A Philosophy Of Musical Interpretation For Flutists
When Sound Becomes Meaning
By Yulia Berry
What Does It Mean for Sound to Become Meaning?
Music does not begin as meaning. It begins as vibration — physical, measurable, neutral. Meaning arises only when sound is shaped by structure, directed by intention, and guided by artistic responsibility.
For performers, this transformation is not automatic. It requires awareness of phrase architecture, harmonic direction, rhetorical gesture, breath shaping, release, articulation, and timbral intention. Technique alone does not produce coherence. Expression without structure risks dissolving into sentiment. True interpretation emerges when these dimensions align.
When Sound Becomes Meaning explores the conditions under which musical sound acquires direction, coherence, and intellectual integrity. It proposes that interpretation is not an emotional reaction, but a disciplined act of listening — an alignment between structure, intention, and responsibility.
This book is written for flutists who seek not merely to play beautifully, but to understand when sound carries meaning — and how to shape it responsibly.
THE POSITION
On Musical Meaning: Six Principles
Yulia Berry, DMA
“Sound alone is vibration. Meaning emerges when structure, intention, and responsibility align. My work explores this alignment — where sound carries meaning.”
Yulia Berry
Architecture of the Book
Table of Contents
Why Meaning Matters in Flute Playing
Establishes the central question: under what conditions does sound acquire meaning?
1. Beyond the Instrument
The Inner Education of the Musician
Examines musical development as inward formation, not mechanical training.
2. Pulling the Sound
The Art of a Living Tone
Explores tone as directed energy rather than produced vibration.
3. The Artistic Voice of the Flute
Timbre, Emotion, and Expression
Investigates color as expressive identity rather than surface effect.
4. Technique as Musical Language
Why Scales Matter
Repositions technical work as structural literacy.
5. Intervals and Inner Hearing
How Musical Distance Shapes Meaning
Studies interval as tension, relationship, and expressive logic.
6. Tone in Motion
Vibrato and the Art of Release
Analyzes movement within sound as a principle of direction and dissolution.
7. Phrasing and Breathing
Music as Rhetoric and Speech
Frames phrasing as thought shaped through breath.
8. Articulation and Meaning
Musical Punctuation and Responsibility
Examines attack and separation as interpretive decisions.
9. From Affects to Expression
The Evolution of Musical Emotion
Traces historical and philosophical shifts in emotional articulation.
10. Sound and Silence
The Discipline of Leaving Space
Considers silence as structural presence rather than absence.
11. The Aware Performer
Stage Presence, Focus, and Fear
Explores awareness as the foundation of stability in performance.
12. When the Self Outplays the Music
Ego, Identity, and Artistic Humility
Confronts the tension between personal identity and musical service.
13. Reverence and Responsibility
The Ethics of Listening
Articulates interpretation as an ethical act grounded in attentiveness.
14. When Sound Becomes Meaning
Synthesizes structure, intention, and responsibility into alignment.
When Sounds Begin to Speak
Reflects on the transformation of vibration into intelligible artistic voice.
Now Available
Digital First Edition
The first edition of When Sound Becomes Meaning is presented as a carefully structured digital volume of 72 pages.
This work examines sound not as vibration alone, but as directed meaning — shaped through structure, breath, listening, and artistic responsibility.
The Foundation of a Long-Term Artistic Legacy
When Sound Becomes Meaning establishes a philosophical framework for flute interpretation — integrating tone, rhetoric, structure, perception, and artistic responsibility into a unified discipline.
This is not a method.
It is an architecture.
Scholarly & Professional Responses
On the Work
.
GET IN TOUCH
For academic or professional inquiries:
Yulia Berry
Boston, United States