Rhapsody in Blue



Text

"The content of writing is speech, just as the written word is the content of print, and print is the content of the telegraph. If it is asked, “What is the content of speech?,” it is necessary to say, “It is an actual process of thought, which is in itself nonverbal.”

- Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man


Before the song was ever played, it had to be written first. The written space of text allowed to people to record their own ideas and spread them along for others to learn from. As Walter Ong stated in his article Writing Restructures Consciousness, "Without writing, the literate mind would not and could not think as it does, not only when engaged in writing but normally even when it is composing its thoughts in oral form. More than any other single invention, writing has transformed human consciousness." Writing, or in this case text, allows for people to record their ideas and thoughts and to represent their consciousness. Along with this, people can use text to spread their ideas and consciousness to others so they can share their knowledge and creative works to others who may appreciate them.


In this space, we can see the sheet music that was created for Rhapsody in Blue. Many musicians would be able to look at this piece and immediately tell what sort of music that Gershwin was trying to create. If any musician wishes to play his music, then they have the available information to do so. However, to any outside viewer who is unfamiliar with how music is conducted and/or created, all they would be able to see is just simply music notes on a piece of paper. Text is important for recording ideas, but there can be a limit on how useful it may be. If the outside viewers are unable to decipher the language, then that knowledge is lost to them. That is not to say that the sheet music for Rhapsody in Blue is unimportant, but rather that it's written space can only be used by a select group of people within that skill set.