Eine »Musiktheorie der Gesellschaft«

An increasing number of publications in recent years show that the system theory of Niklas Luhmann is not an unknown topic in music theory any more, although as yet there has been no attempt at a comprehensive discussion of its potential to tackle music-theoretical questions. In musicology, on the contrary, the discussion of Luhmann’s theory seems to have peaked already. System theory here is either praised as the most promising method for future research or entirely rejected as a method inadequate for music. This essay provides an overview on applications of Luhmann’s system theory in music theory. Generally, there are two ways to interpret music in the context of social systems that can either focus on communication about music or regard music itself as a subsystem of modern society. Music also can be unterstood as a system that intertwines with the listener’s psyche. These considerations enable a discussion of the connections between system theory and music theory in general. It becomes clear that Luhmann’s concept of “self-reference” can enrich music research. It might enhance, for example, a reflection of methodologies in music theory and thus contribute to a differentiation of different music-theoretical (sub-)systems: between music theory as an artistic or a scholarly system, between music theory and musicology or between music as a psychological, social or multiply organized autopoetic system. Such a differentiation in turn might be a first step towards observing and interpreting problems of research or teaching. System theory provides a research tool that offers possibilities to isolate methodological problems in new and illuminating ways.