Typical Tropical Topics

Abstract

The topical theory is one of the most successful and widespread theories of current musicology. Initially formulated within the English-speaking academy for the study of the classical period, its use has been extended to other schools, eras and musical styles. In Latin America it has been cultivated with assiduity, since it allows to explain plausibly and with particular efficiency some typical phenomena of great importance in the continent, such as musical nationalism or the complex links between jazz and local music. This article aims to show some of the problems that arise when topical theory is applied to music of a different nature for which it was originally conceived, as is the case of Latin American music as a whole. These problems seem clearly linked to the semiotic drift acquired by the topical theory. In this sense, we intend to analyze these problems, and propose a different approach based on Discourse Analysis Studies. To do this, we will examine some concrete examples where the theory –as it has been formulated so far– results inoperative; we will also criticize what we have called “extended topical theory”; we will examine the musical topic in the light of pragmatics and the theory of relevance; and we will offer a small final exercise that shows why a topic cannot be considered a sign, but a function that derives from the interaction between emitters, receivers and text.