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Music theory is a set of systems 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 follows the pattern of attempting to reduce the practice of composing and playing into rules and ideas.
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.
Sound
Music theory describes how sounds, which travel in waves, are notated, and the relationship between what is sounded, or played, is perceived by listeners. The study of
how humans interpret sound is called psychoacoustics. In music these
waves are not usually measured 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 which 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 pitches with rhythm. In a piece of music, the melody is the
most identifiable theme. Melodies will often imply certain scales. 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. 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.
Books
- 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
Source
- Boretz, Benjamin (1995) Meta-Variations: Studies in the Foundations of Musical Thought. Red Hook, New York: Open
Space.
External links
Contributors please read WikiProject Music terminology if you consider working on these subjects.
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