Referring and demonstrating: “musical phrases” as interactional resources for achieving intersubjectivity in rock band rehearsals

The present investigation sheds light on the role of music as part of the instrumentalities of social interaction. It uses conversation analysis and video recordings of a Mexican rock band's rehearsals to examine how musical turn-constructional units or “musical phrases” are used to accomplish two interactional tasks: (1) referential identification (of songs and parts), and (2) demonstration of musical form. The study shows that musical phrases are systematically produced according to the interactional needs of the moment. When used for referential identification, they display an orientation to minimisation, becoming shorter as recognition is established over time. When used for demonstration, they become more elaborated and detailed, functioning as resources for repair and specification. In both cases, musical phrases are embedded within the syntactic and sequential structure of talk, serving as crucial resources for achieving intersubjectivity and maintaining the progressivity of collaborative music-making.