Re: On the Grammar of Music

[Martin Braun <nombraun@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Odd Torleiv Furnes wrote:
"You might like to know that my bookshelf contains several books about the
chordal treatments in Bach, Hindemith, Bartok and Oasis to name a few."

Reply:

Fine. Then you will surely agree that there is so much variation in the
chordal treatment within the work of each composer that they were obviously
not following any grammar.

A grammar of chords could only exist, if there were at least a few chords
that had a meaning. Such a meaning would have to be the same for composer
and audience. We don't have such things in music. The examples of possible
meanings of chords, given by Julian Vrieslander earlier today, clearly show
that an agreement on meaning is not possible in this field. Ask ten persons
what they think the difference between A-C-E and G#-C#-F is. You'll get ten
different answers. And there might not be any correlation whatsoever between
the answers.

Martin


----- Original Message -----
From: O.T.Furnes <oddtf@imt.uio.no>
To: <AUDITORY@LISTS.MCGILL.CA>
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2001 8:21 AM
Subject: Re: On the Grammar of Music