Music Theory Commons^™

Sacred And Secular Hearings Of Holsinger's Fantasy On Old Hundred, Samantha M. Inman

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

This article explores two modes of hearing afforded by Fantasy on Old Hundred (2018), written for concert band by David R. Holsinger. On one hand, the piece works well even when approached from a secular perspective. On the other hand, familiarity with the hymn tune’s Christian texts and with evangelical theology allows engagement with a deeper network of associative meanings and their narrative implications. Part I of this article explores Holsinger’s choice of OLD HUNDREDTH for this composition, highlighting the musical resources of the tune and its associated texts centered on praise. Part II provides an initial analysis of Fantasy …

Translating Cultural Symbols Into Sound: The Creation And Transformation Of The “Mantra Chord” In Zou Xiangping’S Images Of Yalong River For Alto Saxophone And Piano, Cehuai Zhang

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

Abstract: Contemporary Chinese composers such as Zou Xiangping often engage Western compositional techniques to express Chinese cultural and spiritual imagery. In his instrumental solo work Images of Yalong River for Alto Saxophone and Piano, Zou effectively incorporates the Tibetan Buddhist six-syllable mantra “Om mani pedme hum” into a six-note sonority known as the “mantra chord.” Through transforming this chord, Zou aligns it with the descriptive and evocative program he created for the music. This article introduces the background of the creation of the “mantra chord,” examines its transformations, and explores how these adaptations engage with the composer’s program for …

Digital Innovations In Group Piano Instruction, Chee Hyeon Choi, Chan Kiat Lim

Journal of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction

This presentation will explore the transformative impact of integrating web-based digital textbooks into higher education music programs, specifically focusing on group piano curricula. By moving away from traditional paper-based textbooks, this approach leverages interactive, multimedia resources to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment. Attendees will gain insights into how digital textbooks, such as the award-winning eNovative Piano, can enhance students' understanding of musical concepts, foster technical proficiency, and promote a deeper connection between sound, theory, and technique. By attending this session, participants will understand how a multimedia approach in piano education can cultivate adaptability, responsiveness, and creativity, ultimately preparing …

Structural Models For Lyric-Setting Analysis In Popular Song, Matthew T. Hough

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

Studies of English text setting have long focused on "well-formed" examples, typically in 4/4 time, in which syllabic-stress-to-beat matching is prioritized (Halle and Lerdahl 1993, Hayes and Kaun 1996, Hayes 2009). Evidence of this prioritization has been presented in Palmer and Kelly 1992 and Girardi and Plag 2019, and such examples are ubiquitous in English-language nursery rhymes, children’s songs, and folk tunes. The present study contextualizes this type of text setting as one of four models for the structural interaction of English lyrics and music in popular song: 1) unified ("well-formed"), in which musical considerations and a preference for stress …

"Constructing Music" By Teresa Nakra. Book Review., Jorge E. Variego

Journal of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction

Technology is a crucial tool for enhancing music creativity and pedagogy, enriching learning rather than posing a threat to traditional educational means. The integration of computers into music pedagogy allows educators to access numerous resources, refining teaching methodologies and inspiring students' musical pursuits. Embracing technology in music education enables dynamic exploration of composition, production, and performance, fostering an interactive and engaging learning environment. Computers and AI offer opportunities for revitalizing music instruction and deepening students' appreciation for the art form.

Teresa M. Nakra's Constructing Music presents an innovative approach to music theory instruction by substituting traditional Western notation with principles …

Cadential Rhetoric And Separate Agencies: Split-Voice Pacs And Their Impact On Formal Closure In The Music Of Dvořák, Xieyi (Abby) Zhang

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

This article analyzes three pieces by Dvořák that make use of a cadential device henceforth referred to as a split PAC: either the melody or the bass appears to cadence significantly before the other—often by several measures—and maintains a holding pattern until the other voice catches up. This paper begins by contextualizing split PACs within the existing formal theory of cadences. Then, using the analytical perspective of multiple agencies, this paper reads these cadential gestures as drivers of musical narrative that often have long-lasting implications for the remainder of the piece.

A Concrete Naming Convention For Small Intervals, Laurence S. Willis

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

In tuning theory, names proliferate for the bewildering array of intervals available to theorists and scholars. Of particular difficulty is the naming of small intervals: as a group these are generally referred to as commas, following the Greek practice. The various names used for small intervals derive from many different sources, some etymologically related to the ancient practice and some to the origin of the interval in more recent music theory. The problem with this situation is that while they remain fascinating from a scholarly perspective, these names are unwieldy for technical usage, sometimes barely understandable for an informed audience, …

The “Rebuff Chorus” In 1960–2000 Pop Music, David Heetderks

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

In some verse–prechorus–chorus (VPC) songs from 1960–1990, the prechorus sets up an expectation for tonic arrival, only to have the subsequent chorus reject this tonal implication and either withhold tonic resolution, abruptly change to a new key, or contain a passage whose relation to the previous one is tonally ambiguous. I call this event a “rebuff” chorus. Formal analysis and intertextual comparison show how rebuff choruses use absent-tonic passages or modulatory “breakout” passages in order to swerve away from the implications of the previous section. The formal device often transforms the expressive effect of the chorus from arrival and sincerity …

Constructivist Peer Review In Music Theory And Composition Courses: Technologies And Practice, Brendan Mcconville

Journal of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction

This article considers the supporting technologies and practices for effective semi-anonymous peer review in traditional music theory and composition-related courses: orchestration, arranging, and composition. A coordinated approach probes two questions nested within one broad case study: (1) does the use of peer review in music theory and composition-related courses create meaningful, constructivist-inspired learning experiences, and (2) what web technologies can efficiently and effectively accomplish its activities? The article first provides a constructivist theoretical framework; next, it explains the methodologies, technologies, and resulting feedback from using peer review in a three-course study; and finally it provides concluding remarks on the many …

Review Of Coherence In New Music: Experience, Aesthetics, Analysis, By Mark Hutchinson. (New York, Ny: Routledge, 2016)., Orit Hilewicz

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

A review of Mark Hutchinson's book from 2016, Coherence in New Music: Experience, Aesthetics, Analysis.

Developing Variation In The Late Work Of Morton Gould And Why It Matters, J. Wesley Flinn

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

American composer Morton Gould (1913-1996) was remarkably consistent stylistically over the course of his compositional career; this project examines certain motivic transformational techniques used in two of his last works, Stringmusic (1993, winner of the Pulitzer Prize) and Remembrance Day (Soliloquy for a Passing Century) (1995). These techniques, which can generally be filed under the principle of developing variation, are: 1. Mirroring and reversal; 2. Rotation; 3. Motivic expansion and contraction; 4. Additive sets; and 5. Asymmetric injection. After an overview of each technique, I give a full analysis of the fourth movement of Stringmusic using the approaches described …

Intriguing Interpretation Of Dyads In Common-Practice Tonal Music, Yosef Goldenberg

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

The study offers a systematic exploration of situations in which dyads in common-practice tonal music change their meaning, when repeated or as pivots. The most common such situation is thirds that serve as either the upper or the lower pair of consonant triad members, most often with the tonic as one of the options. Sometimes, however, an implied harmony turns out to be dissonant. Occasionally, dyads other than thirds are also subject to reinterpretation. In exceptional circumstances, dyads do not imply complete harmonies.

The Early Schenkerians And The "Concept Of Tonality", John Koslovsky

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

This essay investigates the role that a single expression played during the years when Schenker’s ideas began to disseminate en masse, the so-called “concept of tonality.” In particular, it examines how three key Schenker disciples—Oswald Jonas, Felix Salzer, and Adele Katz—used the expression to promote his/her own vision of Schenkerian analysis and pedagogy during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. While considering the writings that gave birth to the expression, the essay also points to the common sources these early Schenkerians drew on in forming their narratives around Schenker, and it goes on to explore the divergent paths those narratives …

On The Slow Movement Of Brahms's F-Minor Clarinet Sonata: Thirds-Cycles, Diatonie, And Todesangst, Edward Klorman

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

The slow movement (Andante un poco adagio) of Brahms’s Sonata in F Minor for Piano and Clarinet, op. 120, no. 1, poses two significant challenges for a Schenkerian analysis: (1) pervasive, surface-level rhythmic displacements throughout the A section obscure the relationship between melody and bass; and (2) the B section is organized as a major-thirds cycle, a procedure that has often been regarded as incompatible with the underlying Diatonie of Schenker’s framework. This study develops two plausible interpretations of the ambiguous A section, of which one is selected for its clearer alignment of outer-voice counterpoint with formal function. …

Essays From The Fifth International Schenker Symposium (Part I), William M. Marvin

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

No abstract provided.

Do It Again: Sequences In Gershwin And Kern’S Popular Songs, Maxwell Ramage

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

Melodic sequences can create musical unity, enhance extra-musical drama, and make a piece memorable. In constructing their popular songs for Broadway and Hollywood, Gershwin and Kern both employed melodic sequences, but did so in mutually differing ways. This article opens with a broad-brushed comparison between the composers’ most popular songs and finds that Kern had a greater predilection for sequences than did Gershwin. Next, I closely analyze several songs by each composer in order to specify differences between the two songsmiths’ approaches to sequence. It is determined that Gershwin often reserves melodic sequence for musical climaxes, whereas Kern tends to …

Concise Manual Of Harmony, Intended For The Reading Of Spiritual Music In Russia (1874), Piotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, Liliya Shamazov (Ed. And Trans.)

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

No abstract provided.

Preface To Piotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, Concise Manual Of Harmony, Intended For The Reading Of Spiritual Music In Russia (1874), Liliya Shamazov

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

No abstract provided.

Connecting Analysis And Performance: A Case Study For Developing An Effective Approach, Annie Yih

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

Although theorists and performers both engage in score study, we often say that performers “interpret” and theorists “analyze” because, in general, performers are more interested in interpreting the meaning of the music, which usually involves extracting and projecting the mood, character, or drama in the music, whereas theorists focus on understanding the structure of the music. Recognizing that there is need for connecting the practices of analysis and performance, the author suggests developing an effective approach to this concern. It is proposed that both theorists and performers understand structure as process, and that this particular process expresses the unfolding …

Russian Pitch-Class Set Analysis And The Music Of Webern, Philip A. Ewell

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

Prompted by a live performance of Webern’s Op. 6 in Moscow, in 1965, brother and sister Yuri Kholopov and Valentina Kholopova began to analyze the music of Webern; from 1965 to 1970 they wrote two books thereon. Working from scores and a few writings by Europeans (i.e., Stockhausen, Pousseur, Metzger, Kolneder, and Karkoschka), Valentina Kholopova devised a system of pc set analysis, which Yuri later named “hemitonicism.” She first presented her findings to the Soviet “Union of Composers” in the early 1970s, and then published a follow-up article in 1973. In the present essay, the author explicates this important development …

John Harbison’S Use Of Music Of The Past In Three Selected Compositions, Peter Silberman

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

John Harbison’s music is rich in allusions to music of the past. Many of his compositions incorporate excerpts from pre-existing works or newly written passages in earlier styles, predominantly jazz. This article discusses the interaction of pre-existing and new music in three compositions by Harbison (Twilight Music, the Gatsby Etudes, and November 19, 1828), as well as three modes of borrowing used by Harbison (misreading, pastiche, and quotation). Each analysis examines how Harbison transforms pre-existing tonal material to create a post-tonal work, and shows that Harbison’s integration of tonal and post-tonal materials varies depending on the …

Modal Tonicization In Rock: The Special Case Of The Lydian Scale, Brett Clement

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

This article reexamines modal techniques in rock music, using the “problematic” Lydian mode as a test case. I argue that the Lydian scale plays a larger role in rock music than has been previously acknowledged, particularly in songs of the 1970s and ’80s. First, I outline a hierarchy of pitches and chords in the scale, which will aid in recognition of Lydian patterns in rock. Then, I address existing controversies surrounding Lydian interpretations of chord progressions, which will be viewed in light of three “tonal stability rules” necessary for convincing Lydian centricity. This will lead to a general theory of …

Classical Models, Sonata Theory, Equal Division Of The Octave And Two Nineteenth-Century Symphonic Movements: Comparing Analytical Approaches, Howard Cinnamon

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

The first movements of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth and Brahms’s Third Symphonies are examined from the perspective of earlier models of sonata form (those of Kollmann, Galeazzi, and Czerny). The author demonstrates how they adhere to the models in remarkably consistent ways, and shows how analyses based on the models can prove valuable in the study of a group of pieces with similar unconventional harmonic structures. Aspects of Hepokoski and Darcy’s Sonata Theory are incorporated in each case to show how its conclusions differ from—and how they might complement—those arrived at through the application of earlier models.

Table Of Contents, David Carson Berry

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

No abstract provided.

Transformation In Rock Harmony: An Explanatory Strategy, Christopher Doll

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

Explaining one musical passage by saying it is a transformed version of another is a basic strategy of analysis. In this article, I explore this strategy specifically in regard to harmonic structures in rock music. By focusing on transformations that describe obvious musical experiences (as opposed to transformations that could be considered more rational than empirical in nature), I am able to explore the usefulness of concepts such as chord substitution and musical normality as they apply to our hearings, and as they apply to the ways in which we can make sense of our hearings via a notion of …