Music theory
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Music theory is the name for a branch of study that includes many different methods for analyzing, classifying, and composing music and the elements of music. Narrowly it may be defined as the description in words of elements of music, and the interrelationship between the notation of music and performance practice. Broadly, theory may be considered any statement, belief, or conception of music (Boretz, 1995). The academic study of music is called musicology.
Music theory generally attempts to reduce the practice of composing and playing into rules and ideas. In the Western tradition, the study of music theory stems from a belief that the acts of composing, performing, and listening to music are all based on traditions that may be explicated to a high degree of detail (this, as opposed to a conception of musical expression as fundamentally ineffable except in musical sounds). Generally, music theory works are both descriptive and prescriptive, that is they both attempt to define practice and to influence later practice. Thus, music theory generally lags behind practice in important ways, but also points towards future exploration and performance. Musicians study music theory in order to be able to understand the relationships that a composer or songwriter expects to be understood in the notation, and composers study music theory in order to be able to understand how to produce effects and to structure their own works. Composers may study music theory in order to guide their precompositional and compositional decisions. Broadly speaking music theory in the Western tradition focuses on harmony and counterpoint, and then uses these to explain large scale structure and the creation of melody.
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Sound
Music theory describes how sounds, which travel in waves, are notated, and how what is sounded, or played, is perceived by listeners. The study of how humans interpret sound is called psychoacoustics, while the cognitive aspects of how perceived sounds are interpreted into musical structures is studied in music cognition. In music, sound waves are usually measured not by length (or wavelength) or period, but by frequency.
Every object has a resonant frequency which is determined by the object's composition. The different frequencies at which the sound producers of most instruments vibrate are given by the harmonic series. The resonators of musical instruments are designed to exploit these frequencies. Different instruments have different timbres because of variation in the size and shape of the instrument.
Often the fundamental aspects of sound and music are described as pitch, duration, intensity, and timbre.
Pitch
Sounds can be classified into pitches, according to their frequencies or their relative distance from a reference pitch. Tuning is the process of assigning pitches to notes. The distance in pitch between two notes is called an interval. Notes, in turn, can be arranged into different scales and modes. The most common scales are the major and minor scales.
Rhythm
Rhythm is the arrangement of sounds in time. Metre divides time into regular intervals, called measures (or bars in British English). The time signature specifies how many beats are in a measure, and which kind of note lasts for one beat. Syncopated rhythms are rhythms in which normally unaccented beats are accented. Playing simultaneous rhythms in more than one time signature is called polyrhythm.
Melody
Melody combines notes and pitches with rhythm. In a piece of music, the melody is the most identifiable theme. Melodies will often imply certain scales or modes. Counterpoint is the study of combining and layering more or less independent melodies.
Harmony
Harmony happens when two or more notes sound at the same time, although an unaccompanied melody can still imply harmony. Melodies are often structured around sequences of chords, called chord progressions.
Notation
Music notation is the graphical representation of music. In standard notation, notes and rhythms are represented as symbols on the musical staff, along with directions indicating the key, tempo, dynamics, etc.
Analysis
See: Musical analysis and Schenkerian analysis.
Source and further reading
- The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is considered to be one of the best general reference sources about music.
- The AB guides, written by Eric Taylor, are published by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, famous for their graded music examinations.
- The AB Guide to Music Theory, Part I; ISBN 1854724460
- The AB Guide to Music Theory, Part II; ISBN 1854724479
- Boretz, Benjamin (1995) Meta-Variations: Studies in the Foundations of Musical Thought. Red Hook, New York: Open Space.
External links
- Music Theory & History Online (http://www.dolmetsch.com/theoryintro.htm)
- Music Theory Online (http://www.societymusictheory.org/mto/)
- Computing in Musicology (http://www.ccarh.org/publications/books/cm/)
- Journal of the Royal Musical Association (http://www3.oup.co.uk/roymus/)
- NewMusicBox.org Theory (http://www.newmusicbox.org/ar_issue.nmbx?id=48) Issue 48 - Vol.4, No.12, featuring an interview with Edward Conede:Musiktheorie
fr:Théorie de la musique occidentale id:Teori musik it:Teoria musicale he:תאוריית המוזיקה nl:Muziektheorie ja:音楽理論 pl:Teoria muzyki pt:Teoria musical ru:Теория музыки tr:Müzik Teorisi