethnomusicology,inordertogiveexamplesof
theinadequacyofthecategoriesjustmentioned.Itisenoughtoseehowmanydistinctionsareneededin
ordertousethesamecategoryofperformerorplayerforArthurRubinsteinandforKeithEmerson,or
forthetwotrumpetplayersmentionedearlier(see.1.2.1.).Thebestsolutiontothisproblemseemstome
tobealwaystoreferaspreciselyaspossibletotheroleplayedbyeachsingleparticipantinamusical
event,evenifthismakesforsomeexcessivepedantry.

Apartfromthefunctionsattachedtothevarioustaskswithinagenre,therearethecharacteristic
functionsofthedifferentgenresthatformamusicalsystem.Withwhatpurposedomusicalcommunities
form?Arethereconnectionsofanykindbetweenthesecommunitiesandtheothersintowhichsocietyis
dividedforotherpurposesoronthebasisofotheranalyticalcriteria?Itseemsobvioustomethatthe
sociologyofmusiccannotanswertheseclassicalquestionsifitdoesnottakeintoconsiderationallthe
componentswhichgotoformthedefinitionofagenre,refusingthecontrastbetweentheinstrumentsof
analysisbasedonresearchandthoseofanhermeneuticnature.Ibelievethatonemustrecognizethe
validityofdifferentapproachesinvariousfieldsofresearch.Itisawellknownfactthatbigdifferences
insocialfunctionsandintheparticipationofvarioussocialclassesandstratacanbefoundevenbetween
genresthatthefirstsociologicalstudieswouldhavelumpedtogetherunderasingleheading.The
contributionofferedbythevariousmethodsofanalysistotheseresultsisindistinguishable.

Thethingthathascausedmostdamagetosociologicalstudiesisthatkindofsociologismwhich
attributesthesameawarenesstotheobjectofanalysisastothatoftheanalyst.Accordingtothispointof
view,classes,groupsandgenerationswouldalwaysbeconsciousoftheirpreciseroleinmusicalreality,
anawarenessonewouldhardlyattributetotheminotherfields.However,thisisariskinthisstudytoo,
notleastinthenotionofmusicalcommunityonwhichitisbased.Inwhatwayaretherulesofgenre
codified?Howawareisthemusicalcommunityofthiscodification?Isthisawarenessonthesamelevel
forallthemembersofthecommunity?Letusclearupthesequestionsstraightaway.

1.3.1.Theconditionsofcodification

Anewgenreisnotborninanemptyspacebutinamusicalsystemthatisalreadystructured.Thereforea
considerablepartoftherulesthatdefineitarecommontoothergenresalreadyexistingwithinthe
system,thosethatindividualizethenewgenrebeingrelativelyfew.Inthiscontextitisunderstandable
thatthecharacteristicgroupofrulesisformedthroughthecodificationofthosewhichinthebeginning
areonlytransgressionstotherulesofothergenres.

Thenatureofthesetransgressionscanbeextremelyvariedaccordingtotherulesinquestionand,
consequentlyaccordingtotheirintentionality:theygofromtheapplicationofnewtechniques,made
possiblebytechnologicaldevelopment,totheproclamationofanaestheticprogramme(thatisthe
transgressioncontainingitscodification)passingthroughnumerousintermediarypoints.

Theimportantthingisthat,almostalwaysfollowingthesuccessofasinglemusicalevent,these
innovationsareusedasamodelandbecomearule.Butonemustnotfallintothetrapofthinkingthatthe
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codificationofagenreconsistssimplyintheconfirmationofasuccess.Accordingtothisinterpretation
transgressionstounbreakablerulesaremadefirstandtheresultthenputinasortofblackboxhowit
worksnooneknowsandifthisboxindicatessuccessthenthetransgressionsarecodified.

Amorereliableexampleisthatsomerulesofgenrebegintobeconsideredoutdatedbysomemembersof
themusicalcommunityinspiteofthefactthattheyarestillrespected.Thusanexpectationiscreated
whichrepresents,albeitstillinavagueway,thenewrules.Successisonlythecodificationofthese
rules,throughtheexamplethathasbeengivenandbythecommunitythatdecreesit.Astheclichsays,
then,successwhichhasnothingtodowithaestheticvalueconsistsintheanswertoexpectations.
Sometimestheseexpectationscoincidewithrulesalreadycodified,atotherswiththedesirefornew
codifications.Thatwhichismysterious,orbetterstill,thatwhichisworthstudying,isnotsuccessbutits
opposite:thereasonwhymusicaleventswithallthecharacteristicsforworkingwell(satisfyingtherules
ofgenre)meetonlywithfailure.Inotherwordswhydorulesdeteriorate?

1.3.2.Awarenessofcodification

Analyticalcompetenceinacodeisnotessentialtoitsuse:wealllearntospeakbeforewearetaughtthe
rulesofsyntax,grammar,rhetoricandsemantics.Thesamecanobviouslybesaidforthecodeofagenre.
Inthecaseofcodeslikethelinguisticone,experiencetellsusthatanalyticalcompetenceisan
improvement,awayofpenetratingfurthertheinfinitevarietyofmessagespossibleinthatcode.Butthe
samecannotbesaidofalltherulesofgenre.Therearemusicalcodeswhich,evenmorethanlinguistic
ones,offersuchavarietyofcombinationsthatthelifeofamanisnotsufficienttoachievetheircomplete
analyticalcomprehension.Butthereareothercodeswhichhaveextremelylimitedpossibilitiesof
combination,tothepointwherenotonlyanalyticalcompetence,buteventheknowledgeofallthe{61
62}possiblemessagesiseasilyacquiredinarelativelyshorttime.Thereappearstobeathreshold
dividingrichcodesfrompoorones.Ononesideofthisthreshold,analyticalcompetence,toquotea
muchusedterm,allowsthereductionofexcessiveinformationandthereforeincreasestheinterestinthe
messagesontheothersideanalyticalcompetencemakesallmessagespredictableandthereforeoflittle
interest.

Thedeteriorationofrulesofgenrecanbeinterpretedasbeingtiedupwiththeanalyticalcomprehension
ofpoorcodes.Assoonasalargepartofthemusicalcommunitycanforeseemoreorlessthatwhich,
untilashorttimebefore,wastheobjectofdirectional(orientated)butnotanalyticalexpectation,the
musicaleventwhichfulfilsthatexpectationlosesinterestandsomethingisrequiredtocontradictit.

Afactwhichcanbelinkedwiththisinterpretationisthefollowing:themoreagenreisfoundedona
groupofcomplexrules,themorerichcodesitwillcontainandthelongeritsruleswilllast.The
oppositeisthenvalidforthosegenresorsystemsconsistingmainlyofpoorcodes:thechangeofrules
ismuchmorenoticeable.

However,thisfact,thoughfamiliartoallobserversofchangesinmusicalfashioninthecapitalistWest,
isnotgeneralizedtootherculturesorhistoricalperiods.Thephenomenoniscomprehensiblewhenwe
considerthatwhatwehavedefinedassuccess,orbetterstilltheoppositioninterest/disinterest,isa
culturalunitywhichformspartofthemotivationofmusicalactivityinsomecommunitiesbutnotin
othersi.e.thoseforwhichthecommunicativeaspectisofsupremeimportance,notthoseforwhich
musicisaritual(forexample).Thisisademonstrationofthefactthatsomerulesofgenre(forthisis
whattheyare)conditionnotonlytheuseofotherrulesbutalsotheirprocessofcodificationandthe
influenceofanalyticAlcompetenceonthis.Thelevelofinterdependencebetweenallthesefactorsis
increasedbythefactthatthelevelofcompetenceofgenrerulesisnotalwaysthesameatthesametime
forallthemembersofamusicalcommunity.

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1.3.3.Thevariouscompetences

AshasbeenseensincethefamousanalysisbyAdorno,codalcompetencevariesnotonlyfromonegenre
toanother,butalsowithinonesinglecomponenttheaudienceofagivengenre.Itisobviousthat
competencevariesforcomponentssuchascomposers,players,critics,organizersandsoon.The
problemishowtofittogetherthesedifferencesinthelightofwhathasbeensaiduptonow.

Themostobviouspointisthattheideologyofgenreisthefeaturewhichvariesmostfromone
componenttoanother.Therewillthereforeberulesconsideredmoreimportantbyonecomponentand
lesssobyanother.Butthereferenceto{6263}ideologycannotbeseparatedfromtheopposition
betweenusecompetenceandanalyticalcompetence.Inotherwords,usecompetencecanassumean
ideologicalcharacterwhenthecodetowhichitrefersisdeniedassuch(asaconvention)andispresented
asanaturalfact.Ontheotherhanditseemsplausiblethattheoppositionexistingbetweenuse
competenceandanalyticalcompetenceamongvariouscomponentsofthemusicalcommunitycanbe
tracedtotheindividualfunctionofthesecomponentsalsofromanon4deologicalpointofview.The
mainconsequenceofthisdifferenceisthepossibilityofanaberrantdecoding,thatistheuseofdifferent
codesfromthoseoftheemitter.Ratherthanascientificmisadventure,thisseemstobeamongthe
principalcausesofhistoricalmovementandoftherichnessofmusicallife.

Letussupposethatanewmusicaleventisbroughttothepublicattention.Onepartofthemusical
community,letssaythecritics,can,thankstotheiranalyticalcompetenceofcodes,consideritan
admissiblevariantofagenrealreadyknown.Butanotherpart,letssaytheaudience,canconsidera
particularcombinationofrulestowhichtheeventconformssounusuallyastobesignificantlyagainst
thewellestablishedideology,sothatthecreationofanewgenreisconsiderednecessary.Ontheother
hand,thecriticsmaynotrecognize,becauseofideologicaldeformation,theregularelementswhichlink
aneweventtoagenrealreadyinexistence.Ifweextendtheseexamplestoallthepossiblerelationships
withinamusicalcommunity,weseethatthelifeofgenreshaslittleornothingincommonwitha
Teutonicrespectforrulesandregulations,butratherthatitisfuelledbyrelationshipsbetweenvarious
laws,bytransgressionsagainstthemandaboveallbyambiguities.

2.ThesystemofcanzoneinItalytoday
Theuseofthetermcanzoneimpliesthedefinitionofasetofrules.Todothishoweverwedonotneedto
quotealltherulesonebyone.Thetheoryofsetspermitssomeoperationswhichabbreviatethis
otherwiselengthyprocess,ontheconditionthatwetakeasalreadydefinedsomeparticularsets.Thisis
whatnormallyhappensforanyculturalunity,inordertoavoidinfiniteregression.Thefollowing
definitionexemplifiesthispossibility.

2.1.Thecanzone
Acanzoneisamusicaleventofshortduration(anaverageof34minutes)withlyrics.Thesystemof
canzoneacceptssoundselection,notationalandstructuralconventionsofthesystemofEuropeanwritten
tradition,includingthosevariationswhicharederivedfromcontaminationwithAfroAmerican,Latin
AmericanandEuropeanfolkmusic.Withinthissystem,theprincipalcharacteristicsofwhichwe{63
64}willtakeasread,thecanzonecanbeconsideredashortstrophiccomposition(intendingthistermin
thewidersenseofarepetitionofsimilarparts)consistingofamelodywhichishighlyinfluencedbythe
rhythmicscansionofthespokenlanguage,usuallyaccompanied.Themelodic,harmonic,rhythmicand
timbriccharacterofthecanzonecanvaryfreelywithinthedescribedsystem(withdifferencesfromgenre
togenre)butwiththeexclusionofpolyphonyandofthetechniquesofthesocalledNewMusicofthe
postwarperiod.Formalandtechnicalrulesalonearenotsufficienttoisolatethesubsystemofcanzone.
Itisobviousthatwhathasbeensaiduptonowcanalsobeappliedtosomeformsandgenresof
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cultivatedmusicwithintheconsideredmusicalsystemwhichnoonewoulddreamoflistingascanzoni,
whilstatthesametimerecognizingthehistoricalandculturalrelationshipthatexists,forexample,
betweencanzoneandaria,romanzaandLied.Thepurposeofthisstudyisnotthatoflistingalltherules
onthebasisofwhichcultivatedmusicalsystemmaybedistinguishedfromthatofpopular,lightormass
music(adistinctionwhichcanbetakenasread,here,orastheobjectofspecificresearch).Ibelievewe
canacceptadefinitionwhichlimitsthesetofformalandtechnicalrulesmentionedtothesphereof
popularmusic.Theoperationisscientificallycorrectandthisistheimportantpointhere:aswehaveseen
itisnotnecessarytogiveacompletelistofthecanzonesubsystemrules,buttoshow1)thatadefinition
ofcanzoneusingthetheoretictermsseenuptonowispossibleand2)thatsomecautionisnecessary.
ProofofthislastpointcanbeseeninthefactthatwhilstinItalianthetermcanzone,apartfromvocalor
instrumentalformsoftheRenaissanceperiod,iswithoutdoubtlimitedtotheareaofpopularmusic,the
samecannotbesaidofitsequivalentinotherlanguages.ThefactthatLiedisnottranslatableascanzone
withoutaseriesofexplanations,provesthatItaliansandGermanswishingtodiscusssongsmustwork
fromareasonablypedanticdefinitionsuchastheonegiven.However,IthinkthattheEnglishwordsong
canbeusedfromnowonwheneveritisintendedinaformalsense,usingtheItaliancanzonewhen
referringtothesystemortothegenrecanzonedautoreonly.

2.2.Thegenresofcanzone
Thefollowingprincipalgenresbasedontheformcanzone(song)arepresentintheItalianmusical
systemtoday:thetraditionalsong,thepopsong,thesophisticatedsong,thecanzonedautore,the
politicalsong,therocksong,thechildrenssong.

Thisdoesnotexcludetheexistenceofothergenres,whicharehoweverconsideredsubgenresofthose
listed.Thecaseofmusicaleventswhichareattributedtomorethanonegenreatthesametimeisalso
frequent:canzonedautoreandrocksong,canzonedautoreandpoliticalsong,andsoon.{6465}

Thedifferencesbetweenonegenreandanotherwillbeanalysedherewithreferencetothetypesof
genericruleslistedinthefirstpartofthisstudy.

2.2.1.Formalandtechnicalrules

Fromthepointofviewoftheoverallformalstructure,onlytraditionalsongobeysarulewhichgoverns
theuseofaparticularformderivedfromtheromanza.Theothergenreshavenospecificforms.
However,formisinfluencedbytechnicalruleswhichtouchonotherstructuralrules,andwhichare
linkedtosemioticrules:thesearerulespertainingtothelevelofstructuralcomplexityofthesingle
genres.Theyrangefrommaximumsimplicityrecognizablefromthenumberandregularitywithwhich
thesingleelementsarerepeatedforthepopsongorchildrenssong,tomaximumcomplexityforthe
sophisticatedsong.Onemustbearinmind,however,thatthesamecriteriaarenotalwaysvalidforthe
lyrics:inthiscasethecanzonedautoreisatthehighestlevelofcomplexity,withregardtorichnessof
vocabulary,rhetoricandsyntax.Bothinthemusicandinthelyricsthedifferentlevelsofcomplexityare
expressedinthesyntax,intendedinthewidersenseofrelationshipbetweenparts.Pop,rockand
childrenssongsareparatactic,traditionalandsophisticatedsongsaresyntactic,whilstthepoliticalsong
andthecanzonedautorearesyntacticwithregardtothelyricsbutnotnecessarilytothemusic.

Fromthemelodicandharmonicpointofview,themodelfortraditionalsongisPuccini,whilstallthe
stylisticvariationswhichemergedafterthefiftiescanbeexcluded.Inthissensethetraditionalsong,if
onlyfromamusicalpointofview,isconservativeandnationalistic.Ontheotherhandthesophisticated
songiscosmopolitanandadoptsasitsownthemostfashionablemusicalstyleseveniftheybelongto
othergenres,asdoesthepopsong.Comparedtothepopsong,however,thesophisticatedsongis
decidedlyricher,especiallyfromaharmonicpointofview.Thechildrenssongandtherocksongin
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theirchoiceofmusicalmaterialsrespecttheirinternationalrulesofgenre:inthefirstcaseusingthe
elementarytonalfunctionswithmelodiesbasedonarpeggiosandfragmentsofthemajorscale,andinthe
secondusingblocksofchordstogetherwithmodalmelodieswithaclearbluesinfluence.Itmustbesaid
thattheseformalrulesreferringtotherocksong,vagueinthemselves,arealsoweakwhencomparedto
thefairlyrigidrulesofthetraditionalsong.Inotherwordstherockgenrecanusesongswhichrespect
theformalpatternoftraditionalsongbutnotviceversa.Thesameformaltoleranceunderthemelodic
harmonicprofileappliestothecanzonedautoreandtothepoliticalsong.Inboththesecaseswecan
speaktodayofapreferenceforchordblocksandmelodiesderivedfromvariousEuropeanfolktraditions
aswellasfromAmericancountryblues.

Fromarhythmicpointofviewthewidestvarietyoftemposandmetersisfoundinthesophisticatedsong
andinthetraditionalsong:thislastsavesitselffromthe{6466}abundantsyncopationtobefoundinthe
sophisticatedsong,whichisinfluencedmorethananyotherbyjazz.Thetendencytorespectthestrong
accentsinabarisatitshighestinthechildrenssong,whilstthepopsongandtherocksongarethose
wheretherhythmicpulsemustalwaysbeinevidence.Thecanzonedautoreisfairlyopenonthispoint,
whilstthepoliticalsongusuallyhasaclearanddefiniterhythm.

Strictlyconnectedwiththeserhythmicconventions,movingontoorchestrationwecanseethatpop,
rockandchildrenssongbasetheirrhythmicscansionondrums(andsodoessophisticatedsongbutwith
amorevarieddistributionofaccents).Politicalsongtendstodowithout,acceptingfolkpercussion
instrumentsinstead(exceptionstothisruleareveryrecent).Thecanzonedautoreoscillatesbetweenthe
rulesofothergenres,whilstthetraditionalsongtendstoacceptdrumsonlywhendrownedbyviolins.

Itisalmostimpossibletothinkofthetraditionalsongwithoutakindofsymphonyorchestra.Uptothe
momentofitstransformationinanexhibitionofsongs.ofvariousgenrespromotedbytherecord
industry,theFestivalofSanRemowasacultcentrefortraditionalsong,andithadanorchestra
containingstringquintet,woodwind,brassandamodernrhythmsection.Songswerealsorepeatedbya
smallnightclubgroupinordertodemonstratetheiradaptabilitytosmallgroups,butontherecord
releasedthebigorchestrawasalwayspresent.Thesophisticatedsongalsohasarichinstrumental
section,evenaluxuriousone.Themusicalconcepttheytrytoputacrossisthatnoexpensehasbeen
sparedinthearrangement.Popsonghasnospecificrules,ifnotthatitrefusesanexcessivepovertyinthe
samewayasexcessivevirtuosity,whichwouldbeacceptableinrocksong.Rocksonghasa
characteristic,internationaltimbre,sodoesthechildrenssong.Thecanzonedautoretodaybasically
acceptstheinstrumentalsetupofrock(drums,bass,electricguitar,keyboards)plusacousticguitar,
whichisthefavouriteinstrumentofmostoftodayscantautori.Inpoliticalsongacousticguitarisstill
dominant,occasionallyaccompaniedbyfolkinstruments.Electrificationisstillconsideredaviolation
(nolessthanforDylanatNewport).

Thetechnicalcapacityofinstrumentalistsisconnectedtoinstrumentalgroups:forstring,woodwindand
Frenchhornsections,bothfortraditionalandsophisticatedsongs,elements,bothcurrentandobsolete,
fromsymphonicorchestrasareused.Theotherbrassplayers,saxesandrhythmsectionsusejazzorigins
ordrawontheidiomofdanceorchestras.Inpop,childrens,rocksongsandcanzonedautore
autodidactspredominate.Incommonwithmostcountrieswherethemusicalindustryishighly
developed,therecordingofdiscswhichthemselvesinfluenceliveperformance,isinthehandsofa
restrictedgroupofsessionmen,whoareproudoftheirabilitytoperforminvariousgenres.Technical
competenceisthereforestandardized.{6667}Itisobviousthat,whenlefttoplaywhattheylike,these
musicianstendtowardsthatwhichisalmosteverywhereknownasfusionmusic.Forthemany
unwrittenpartstheproducer,whosejobistoorganizetherespectorviolationoftherulesofgenre,
communicateswithsessionmenusingexamplesofgenre,suchas:Thisisapopsong:dontplaythat
kindofJacoPastoriusbass.

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Theamateurstatusofthepoliticalsongseparatesthetechnicalskillsofitsplayersfromthoseofsession
men,andalsofromthesessionmensfetishismforbignameinstrumentsacantautore(nothis
accompaniers)canbeafairlypoorplayerofhisinstrument.

Composersoftraditionalorsophisticatedsongsgenerallyworkusingapiano,theothersmoreoftena
guitarforothergenrespianoisnotexcluded,exceptinthep0liticalsongwherethecomposerisoften
theperformeraswellforobvioushistoricalproblemsofavailability.Ineachofthesecasesthe
instrumentsconnotethedegreeofknowledgeofthetechniquesofclassicalcomposition.

Noticeabledifferencescanbeseenfromavocalpointofview.Intraditionalsongtherequirementsof
intonation,extensionandvoicepowerareclosetothoseforoperetta,especiallyformalevoiceswhilst
sophisticatedsongaddstheneedforcompetenceinthetechniquesofemissionderivingfromjazzandof
atypicallyfemininenature.Thegoodmalesingerisatenorandsingstraditionalsongs,thegoodfemale
singerisastarofmusicals(agenrethat,however,doesnotexistinItaly)andsingssophisticatedsongs.

Childrenssongsaresungbychildren,orbysingersofvariousgenreswhoimitatethevoicemostadults
considershouldbeusedwhenspeakingtochildren.

Popsongdoesnotrequireparticularvocalgifts,whilstrocksongrequiresanotableextensiontowards
highnotes,andphoneticallyahighlyaccentuatedvocalmask.Inpoliticalsongideologicalattentionis
giventothemodesoftraditionalfolksinging,butpracticetendstowardsanoperaticmodel,whilst
acceptingapopulartypeofdeformationofthemodel.

Inthecanzonedautore,thingsthatmightbeconsideredasmistakesofintonation,emissionandbad
pronunciationinothergenresareacceptedascharacteristicsofindividualpersonality,whichisof
primaryimportanceinthisgenre.

Attheconclusionofthisparagraphwecometotherulesgoverninglyrics:wecanseethatthetendency
ofthecanzonedautoretowardsindividualcharacterizationcanbeseenaboveallinthevocabulary,
whichisricher.andmoreopentoliterarysuggestions.Amongothergenres,arichlexiconcanalsobe
foundinsophisticatedandpoliticalsong,wheretheinfluenceofthewrittenlanguageisalsoevident,but,
obviously,pertainingtoothertypesofliterature(literarygenres).

Certainexpedientsconnotingalower,oldfashioned,formofpoetry,likeputtingtheadjectivebeforethe
noun(whichisadmittedinItalian,butnotfrequent),{6768}orapocopetoobtainwordsaccentedonthe
lastsyllable(amorinsteadofamore)are,however,moretypicalofthetraditionalsong,andinthe
canzonedautoreconstituteonlyindividualvariants.Thepoeticalcharacterofthecanzonedautoreis
morecommonlybasedonpreferenceformetaphors,whilstitcannotbesaidthattheverseundergoesa
treatmentdifferentfromothergenres.AbigproblemforallgenresofItaliancanzoneisthatofwords
accentedonthelastsyllable,especiallywheretheEnglishandAmericanmusicalinfluenceisstrongly
felt.TheideologyoftherocksonggenreforexampleisthattheItalianlanguageisnotsuitableforthis
music,andthatitissunginItalianonlyforquestionablecommercialreasons.Italianrocksingersareall
tryingtopersuadetheirrecordproducerstoletthemconquertheworldmarketbysinginginEnglish.
Manyrockandpopsongcomposersandalsoperhapsafewcantautoricomposetheirmelodiessingingin
afalseEnglishwhichtheythentranslateintoItalian.Thisresultsinavastamountofwordsaccentedon
thelastsyllable,andsincetheseareverylimitedinnumberinItalianrepetitionandimpoverishmentof
vocabularyareautomatic.

2.2.2.Semioticrules

Textualstrategiesvaryfromgenretogenre.Politicalsongsmustshowwithoutdoubtthattheworldthey

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speakofistherealworld,asitistodayorasitwasduringaparticularmomentinhistory.Traditional,
pop,rockandsophisticatedsongsshowapossibleworldwhichisanelementaryvariantoftherealone,a
sceneinwhichthelistenercantaketheplaceofthesongsprotagonist.Generationalandsociological
connotationscanvaryinthesegenres,butnottheidentificationmechanism.Thisisalsovalidfor
childrenssong,wherethepossibleworldcoincidesmoreobviouslywiththeinfantileimagination,which
cannotbedeniedtocontainarealitycomparabletotherealworldofanadult.

Thecaseofthecanzonedautoreisdifferent:thelistenermustalwaysrememberthatthesongs
protagonistisanotherperson,and,ifthereisidentification,itisdirectlywiththesinger,notwiththe
protagonistofeachsong.Thecantautoreisapoetwithwhomthelistenerrelates:thiswillbeshownlater
tobeafairlyrecentrule.

Tothiswecanconnecttheaestheticandmetalinguisticfunctionswhichpredominatethecanzone
dautore.Traditionalandsophisticatedsongsarealsoobjectsofaestheticattention,buttheprincipal
communicativefunctionistheemotionalone,asinpop,childrensandrocksongs.Inrockthereisabig
imperativecomponent,whilstpoliticalsongoftenhasareferentialandemotionalfunction,andisexempt
byrulefromaestheticjudgement.

Sinceasongisacomplexsystemofsigns,thevariouscommunicativefunctionsaresustainedinvarious
degreesbythecomponentsigns.Inthemusicalevent{6869}consistingofonesongonly,aesthetic
attentionisconcentratedmainlyonlyricsinthecaseofcanzonedautore,onthevocalinterpretationofa
traditionalsongandonmusicinasophisticatedsong(withothercontributingelements,ofcourse).
Obviouslyonecansaythatanyonesongisbeautiful,butwhatIhavebeentryingtounderlineisthatin
somegenresaparticularautoreflexivityisessentialbeforeacertainsongcanbecomeapartofthat
genre.

Theiconographiccodesofrecordsleevesandphotosofsingersarealsoadaptedtotheaforementioned
communicativefunctions.

Prosemiccodesarecloselyboundtothespatialstructureoftheplacesinwhichmusicaleventsofvarious
genresareperformed.Butthatthesearecodesofspaceandnotsimplederivationsoftheeconomyofa
genrecanbeseenbynotingthatcertaintypicaldistancesareobservedeveninplacesnotusually
associatedwiththatgenre.Soatypicaltheatricalsetupwithaudienceinseatswillbeseenina
traditionalorsophisticatedsongconcertevenwhenheldintheopenair,whilstthefactthattheaudience
standsorsitsonthegroundmarksaconventionallimitbetweenaperformanceofpoliticalsongsandone
ofcanzonedautore,thusdemonstratingthatthesecodesarenotonlylinkedtotheaverageageofthe
audience.

Childrenssongsexistexclusivelyonrecordsorintelevision,whilstarockconcerttendstooffera
spatialrelationshipbetweenmusiciansandaudienceofadictatorialnature.

AninterestingaspectofprosemicrulesinItaliancanzoneisthefactthatthereareveryfewplaces
suitableforholdingmusicalshowsinItaly,sothatthevariousgenresareoftenperformedinthesame
places.Thisdoesnotstopviolationoftherulesfrombeingnoticed:thisshowsthataruleofgenreisnot
establishedasastatisticalfactbutthroughtheoppositiontootherrulesandtherelationshipwiththe
wholesystem.

Forexample,theopinionsharedbythecanzonedautorecommunityisthatthebestplacetoholda
recitalisinatheatrewithlowacousticresonance,inwhichtheaudiencecanbenearthestage,
dominatingitfromaboveratherthanbeingdominated,andwithouttheaudiencebeingtoospreadout.
SuchatheatreprobablydoesnotexistinItaly.

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Oneofthereasonswhysomecantautorihavestartedusingaformofconcertsimilartoarockconcertin
recentyearscanbetracedtothelackofsuitablefacilities.Youcannotentertainyouraudiencebetween
onesongandthenextorcountonthefactthateveryonewillseeyourexpressionofsufferingwhenyou
arereducedtothesizeofapininthemiddleofastadium.Itcanbeseenfromthishowthespatialcodes
areconnectedtogestural,mimicandfacialcodes.Duetothelackofdetailedstudyonthissubject,for
whichthenumerousphotographsexistingshouldprovideabundantmaterial,thissubjectwillbedealt
withinthenextsection,dedicatedtocodesofbehaviour.{6970}

2.2.3.Behaviourrules

Theinstrumentthatrevealsthesecodesindetailisthetelevisioncamera,thankstoitscapacityfor
enteringthesphereofprivatedistanceofasinger.

Traditionalandsophisticatedsingersareintheirelementontelevisiontheirgesturesarenodifferentto
thoseofthepresenters(whomtheyoftenreplace).Thepopsingerisinhiselementtoo,buttendsto
overdothesmilesandraisedeyebrowswhichrevealhisunderlyinganxietytoplease.

Therocksingerandthecantautoreareuncomfortableontelevision:theformerbecausetelevisionistoo
bourgeois,andistoosmallforhisexaggeratedgestures,andthesecondbecauseitistoostupidanyway
thecantautoremustalwaysgivetheimpressionofbeinguncomfortableinfrontofhisaudience,because
privacyishistruedimension.Ineithercasenervousticsareacceptable.Thesingerforchildrenhasno
specificimage:insomecasesheisacantautorewhodecidestowritechildrenssongs,butinmostcases
heisananonymoussingerwhorecordsthethemesongofanafternoontelevisionprogrammebutwho
doesnotappearinpublic,notevenontelevision.Thepoliticalsingerhardlyeverappearsontelevision,
andthegesturesassociatedwithhimarethoseoftheparticipantinapoliticalmeeting,thoughheisalso
permittedadegreeoftheprivacyofthecantautore.

Rulesofconversationandcodifiedetiquetteexistforeverysonggenre.Forexample,therearethose
regulatingthebehaviourofinterviewerandinterviewee,thosewhichsaywhatshouldhappentoasinger
afteraconcert,thosereferringtothebehaviouroftheaudienceandthosereferringtotherelationships
betweencriticsandorganizerswhentheymeet.

Coverageofallthesewouldtakemorespacethanthewholeofthisstudyputtogether:thereforeIshall
limitmyselftothemoreobviouscasesofviolation.ThesemiologistUmbertoEcohassaidthatthe
differencebetweencomedyandtragedyisinthefactthat,whilstbotharecasesofviolationofrulesof
behaviour,inatragedythebrokenruleismentionedfrequently,whileinacomedyitisnevermentioned,
thustakingitforgrantedthateverybodyknows(exceptofcoursetheoneatwhomthelaughterisaimed).
This,accordingtoEco,isthereasonwhyGreektragediesstillhaveaneffectonus,whilstforthemost
partthecomicalityofcomedies(thatwhichisnotdependentonruleswhichhavesurvivedthecenturies)
islost.Ifthistheoryisvalid,thenlaughterisasignoftransgressionfromaruleknownbytheperson
laughing,andthereforeoftheruleitself.

InItaly,forexample,peoplelaughif,duringacantautorespressconference,someoneaskshimifheis
goingtogetmarried,aperfectlynormalquestionfortraditionalorsophisticatedsingers(evenifwith
differentmeaningfromonetotheother),andabsolutelyprohibitedforarocksinger(eveniftheItalian
rocksingerisnotasaggressiveashisAngloAmericanmodels,andbehaveslikeagoodboyin{7071}
frontofthejournalists,justlikeapopsinger,orisaccessible,ironicandmoderatelyintellectual,likea
cantautore).

Anexampleofhowrulesofbehaviourarelinkedwiththeideologyofagenre,andwithotherrules,
comesfromthecanzonedautore.Inreactiontoaperiodduringwhichthecanzonedautorewasthe

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objectofattentionbycriticsinaverypedantic,ideologisedway,andinwhichthecantautorehadto
learntoactlikeapoliticianoraphilosopher,theopinionspreadthatinfactthesewereonlysongsafter
all.Acantautoressentence:Itsamatterofcanzonette(lightsongs),echoedinsongs,interviews,
articlesandeveninthetitleofarecord,hassanctionedtheexistenceofarulewhichstatesthata
cantautoreshouldnotmakeseriousdeclarationslongerthanonephrase,andthenshouldmakefunofit
accordingtothissamerule,aninterviewerwhoquotesAdornowillbelaughedatinexactlythesame
wayastheonewhospeaksofmarriage.Buttheideologicalcharacterofthisrulecanbeseenfromthe
factthatnocantautorewoulddreamofnotfollowingalltheotherrulesthatdistinguishhimfromthetrue
producersandsingersofcanzonette,thosewhoworkinthefieldsoftraditionalorpopsongs.

Firstandforemost,nocantautorewoulddeclinefromaffirminghissincerity.Intraditionalorpopsong
sincerityisnotaproblem:noonecaresifthesingersuffersorishappyinthesamewayasthesongs
protagonist,aslongastheimitationisplausibleanddoesnotdisturbthelistenersidentificationwiththe
standardsituationdescribed.Butnoonewouldstandforacantautoreorapoliticalsingerwhoshows
falsesentimentsorideas.Thecasesofrockandsophisticatedsongareslightlydifferent:inthesetwo
genresthesociologicalcharacterofidentificationismoremarked,andthereforeweaskfor,ifnotasoul
baringsincerity,atleastahighergradeofgenerationalorsocialcredibility.

2.2.4.Socialandideologicalrules

Asithasbeensaidinthefirstpart,theserules,atamacrosociallevel,havenothingtodowithconsumer
statisticaldata.Theworkingclassforexamplebuymostlypopsongs,butinastrictconnotativesensethe
termworkingclasssonggenerallymeant,untilafewyearsago,politicalsongandtodayitprobably
means,ifanything,traditionalsong.Consumptionofrockmusicconnotesthesocialareaofunemployed
andmarginalisedyoungpeople,evenifthemajorpartofthoseattendingrockconcertsarestudentsfrom
thelowermiddleandbourgeoisclasses(sinceyoungpeopleinItalyweremuchmoreandlonger
dependentontheirfamilies,rockneverhadanaudiencecomparabletothoseofitsoriginalcountries).
Sophisticatedsongisalsoideologicalinthissense,asitalwaystries,throughitslyrics,arrangements,
recordsleeves,etc.toconnoteasocialpositionsuperiortothatofitsconsumers.{7172}

Lesseasytocollocateischildrenssong:itislegitimatetoassumethatalargepartoftheserecordswhich
enterthechartsareboughtbyadultsforchildrenforwhomtheyconsiderthemsuitable,butthesuccess
issogreat,constitutingaconsiderablesliceofthesinglesmarket,thatonemustbelievethatchildren
themselvesformaconsistentpartofthemarket.

Thecanzonedautore,however,perhapsconformingtoitssincerity,appearstohaveasocialimage
whichcorrespondstoitsactualareaofconsumption:thatislowermiddleandmiddleclassintellectuals,
students,theItalyofmasssecularisation,oftheuniversityopentoeveryoneandofintellectual
unemployment.

Atthemusicalcommunitylevel,thecanzonedautorecanbedistinguishedfromtheothersbythe
identificationbetweensingerandauthor,bothofthelyricsandofthemusic.Thisitmustbesaidisin
spiteofthenumerousattemptsinitshistorytoqualifyitsimplyasartsong,orqualitysong.Probablythis
rule,towhichveryfewexceptionsaretolerated,isduetotheparticularvaluationofsinceritywhichI
mentionedbefore:asingercannotbeconsideredsincereifheisnotsingingmusic,orworsestill,lyrics
notwrittenbyhim.Togiveanabstractexample,asonglikeYouvegottohideyourloveaway,which
accordingtoafamousJohnLennoninterviewisthedividinglineofhistransformationfrompoptothat
whichinItalyiscalledcanzonedautore,couldnothavebeenconsideredacanzonedautoreifithad
notbeenascertainedthatPaulMcCartneyhadnothingtodowithit.ButofcourseLennonshouldhave
sungitaloneorwithanaccompanyinggroup,andnotintheBeatles:alltheBeatlesbecame,inaway,
cantautorionlywhenthegroupsplit.
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TwoorthreeItalianmusicalgroupswhocouldbeincludedinthegenreofcanzonedautore,arebarely
acceptedassuchbecauseofthis,andwhenthishappensitisusualthatonememberofthegroupis
describedasacantautore,andtheothershisbackinggroup,evenifthisisclearlynottrue.

Inotheraspects,themusicalcommunitiesofvariousgenresofcanzonearefairlyhomogeneous,ifwe
excludethecaseofthepoliticalsong,wherethesingerisusuallyalsohisownmanager,producerand
discographer.Thissynthesisofroles,butwithamoremarkeddivisionoflabour,canbefoundinother
genresaswell,butnotasarule.

2.2.5.Economicalandjuridicalrules

Withtheexceptionofthepoliticalsinger,allsingersbelongtothesameeconomicalsystem,
characterizedbythepresenceofthelargerrecordcompaniesandmanagementagencies.Butthereare
differencesbetweenonegenreandanother.Thecantautore,thankstohiscopyrights,canalmostdouble
thesumothersingersreceivefromthesaleoftheirrecords,andsinceinItalyperformancerightsarenot
{7273}recognizedheistheonlyonetoearnanything,oralot,fromdiffusionbyradioortelevision

Thishascreatedasituationwherebythecantautoreislesseconomicallydependentonliveperformances
moreover,untilafewyearsagoitwastheruleforcantautoritoperformalone.Theirconcertstherefore
hadtheonlyoverheadsofadvertising,theatreandP.A.hire,andcopyrighttaxesofwhichalmostahalf
arereturnedtothecantautorehimself).Todayacantautorestourismorecostlyandhasassumeda
morepromotionalcharacter.Thesameappliestorocksingersandgroups,thoughthesehavemuch
higheroverheads,mustdivideroyaltiesandcopyrightswithfarmorepeople,andcancountona
proportionallysmallerrecordmarketcomparedtotheexpense.Whenyouknowthattheaveragepriceof
atickettoacantautoreorrockconcertinItalyislessthanhalfthatofotherEuropeancountries,youcan
understandwhytherockgroupphenomenoncannotreachreallyprofessionallevelsinItaly:eventhe
mostfamousgroupsonthescene,frequentlypresentinrecordcharts,dootherjobs,principallyassession
men,inordertoearntheirliving.Theonlyrocksingersabletoachieveacertaindegreeofprosperity
throughtheirworkare,infact,cantautori.

Pop,traditionalandsophisticatedsingersrelyaboveallonperformancesindancehalls,whichcanpay
prettyhighfeesallyear,thankstothefactthattherearenoparticularlimitstothepriceoftickets.For
thesesingerstherecordistheirmainpromotionalvehicle.Childrenssong,ashasbeensaid,is
exclusivelyarecordedproduct:itseconomicalruleconsistsinconvincing,invariouswaysIleaveto
yourimagination,TVprogrammerstochosethisorthatsongastitlesongofsomewellknownJapanese
cartoon.

Upuntilafewyearsagopoliticalsongconcertswereofferedfreebythevariouspoliticalpartiesand
othermassorganizations,andfrequentlygroupsorsingerswerecommissionedforaseriesof
performances,sometimeswithafixedsalary.Thenpoliticalsongwasequalledtothecanzonedautore,
whichbroughtaboutanevidenteconomiccrisisevenbeforetheartisticideologicalonearrivedsinceall
theothereconomicconditionsaredifferentandinferiortothoseofthecanzonedautore.Alsointhis
case,thefactorwhichseemstocharacterizetheItaliansituationwithregardtoeconomicrulesisthe
rigiditywithwhichconcertticketpricesareestablished.Thevariationbetweenminimumandmaximum
isthesame,500lire,withinthesamegroupofgenres:canzonedautore,rock,politicalsongononeside,
traditional,popandsophisticatedontheother.Ifanincreaseordecreaseonthisamountispractised,it
canmeanariskofdisturbancesordesertion(ifitcoststoolittle,itisprobablyworthlittle)butevena
minimumincreaseisarisk.Thereisapreciseideawithinthemusicalcommunityofwhataconcert
shouldcost:frequentlythesamepersonmaybewillingtospend7000lireinadiscothequeandthen{73
74}protestifarockconcertticketcosts4000lire.Inheritedfromsomecomponentsofthepolitical
movementbetween1968and1977,thiseconomical,ideologicalruleafflictsfirstandforemostthose
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samemusicalgenres(aspoliticalsong)whichidentifiedtoagreaterextentwiththismovement.

Nowthathistoryhasoncemoremadeitsentranceinthisstudy,wecantakeacloserlookatit.

3.Developmentofthecanzonedautore
Thecanzonedautoremadeitsappearanceattheendofthefifties,inasystemofcanzoneradically
differentfromthatinexistencetoday.TheprincipalgenresinItaliancanzoneatthattimewere:the
Neapolitanordialectsong,thetraditionalsong,thevarietyshowsong(agenrewhichisnolonger
present)andthenightclubsong(agenrewhichhasdividedandbeentransformed).Researchinthefield
offolkmusicbeganintheseyears,andtherewasnopoliticalsongasagenre(therebirthofthisgenrein
Italyisconnectedtotherediscoveryofresistancesongswithinthestudiesonfolklore).Atthistimethere
werenochildrenssongasagenre,Americanrocksongswereconsumedinnospecificcontextanda
specificproductionofrecordsforsimultaneousmassconsumptioncouldnotyetbesaidtoexist.The
canzonedautorewasbornintothissystem,fromanaccumulationoftransgressionsoftherulesofthe
genreswhichformit.

Sincethestrongestruleofgenreinthedefinitionofthecanzonedautoreis,aswehaveseen,thejoining
oftherolesofauthorandsinger,itmaybeusefultolookatafewexamplesofcantautoriantelitteram,
singersandsongwriterswhohadalreadydoneasimilarworkintheyearsimmediatelyprecedingthe
birthofthegenre,withouttheirbelongingtowellknowngenresbeingquestioned.

Ofthesethemostfamous,outsideItalytoo,isDomenicoModugno.Modugnoscareerismarkedfrom
thebeginningbythesearchforacharacteristicwhichwillbecomearuleofgenreforthecanzone
dautore,thatisbeingapersonalityidentifiablewiththesongsprotagonist.Modugnocarriedonthis
searchfirstasadialectsinger(borninPuglia,hisfirstsongwasSicilian,andthenNeapolitan),witha
strongvocalcharacterization,veryparticularemissionofvowelslikeoande,whichaccentuatesthe
popularcharacteroflyricsandmusicthen,afteraspellincabaretinRome,heenteredtheareaof
productionandconsumptionofthetraditionalsong,playingtheroleofanextravertinnovator.Thetext
ofhissongVecchiofrac,in1955,canseemtodaytobeabarelydisguisedmetaphorofagoodbyetothe
oldwaysofconsideringshowbusinessandsong.Paradoxically,however,thesuccessofModugnos
personalitydecreedbytheworldwidetriumphofVolare(Nelbludipintodiblu)putsinsecondplace
hischaracteristicsasanautonomouscreator:Volare,insteadofbecomingthefirstsongofanewgenre,
becomes{7475}thelastworldwidesuccessofthetraditionalsong,amodernversionof0solemio.
Modugnospersonality,fromthattimeon,willbemoreusefultotelevision,cinemaandtheatre(Mackie
MesserwithStrehier)thantothecanzonedautore.

OfdifferentoriginsareRenatoCarosoneandFredBuscaglione.Tobehonestneitherofthemwritetheir
ownsongs(thisisalsotrueofmanyModugnossongs),neitheraretheysoloists(theyarebothleadersof
smallnightclubgroups),andtheirpersonalitiesaremorethoseofvarietyentertainersthantheliterary
onesofcantautori.

Thatwhichbringsthemclosertothedawningcanzonedautoreisthefactthattheyrealizedthe
deteriorationofexistinggenres,andshowedthewilltorenovatethetiredframeworkofItaliancanzone:
CarosoneandBuscaglionedidthisbyusingsatireorparody,bothinthelyricsandinthemusic.There
arenotabledifferencesbetweenthetwo:CarosonemixesNeapolitanandAmericanelementsinasome
timesmoralisticsatireoftheItaliansdependenceonforeignculturalmodels,orintheparodyoftear
jerkingtraditionalsongs.BuscaglioneplaystheroleofaprovincialHumphreyBogart,distortingthe
Americanclichinthewayheusesitanditalianisesitforhimself.

Butinspiteoftheirgreatsuccess,inspiteofthemodernityandrealismoftheirsongs,nonewgenreis
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bornafterCarosoneandBuscaglione.Howeverinnovative,theirideasaretiedtomechanismsof
consumptionwhicharebecomingdecadent(nightclubs),whilstthetimeinwhichthemostcouldbe
madeoftheirvisualimpactisstillfaroff.

ItissignificantthattodayCarosoneandBuscaglionerecordshavebecomeacultwithcertainaudiences,
whoconsiderthemtheunconsciousanticipatorsnotofthecanzonedautorebutofFrankZappaand
cabaretrock.

Thecanzonedautoreisborninamomentwhenthevisualimageofasingerisgivenmainlythrough
magazines,partlythroughrecordsleeves(manysinglesarestillsoldinastandardsleevewithnophoto),
whilsttheonlytelevisionchannelbroadcastingpopularmusicisoccupiedwithreviewshowsorwith
alreadyfamousguests,traditionalorforeign.Themediathroughwhichtheindustrycanreachthe
audiencepromotionallyaremainlytwo:radioandjukeboxes.Theradio,firmlyunderthecontrolofthe
ChristianDemocrats,hasalistenerscommissionwhichexercises(andwillcontinuetodosoformany
years)atruecensure,principallyoflyricsbutalsoofmusic(usingtechnicalpretexts).Thismeansthat
theonlymeansforbringingnewideastothepublicsattention,especiallytheyoungaudiences,is
throughjukeboxorthroughtherecordshopswheretheproprietorsarestillinthehabitofletting
customerslistentoawideselectionofnewrecordswithoutanyobligationtobuy.

Thisbeingthesituation,itiseasiertoreachmassdiffusionforaproductwhich{7576}isnottoofar
removedfromexistentstandards,isnottooattachedtoadefinitewayofconsumption,andwhich,ifitis
different,haselementsofdifferencewhichareeasilyidentifiablethroughthemostimportantmediaof
themoment.

ThefirstsongbyacantautoretohavesuccesswasArrivedercibyUmbertoBindi,notthecomposers
versionbutthatofMarinoBarretoJr.,anightclubsingerofBrazilianorigins.Apartfromthegood
musicalconstructionandthehighlevelofproductioncomparedtothatoflightsongsoftheday,there
weretwoelementswhichcontributedtothesongssuccessandwhichcreatedtworulesofgenre:1)the
lyricswhichdonotoverdramatisetheclassicalsituationoftwoloversparting,substitutingthe
emblematicaddio(goodbye)withamoredaytodaygreeting2)thevoice:evenifnotthatofthe
songwriter,thankstocertainhardnessinthepronunciationandtheaphoniaofBarreto,itbreakswiththe
traditionofbelcantotenors,puttingintofirstplacethesincerityofthesingersothatthecorrectvocal
performancebecameathingofsecondaryimportance.WhilstCarosonesparodiesofItaliandrama(in
songslikeElabarcatornosola)onlydefinedwhatcouldbedoneinanegativeway,andwhilst
ModugnohadonlybroughtuptodatetheclassicalbeautifulItaliansinging,thesuccessofArrivedercion
theotherhanddemonstratedtwonewpositivevariantsofthesongmodel,andaboveallwithinthemost
populartheme,thatoflove.

ArrivederciwasfollowedbyIInostroconcerto,sungbyBindihimself,whichaccentuatesanother
characteristicofthecanzonedautore,butinthiscaseonlyoftheearlyperiodunderexamination:the
searchforgoodmusicalquality,andatleastforaconsiderabledifferencefromothergenresin
production.

Thereis,intheideologyofthedawninggenre,anawarenessofthetaskofsavingtheItaliancanzone
fromthestupidityandstandardizationtowhichtherecordpublishersroutinehadbroughtit.Notby
chancearemenoflettersinvolvedinthisfermentlikeItaloCalvinowhowrotelyricsforthegroup
Cantacronacheorsongwriterswillingtosingtheirownsongs,asthecantautorido,toprovetothe
cowardlypublishersthattheycouldbeasuccess.

Thebirthofthecanzonedautoretakesplaceinamomentofgreattransformationforthemusicindustry:
thepublishers,who,untilafewyearsbeforewantedonlytohavesongssungbyasmanysingersas
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possible,havingmoresuccessaccordingtothenumberofversionsmadeofthesamesong,tendto
integratewiththerecordindustry.Thisisproofthatthesuccessofasongdependsmoreandmoreon
therebeingoneandoneonlyperformer,andoneversiononly,followingtherecordsdiffusion,andof
electronicmedia,comparedtotheliveperformance.Withinafewyearspublishersassumedtheaspect
weknowtoday:themeansbywhichrecordindustryisindemnified,ifpossiblewithaprofit,forits
promotionalcosts,forandthroughradioandtelevision.{7678}

Thefactthatwiththecanzonedautoresongwriterandsingerbecomeanintegratedwhole(andthesame
thingwillhappenwiththeBeatlesafewyearslater)cannotbeconsideredsimplyacoincidence.

Thecantautore,whomaybesingsoutoftune,butwhohasagoodsongandarrangement,isworthmore
totherecordindustrythanamusicalscorewhichcouldsellonlytoafewhundredsmalldance
orchestras.

ThefailureofthehypothesisofradicalinnovationputforwardbytheCantacronacheisunderstandable
sinceitwasstillattachedtotheoldconceptionofsongasaext,independentfromitsmusical
performance,andthereforedocumentedoncheaplyproducedrecords:itisalsounderstandablethatthe
mainresultoftheCantacronachewasthereestablishmentofpoliticalsong.

However,thecapitalistindustrywasnomorefarsighted.Inthebeginningtherecordingcompany
Ricord,whohadsignedthefirstcantautorifromGenoa(Bindi,Paoli,Tenco)andfromMilan(Jannacci,
Gaber),doesnotseemtohavehadtoomuchfaithinthephenomenon,consideringitlimitedtoa
bourgeoisintellectualaudience,forthemostpartcabaretfans.Itistruethattheculturalhorizonofthe
individualcantautoreisliterary,withFrenchexistentialistinfluencesgainedfromthechansonniersor
jazzandrockinfluences(bothwerereservedinItalytoafewconnoisseurs,andtherefore
intellectualized),butitisalsotruethattherealreadyexistedavaststudentaudience,readytorecognizein
theseimportedvaluesanalternativetothethencurrentproduction.Thisaudiencedidnotliveingarrets,
didnotfallinlovebecausetheyhavenothingbettertodo,didnotgotodubiousbars(allsituations
describedinsongsofthatperiod)buttheywereneverthelessmorewillingtorelatetothistypeoflife,in
realitylivedbyfew,thanwiththemammasorbrokenheartsoftraditionalsongs.

Theimportantthingisnotaparticularconceptionoflife,butageneralnonconformismconnectedwith
somemusicalrenovation.Anewgenerationofconsumers,youngconsumers,wasbeingborninItalytoo,
andtheirmaincharacteristicwasthattheyopposedallthemodelsofmusicalconsumptionofother
generations.

Itwasnotjustbychance,therefore,thattherealpushtowardsthediffusionofthecanzonedautore,
alongwiththeinventionofthenamecantautore(in1960),camefromthemultinationalcompanyRCA.

ThefirstcantautorioftheItalianRCA(Meccia,Vianello,Fidenco,allfromRome)weremuchmore
juvenilethantheircolleaguesfromGenoaorMilan,andtheiranticonformismwasmuchlessliterally
(onesongistitledIHateAllOldWomen).

Themusictoowasnew,thanksmoretotheuseofspecialarrangementsandrecordingtechniquesthan
forreasonsofcompositionalstructureanditwasfarclosertoAmericanstylesthantheGenoeseor
Milanesewere.IfNeilSedakadidnothave{7778}suchatrociouspronunciationhisItalianrecords,
whichwereverysuccessful,couldeasilybeconfusedwiththoseofthefirstRomancantautori.Infact
afterashorttimethoseforwhomthisnamewascoinedstopbeingtruecantautori,contributingtothe
birthofthemodernItalianpopsong:fashionable,easytolistentoandrealistic.Butthegenrecanzone
dautorewasalreadyestablished,andRCAcoveredthesituationbysigningsomeofthebestGenoese
cantautori,usingthebestarrangersandlaunchingthemonavastscale,duringaperiodwhenthis

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AmericancompanyhasthemonopolyoftheItalianmarket.

Fromatiredmusicalsystem,inneedofrenovation,thebirthofnewgenreswassoachieved:onewasthe
popsong,underAmericaninfluence,whichunitedinthesamegenretheanomaliescreatedinthe
precedingyearsbyAdrianoCelentanosrockorbythesocalledurlatori(shouters)andthecanzone
dautore,whichatthattimecouldalsobecalledqualitysong:theinterpretersofthatwhichwetoday
callsophisticatedsongbegantoemergefromtheseaoflightsongs,canzonette,bysingingsongsofthe
cantautori.

Howevermuchthemusicaljournalistofthetimetalkaboutthedifficultnatureofthecanzonedautore,
comparingitwiththeescapistoneofothergenres,thecantautoreisstillregardedasasongwriterrather
thanapoet.Thisobservationisvalidbothfromthepointofviewofideologyofgenreandfromthatof
theobjectiveimportanceoflyricscomparedtomusic.

Butmanynewthingshappen:theworldwidesuccessoftheBeatlesmovedtheattentionforinnovation
inanotherdirection,whilsttheprofessionalsongwritersseemtohaveunderstoodthatasongofquality
canbemadewithoutusingtheoldmodels,andusingnewinterpreters.

Thecantautorifoundthataconsiderablepartoftheyoungaudience,andofthebourgeoisaudiencetoo,
hadbeentakenawayfromthem.Thecantautorefoundhimselfwithlimitedautonomywithrespecttohis
genre,havingtocompetewithbeatmusicononehandandthemorecommercialsonggenresonthe
other,intheirsameterritory.ThesuicideofLuigiTencoatthe1967SanRemoFestival,whenhissong
failedtoreachthefinal,isemblematic,whilsttheworldwidesuccessofBobDylanalreadyindicateda
newroad:asongnearertotraditionalfolkballadthantothemelodramaticmodel,poorerinmelodybut
metricallyfreer,richerinsyllables,thankstothepossibilityofrepeatingnotesandevenofreciting.

ThefirsttofollowthismodelisFrancescoGuccini.Hisfirstrecordwasreleasedin1967,butsomeofhis
songshadalreadybeensuccessfulintheprecedingyearswhensungbyrockgroups.Guccinitranslated
thetonesofDylansprotestandapocalypseaswellasthoseofthebeatgenerationpoetsintoItalianthe
anarchic,visionarynatureofhisearlylyricsbroughthimtotheforeintheclimateoftherigorousprotest
oftherebornpoliticalsong,andofthedomesticatedprotestofother{7879}genres(allItaliansongsat
thattimewereprotestingagainstorforsomething).

Thecanzonedautoresstudentaudiencehadtheirattentionfixedonsocialandpoliticalmotives,and
thismadethemconcentratemoreandmoreonlyrics,consideringthemtheonlyabletoqualifythesong
fromapoliticalpointofview.

Aspecializationofgenreissocreated,sothatwhereasinrockwhichisbasedonEnglishprogressive
rockmodelslyricsareanexcusetohaveavoiceparticipatingoratthemostanillustrationofthemusic,
inthecanzonedautoreandinpoliticalsongthemusicisabackgroundonlyoccasionallyillustratingthe
lyrics.

Duringtheearlyseventies,whilstpoliticalsongappearstohavecoveredthewholeareaofthecanzone
dautore,oneofthefirstgenerationcantautori,GiorgioGaber,madehisdebutinthetheatrewithashow
consistingofsongsandmonologues,showingthedesiretomaintainanautonomyofhisgenre,and
provingtheimportanceassumedbytheverbaltext.

Itisbyputtingtheaccentdecidedlyonlyricsandontheirpoeticalfunctionratherthanthemainly
referentialoneofthepoliticalsong,thatthecanzonedautoreachievesitsfinalcomeback.Forabrief
periodthenewcantautori,FrancescoDeGregoriandAntonelloVendittiamongthefirst,arepresented
asrepresentativesofthenewsong(byanassociationwiththenuevacancinchilenaoftheUnidad

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Popularperiod),butthispoliticalconnotationissoonovercome,and,especiallywithregardtoDe
Gregori,thenewsingers/songwritersarespokenofaspoets.

Itisin1974thatthegenrereceivesitsfirstofficialconstitution,withthefirstmeetingofthecanzone
dautore(Rassegnadellacanzonedautore)organizedbytheTencoClubatSanRemo,ameetingwhich
isstillinexistenceandthathasbeenflankeduntil1980byfournewsongcongresses.

Therebornautonomyofthegenremetwithsomedifficulty:abigimpressionwasmadebythepolitical
trialconductedbytheaudienceagainstFrancescoDeGregoriduringaconcertatthePalalidoinMilan,
atrialwhichendedwithsomepeopleinvitingDeGregoritocommitsuicidelikeMayakovsky.Thetrue
accusationissubstantiallythatasingerwhohadbeenconsideredapoliticalsingerwasnotfollowingthe
rulesofthatgenre,andnotthathewasanonpoliticalcantautore.

Buttheequationcantautore=poetisquicklyestablished(theformulaofthecondemnationjustimplied
it),showingitselfinthemostvariousways,fromthepoeticcontentclaimedbyamateurimitators,tothe
collaborationbetweenacantautore,LucioDalla,andarealpoet,Royersinaturallythisaffirmationis
notastrangertothefallingtideofthepoliticalexperiencesoftheearlyseventies,becausetheaverage
Italiansculturecollocatespoetryinapurelyprivate,subjectivelife.

Inthisconcentrationofaestheticattention,theimpoverishmentofthemusicalcontentissoonnoticed:
theansweralsotoforeigncompetitionisentrustedto{7980}richerarrangements.Itistheperiodof
thetriumphofdiscomusic,andmanyrockgroupsareindifficultyasaresult.FabrizioDeAndr,oneof
thecantautorioftheSixties,goesontourwithPFM,oneofthebestknownrockgroups,andhasgreat
success.

Atlasteveryoneissayingthecanzonedautorehasitsownmusicaldimension.Butthistour
demonstratedsomethingelsebesides:that,inspiteofthefactthatbigrockconcertsinItalyhadbeenthe
sceneofdisturbancesforyears,tothepointwhereforeignsingersandgroupsavoidedthiscountryuntil
1979,thecantautoricouldfillthisgap,stillmaintainingsomethingofthepoliticalmeetingand
integratingitwiththeritualsofarockconcert.Theheightofthecantautorisuccesswasreachedin1979
withthecolossalDallaDeGregoritour,wherethesetwoappearedinstadiumslikerockstarsdo,and
likerockstarsweregreetedbythelightingofthousandsofmatches.Thefirstforeignrockstartoreturn
toItalywasPattiSmith,whowaspresentedasacantautrice,poetessofrock.Thefollowingyear,in
spiteofthesuccessfultoursofEdoardoBennatoandAngeloBranduardi,isayearofcrisisforthe
canzonedautore,atleastaccordingtotheClubTencomembers,whoentitlethediscussionattheir
congress:RockVersusCanzone.Thecanzonedautorehasbeenpushedsoclosetorock(asitwas
yearsbeforetopoliticalsong)thatineconomicaltermsithasfelttheconsequencesofitscompetition
(duringtheyearofaworldcomebackofrock)andintechnicaltermsfeelstheneedtoredefinethe
confinesandideologyofthegenre.Itisaquestionwhichinvolvesnotonlythecriticsbutalsothewhole
canzonedautorecommunity,sothat,whilstthespecialistsinthefieldarediscussingamusical
revaluationwhichexcludestherockaspectsandeasysolutionsintermsofarrangement,theaudience
faithfultothegenre(butalsoawiderone)acclaimsthesuccessofEnzoJannacciandPaoloConte.The
formeris,amongthecantautoriofthefirstgeneration,theonedecidedlylessliterary,tendingmore
towardscomedy,thanksalsotothecollaborationwithDarioFo,whilstthelatter,afterwritingsuccessful
popsongs,startedrecordingbyhimselfonlyin1975.

Jannacciisadoctor,Contealawyerbothareover40,bothsinginanuntidywaywithacertaingestural
embarrassment,bothhaveasolidmusicalpreparationeveniftheyareselftaught.Bothuseaparticularly
richvocabulary,whichischaracterizedbysocialextractionorgeographicallocation(Jannaccilivesin
Milan,ConteinAsti,asmalltowninPiedmont),theyknowledgeablymixpoeticandprosaictones,they
userhymedversewithoutrecoursetobanalwordsaccentedonthelastsyllable.Iftheirsongsare
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15/9/2015 FrancoFabbri|ATheoryofMusicalGenresTwoApplications(1980)

musicallyfairlywellcharacterized(withfrequentstylisticquotationsfromvariousgenresorperiods),
arrangementsappeardeliberatelyanonymousandoutoffashion.

Inotherwordsthesetwoaccumulateaseriesofviolationsofthecurrentrulesofthecanzonedautore,
partlybyreturningtothecharacteroftheorigins,andpartlybyshowingthattheyrespectthehopefor
renewal,whilststillrespectingmanyofthefundamentalrules.Itispossiblethatafuturestudyofthe
canzonedautorewillshowasrulesofafutureperiodthosewhichtodayappearasindividual
characteristicsofthesetwocantautori.

file:///E:/Back%20Up%20PC%20tigre%20vieja/BIBLIOGRAFIA%20SOBRE%20MUSICA%20POPULAR/Franco%20Fabbri%20%20A%20Theory%20of%20 22/22