source file: mills2.txt Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 12:23:22 -0700 Subject: Post from McLaren From: John Chalmers From: mclaren Subject: Using the harmonic series in music theory courses -- Neil Haverstick has as usual greatly contributed to the discouse of this forum with his extremely perceptive comments. In particular, Neil's suggestion that the harmonic series be used as the basis of teaching music theory (rather than the current peculiar combination of Guidonian hand mnemonics, Naziistic intimidation, and Orwellian "rewriting" of musical history to eliminate any trace of evidence for past use of non-12-TET) is an excellent one. It's obvious, however, why there's MAJOR resistance to this method of teaching music theory. Once the sacred 12 tones get the heave-ho, the entire edifice of the modern concert hall & "music appreciation" classical CD racket starts to crumble & collapse. In a lecture at UCLA in 1966, Harry Partch said "It has been stated in public print that if my ideas were to become dominant in music courses, music as we know it would cease to exist." Harry was, as usual, correct. Teaching music on the basis of the harmonic series would detonate "music as we know it" like a .357 hollow-point slug blowing apart a rotten watermelon. The current generations of music theory "experts" would flail like insects stuck in yogurt, unequipped for and unable to deal with ear-training or composition or analysis of non-12 music. Almost every Ph.D. in the most prestigious music departments & the most sainted conservatories throughout the land would be summarily ejected as grossly incompetent (except in the tiny subspeciality of 12-TET composition & performance). Uh...something tells me this ain't gonna happen without a struggle, Neil. The outrage that has already resulted from my standard talk about the facts of music history can scarce be described. When author after respected author of respected music history texts is revealed to be ignorant of the actual realities of intonation in any given period of musical history, many in the audience lunge to their feet with tears of indignation gleaming in their eyes. Not a pretty sight. Telling the truth in public is one of the hallmarks of a degenerate mind & a depraved sensibility, and would create untold chaos throughout the university system were it to become common practice in teaching music history, music theory, or contemporary composition. Indeed, those few students who've already been exposed to some of the actual scientific research on how the ear non-linearly warps and distorts perception of melodies, intervals, rhythms, time and silence in music (students of Warren Burt's psychoacoustics course at ACAT in Australia) have reportedly staggered away brain- boggled and bushwacked, mind-blown & aghast. This is *not* the way to maintain the status quo, Neil. Such students wind up producing music that's (gasp!)... imaginative. They end up demonstrating (may the gods save us)...enthusiasm. Ever since the trial of Socrates, enthusiasm and imagination have been well-known as the most heinous crimes an individual can commit against the state. Yet now you propose a method of teaching music which would encourage these qualities...? This won't do, Neil! It simply won't do! --mclaren Received: from eartha.mills.edu [144.91.3.20] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Wed, 5 Jun 1996 22:37 +0100 Received: from by eartha.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) for id NAA11452; Wed, 5 Jun 1996 13:37:20 -0700 Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 13:37:20 -0700 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@ella.mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu