This page presents the complete table of contents of When Sound Becomes Meaning: A Philosophy of Musical Interpretation for Flutists by Yulia Berry. The book explores how musical sound acquires coherence, direction, and responsibility through structure, perception, and artistic awareness.
When Sound Becomes Meaning is available in digital format, with a print edition forthcoming..
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THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BOOK
When Sound Becomes Meaning unfolds in six philosophical movements.
Each part explores a different dimension of musical interpretation, gradually moving from the nature of sound itself toward the deeper question of why artistic creation exists at all.
Sound
↓
Structure
↓
Perception
↓
Inner Life
↓
Responsibility
↓
Meaning
Preface
Introduction
Why Meaning Matters in Flute Playing
PART I — Sound As a Living Phenomenon
1. Beyond the Instrument
The Inner Education of the Musician
2. Pulling the Sound
The Art of a Living Tone
3. The Artistic Voice of the Flute
Timbre, Emotion, and Expression
4. Technique as Musical Language
Why Scales Matter
5. Intervals and Inner Hearing
How Musical Distance Shapes Meaning
6. Tone in Motion
Vibrato and the Art of Release
PART II — Structure and Rhetoric
7. Music as Rhetoric
The Architecture of Phrasing
8. Articulation and Meaning
Musical Punctuation and Responsibility
9. From Affects to Expression
The Evolution of Musical Emotion
PART III — Space and Perception
10. Sound and Silence
The Discipline of Leaving Space
PART IV — The Inner Dimension Of Performance
11. The Aware Performer
Stage Presence, Focus, and Fear
12. When the Self Outplays the Music
Ego, Identity, and Artistic Humility
PART V — Ethics and Artistic Responsibility
13. Reverence and Responsibility
The Ethics of Listening
PART VI — Creation and Meaning
14. The Quiet Despair of the Unseen
Recognition and Distortion
Creation as Participation
Generosity and Return
Courage Without Spectacle
Belonging
Why We Create at All
Conclusion
When Sound Becomes Meaning
Meaning emerges through structure, alignment, and responsibility.
Yulia Berry, DMA