Music theory
Article
Music theory is the study of the structures, practices, and concepts used to create, analyse, describe, and understand music. It addresses pitch, rhythm, metre, melody, harmony, counterpoint, form, texture, timbre, tuning, and notation.
Different musical traditions use different theoretical systems. Western theory often discusses scales, keys, chords, voice leading, and formal design, while other traditions may organise pitch, rhythm, improvisation, and performance through different concepts.
Theory may be descriptive, explaining existing music, or prescriptive, setting rules for composition and performance. Analytical methods range from practical harmony and counterpoint to acoustics, set theory, transformational theory, cognition, and computation.
Music theory is taught to composers, performers, educators, producers, and researchers. It provides a vocabulary for comparing musical events and examining how repetition, contrast, hierarchy, expectation, and cycles create structure.
Source details and credits
- Source / publisher: Wikipedia
- URL type: WWW
- Credits: Wikipedia
- URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_theory