Music theory

Music had been played for thousands of years before music theory was formulated to translate and transcribe musical conversations. Music theory is the language of music, and the principles and rules that create music theory resemble the grammatical rules that make up written language; learning to read music is comparable to learning a language. The ability to read music makes it possible for musicians to play compositions in the composer’s voice, regardless of style or the century in which a piece was composed. Music theory students search for structures in the works of composers from Johann Sebastian Bach to Neil Diamond, and they study the elements of music—rhythm, harmony, melody, structure, form, and texture. Intuitive and self-taught musicians who have never learned to read or write music can be good musicians, but a basic understanding of music theory can help a musician learn new techniques, perform different styles of music, and create grace notes of imagination.

Brief History

The earliest forms of music used materials such as rocks and sticks and were generally developed for religious ceremonies. Prehistoric composers did not write notations of their music but produced sounds that had patterns and meaning. Ancient musical instruments with defined sets of pitches are some of the earliest evidence of humans taking a theoretical approach to music making. Bone flutes with set finger holes found in China have been dated to as far back as 7000 BCE. By 4000 BCE, Egyptians had invented harps and flutes, and in the following five hundred years, they fashioned double-reed clarinets and lyres. By 1500 BCE, the Hittites had developed instruments similar to guitars and created the technique of using frets to change the pitch of a vibrating string. The invention of the fret led to other string instruments such as the violin and harpsichord. By 700 BCE, musicians were performing songs that included vocals.

In 600 BCE, the Greek mathematician Pythagoras classified music as a science and developed the octave scale. In 350 BCE, Aristotle placed music theory firmly in the scientific field and established a method of notation. Roman philosopher Boethius introduced the Greek system of notation to Western Europe, enabling European musicians to transcribe their own national music. He was also the first to write opera.

The Catholic Church was a significant source of music and music theory after the fall of Rome in the fifth century, introducing the first music school in 600 CE. In 800, Charlemagne had poems and psalms set to music. Catholic musicians invented church modes that would later transform into minor and major scales. In 855, polyphony (two unrelated melodies and voices performing at once) was introduced. By 1056, the polyphonic style had replaced Gregorian chants as the chosen music in Catholic churches.

In 1000, Italian monk Guido d’Arezzo added time signatures to standard notation and invented solfège, the vocal note scale: do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do. In 1465, at the beginning of the Renaissance, the printing press was used to print music, making it easier for composers to organize pieces and profit from them. The Renaissance drastically changed the rules of music and music theory by allowing both composers and musicians to develop and to showcase their talents as well as establish a musical legacy to be studied and reproduced by later generations.

Impact

Modern musicians continually revise and transform the legacy of earlier music into new forms and musical theories. In the West, the tradition of art music shaped notions of musical theory, with developments corresponding to periods including the baroque, classical, romantic, and nationalistic. While folk and popular music can certainly be examined from a theoretical perspective, traditionally these forms were created relatively spontaneously, while composers of art music generally paid close attention to the theoretical underpinnings of their work.

The baroque period (1600–1750) features aspects of music theory such as counterpoint, vertical music structure, figured bass, frequent harmonic changes (often on every beat), and drastic changes in volume and melody. Baroque music is emotional and filled with actions and innovations that amazed listeners in its time. Baroque composers include George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, and Bach.

The music of the classical period (1750–1820) was dominated by the mathematical approach to music of Pythagoras and Aristotle. Emotion is an important part of all music, but in the classical period, emotions were carefully controlled using crescendo and decrescendo. Classical music tended to adhere to form, elegance, and restraint, with a formal structure based on the use of thematic development and harmonic patterns. Classical music pieces tend to change chords less frequently than baroque pieces do, creating a graceful sweep and lightness of phrasing. Classical composers such as Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, and Johannes Brahms worked to achieve music that was technically perfect, leading to strong but not excessively emotional music.

The romantic period (1790–1900) was a drastic reversal of the classical style of music. Tradition has it that Beethoven introduced the romantic period by permeating his later works with emotion while keeping within the classical bounds. As time went on, emotion overcame the classical restraints. Composers of the romantic era include Frédéric Chopin, Brahms, Carl Maria von Weber, and Hector Berlioz. Romantic music spawned two smaller movements, “music about legends” and “nationalistic” music. Richard Wagner based much of his music on German mythology, and Jean Sibelius and Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky wrote music about their homelands that defined composition style for decades.

Composers and musicologists have manipulated and revised music theory to create and study additional categories of music, including jazz, blues, rock and roll, and electronica. Music theory allows musicians and composers to study, analyze, and learn from past eras as well as develop new forms and ideas; while music theory most commonly studies music as written or performed, it can also include speculative insight into potential or ideal forms or situations. Musicians have poetic license to circumvent traditional music theory to create innovative compositions and styles; thus, music theory is an evolving field of study.

Although the theories and structures developed in Western classical music have arguably had the most widespread influence on formal music theory, becoming essentially the global standard by the twentieth century, the broader study of sonic phenomena covers all forms of musical expression and may come from any perspective. The basic elements of music, such as pitch, scales, melody, rhythm, harmony, timbre, and consonance and dissonance may be understood differently among different cultures and musical traditions, but any type of thinking related to these concepts can be considered a form of music theory. Notably, twentieth- and twenty-first-century musicians have filtered and transformed music and music theory through advances in both thought and music technology. Recording technology greatly expanded the palette of sonic possibilities, and the increasingly availability of magnetic tape in the 1950s gave composers and musicians a means of recording sounds and creatively manipulating them. Since 1957, computers have become increasingly important in creating and performing music, and digital technology has led to further new frontiers in music theory.

Bibliography

"Music Theory." Britannica, www.britannica.com/art/music-theory. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

Nickol, Peter. Learning to Read Music: How to Make Sense of Those Mysterious Symbols and Bring Music Alive. 3rd ed. London: How to Books, 2008. Print.

Pilhofer, Michael, and Holly Day. Music Theory for Dummies. 2nd ed. Hoboken: Wiley, 2011. Print.

Richer, Margaret. Understand Music Theory: Teach Yourself. New York: McGraw, 2010. Print.

Ruman, Jack. Music Theory. New York: National Learning, 2005. Print.

Schonbrun, Marc. The Everything Music Theory Book:Take Your Understanding of Music to the Next Level. 2nd ed. Avon: Adams Media, 2011. Print.

Steinke, Greg, and Paul O. Harder. Basic Materials in Music Theory: A Programmed Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2009. Print.

Tagliarino, Barrett. Music Theory: A Practical Guide for all Musicians. Milwaukee: Leonard, 2006. Print.