Music theory - what is it?

[Ein Heldenleben]

I think one issue is that the word theory is not used, or has not been used, in the same way as in other disciplines. I agree that understanding notation, and being able to sight read quickly are useful skills, but that’s not really theory as it is known elsewhere. However there can be theory about emotional responses, though they may be more on the level of conjectures rather than theories. Making a statement like - sounding two tones a semi tone apart is dissonant and unpleasant - doesn’t allow for the possibility that some people may like that. Similarly trying to associate music with other emotions - not everyone is going to agree on the associations, though some may be cultural and learned.

No when you take a music “ theory “ exam you are not looking at theories about music (like did sonata form emerge form the opera sinfonia? ) but you are being tested on established and agreed matters of musical convention - you might almost call them “facts “ . It is a fact the notes c , e and g form the c major triad . It’s perception that this is pleasing to the ear.

[french frank]

No when you take a music “ theory “ exam you are not looking at theories about music (like did sonata form emerge form the opera sinfonia? ) but you are being tested on established and agreed matters of musical convention - you might almost call them “facts “ . It is a fact the notes c , e and g form the c major triad . It’s perception that this is pleasing to the ear.

[ardcarp]

Looks like you're confusing music notation with music theory.

No, if you read my post there's a lot more to it than just 'notation'. There is a lot to learn. The question under consideration is one of semantics. Is the word 'theory' appropriate here? Everyone in the biz knows what it means, but can anyone think of a better, perhaps a more nuts-and-bolts name?

Just an afterthought: In my schooldays, O-level music set you up pretty well for theory (or whatever you choose to call it) plus some elementary four-part harmony. Nowadays, my daughter, who teaches A-level music at a 6th form college, receives students who have little or no knowledge of the nuts and bolts of music, and has to start from scratch before she can even begin the A-level syllabus.

[Mario]

I really don’t mean to diminish the integrity of this thread, but as someone who started far too late in learning to read and write music,

Who cares what’s it’s called? I want to learn to read and write music and (ABOVE ALL) to sight-read (I hear that music teachers are failing miserably in teaching this – is it called solfeggio?)

Whether it’s called music theory or otherwise, one has to start somewhere.

I’m shocked by ardcarp’s daughter’s revelation in message 18 – how CAN a student attempt A Level music before learning the basics?

Mario

[Dave2002]

I do care what it's called - and I think that theory is the wrong word to use. However, if that's the convention in music education it will probably continue indefinitely into the future. At the later stages of such musical education there may be elements of some kind of theory in the sense that I would prefer to use it, and there start to be some "rules" which might have an impact on aesthetics and perception. Whether those rules can also influence emotions in any meaningful way might still be very questionable.

[Joseph K]

No, if you read my post there's a lot more to it than just 'notation'. There is a lot to learn. The question under consideration is one of semantics. Is the word 'theory' appropriate here? Everyone in the biz knows what it means, but can anyone think of a better, perhaps a more nuts-and-bolts name?

I can: music notation.

I did read your post. Learning to read music is learning music notation; learning the 'grammar' is where theory comes in.

[Mario]

Sorry Dave, I didn’t mean to sound so boorish.

I probably agree with you though, however…

At school we used to study theorems. Its definition is given as

“a general proposition not self-evident but proved by a chain of reasoning (I think this is what I’m currently studying, called “common practice”?)”, and

“a truth established by means of accepted truths.”

How would music theorems sound? Slightly uncomfortable maybe?

Best wishes,

Mario

[french frank]

I do care what it's called - and I think that theory is the wrong word to use.

So it may be. But it is used in this country in specific contexts with a particular meaning. Music notation refers to any system designed to turn the aural sound into readable form, isn't it?.

[Mario]

Joseph’s 21 just got in before mine.

I think he’s nailed it very firmly on the head.

Isn’t THAT precisely what I’m studying currently, how to write down, or notate, the sounds of music, what I hear, what I listen to, what is going on in my head, and how to put those sounds down on paper?

Yup, I like music notation a lot!

Thanks Joseph!

Mario

[Ein Heldenleben]

No, if you read my post there's a lot more to it than just 'notation'. There is a lot to learn. The question under consideration is one of semantics. Is the word 'theory' appropriate here? Everyone in the biz knows what it means, but can anyone think of a better, perhaps a more nuts-and-bolts name?

Just an afterthought: In my schooldays, O-level music set you up pretty well for theory (or whatever you choose to call it) plus some elementary four-part harmony. Nowadays, my daughter, who teaches A-level music at a 6th form college, receives students who have little or no knowledge of the nuts and bolts of music, and has to start from scratch before she can even begin the A-level syllabus.

Yes that’s exactly my experience with a son who went onto read music at Uni and RAM . He taught himself harmony largely through Schoenberg’s books on it. One of the school music teachers told me that you don’t even have to harmonise simple chorales at A level - in the seventies I was doing that at O level!

Incidentally the word theory to describe vital fact - crunching and memorising isn’t just used by the ABRSM. The DVLA are at it . It’s just an antonym for practice really

https://www.gov.uk/book-theory-test

[jayne lee wilson]

The German DAC in my hifi is by T&A - Theorie und Anwendung.....Theory and Application...
(catchy name, right? )

You design it then you build it. You listen to it....revise the design, rebuild it....
Music Theory by a similar definition of terms is simply - you learn to read it, write it down; you learn to play it....you try to improve your reading and writing....try to play it better....("fail again, fail better..." )

[Pulcinella]

Here's the opening paragraph of the entry on Theory in Grove (reprinted 1995 paperback edition):

Theory is now understood as principally the study of the structure of music. This can be divided into melody, rhythm, counterpoint, harmony and form, but these elements are difficult to distinguish from each other and to separate from their contexts. At a more fundamental level theory includes considerations of tonal systems, scales, tuning, intervals, consonance, dissonance, durational proportions and the acoustics of pitch systems. A body of theory exists also about other aspects of music, such as composition, improvisation and electronic sound production.

That seems a pretty good opening statement to me. (It's a long entry, with 14 subsections!)

[Serial_Apologist]

Here's the opening paragraph of the entry on Theory in Grove (reprinted 1995 paperback edition):

Theory is now understood as principally the study of the structure of music. This can be divided into melody, rhythm, counterpoint, harmony and form, but these elements are difficult to distinguish from each other and to separate from their contexts. At a more fundamental level theory includes considerations of tonal systems, scales, tuning, intervals, consonance, dissonance, durational proportions and the acoustics of pitch systems. A body of theory exists also about other aspects of music, such as composition, improvisation and electronic sound production.

That seems a pretty good opening statement to me. (It's a long entry, with 14 subsections!)

I like this, although it doesn't clarify when music theory transitions from being about how to denote F sharp on a score from why to have F sharpened in the first place. I've always used the term "musical theory" in distinction from "music theory" without giving it any thought. Perhaps "musicology" offers a better umbrella term for all the whys and wherefores of musical style, language and so on, given that it outlines where different forms of music and its practice are thought to have originated and covers their courses of development.

[Dave2002]

I almost wish I hadn't started this!

It turns out that the word "theory" has quite a number of different meanings. Some are really very similar, but some are somewhat different. There are also idiomatic uses of the word which are in common use.

One use of the word "theory" is indeed a body of knowledge or facts on which a subject is based, so in that sense "music theory" makes sense.
It's just a body (rather large) of facts about notation, or sometimes goes slightly beyond that.
My particular interest started with regard to harmony and counterpoint, where there are suppositions about the effect particular sequences might have on how the music is received by others.
Mostly those are rule based, and rules are often there for guidance, but can be broken - they are not facts, nor are they absolute.
This is not theory in the scientific sense.

There are of course scientific theories - such as Newton's theory of gravitation.

The word can be used in some other ways, such as:

"He had a theory that if he took his umbrella out it would not rain that day!"

Here the word "theory" could be replaced by "hunch" or "belief" or even "thought".

Used in that way the word might also be a comment on the state of mind of the person being referred to - so - with apologies to James Thurber -
"she had a theory that if the bulb were missing from the socket, that electricity would leak all over the house".

There might also be a comment on a general state of affairs, as in

"In theory he knew that the bus should arrive in time for him to catch the train, but in practice he also knew that it was more sensible to set off at least 15 minutes early, or even catch the earlier bus, in order to meet his connection.
The bus service in his part of town was notoriously unreliable, and the timetable was generally considered to be a work of fiction by those who understood it."

Also, as has been pointed out, most driving tests now feature a written or oral test, and a practical driving test in a car.
The written/oral test is sometimes referred to as the "theory test" - just testing knowledge of a number of rules appropriate to the subject material.

The word "theory" is used to distinguish "knowledge" from practical use.

For example,

"In theory he knew how to build a wall.
He understood about putting bricks one upon the other in patterns, and using mortar between them to give the wall strength.
In practice nobody in the area ever trusted him to build any walls, as they so frequently fell down at the slightest push."

[french frank]

I almost wish I hadn't started this!

It turns out that the word "theory" has quite a number of different meanings.

I broached this point in #14 - that perhaps a confusion lay in attributing different meanings to the word.