What is music theory really? by Oliver Z.

 What is music theory really?

   Music theory as it is called in almost every textbook or written piece of literature refers exclusively to the musical theology and ideas of 18th century European composers. Most of this is not only shown in classical music, but almost every form of music, especially the millions of songs that top the billboards.

   “To reduce music history to a pageant of masters is, at bottom, lazy. We stick with the known in order to avoid the hard work of exploring the unknown,” stated alex ross. 

   I believe that there is no greater way to illustrate the situation in which the music world has stuck itself in, metaphorically and literally. The music industry has not only been stuck for simply a year, or a decade, or even a century, but for almost four centuries up to now. 

   The first representation of this or occurrence of what we consider to be music theory set in the modern world is when we take into consideration what music we consider “correct.” 

   I believe that this music problem is not simply due to what our ears momentarily think, but rather, what has been planted into our modern culture and history for so many years. We hear what we have been trained to hear, and that is why we hear it. 

   I intend to make the argument that no singular work of music is bad, it is just that the music is not what we have been trained to hear.

   For instance, take bulgarian folk music, music that is rarely spoken about or put on popular playlists, yet most of the people I have asked have said that this music is appealing to listen to.

   When speaking about Bulgarian folk music, we must also take into account that they have an entirely different notation and musical system that does not follow the beliefs of 18th century western European composers (even though they do exist in Europe surprisingly enough.)

   Along with that, Bulgarian folk music has existed as long, if not longer than many of the ideas formed from other 18th century European composers and writers, stretching all the way back to the 8th century BC.

   Another great example is an afro cuban band called sexdo sentido who create insane and complex rhythms whilst still being very structured, primarily in the style of cuban and central/south american or african music. Though they use many of the same notation and writing style as the composers of the 18th century, this band could not be any further from a strictly european structured stylization of some other bands. 

   Along with that, many other forms of notation and music theory exist, ranging from parts or north america to central asia. A primary form of notation in north india is the raga.

   The raga, or raag is a musical structure for improvisation. Many of the ideas and beliefs of northern indian music mirror that of western European music, almost serving as a foil to it. By using knowledge of already established ideas in western European music we can learn even more about not only northern indian, but also western European music.

   By using other musical styles and ideas, we can compare it to the western European style of music and figure even more about the music we already know about.

   Some musicians have even begun to establish these ideas into their music, creating new and inventive sounds not yet created. A good example of this is Kaleo, a Icelandic rock band who uses many pre established chords and ideas set in by composers such as bach or vivaldi and simply directs in into new territory, new concepts not yet used.

   So, if you are a musician, or you know a musician, advise them to check out different notation and concepts not yet known, just by pushing you or your friend out of your comfort zone, you might find that new forms of music can sound even better than expected.