Abstract

Composers of music have long implied by the very names they have given their works (Scherzo, A Musical Joke, Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks), that music can express humor. A number of psychological studies have tended to confirm this implication.' As the confirmation has been, however, somewhat incidental, the present investigation was planned to focus specifically upon humor in music and to discover especially (1) whether music of humorous intent can fulfill its purpose without benefit of title, and if so, (2) whether the sources of humor are ever wholly intrinsic to the music.2 The full scope of the study involves also the following questions, which depend upon an affirmative answer to our first general query. Is there unanimity of opinion as to what particular passages are humorous? Does the title make any difference to the humorousness of the composition? What are the alleged sources of humor? What information upon these sources is revealed by a musical analysis of humorous passages? Are humorous passages ever considered beautiful? Does a relation exist between a sense of humor in music and in life-situations or between 'a sense

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