On Music Theory, and Making Music More Welcoming for Everyone

Erscheinungsjahr 2023
ISBN: 978-0-472-07502-7
Verlag: University of Michigan Press

Buch, Englisch, 328 Seiten, Hardback, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Reihe: Music and Social Justice

Since its inception in the mid-twentieth century, American music theory has been framed and taught almost exclusively by white men. As a result, whiteness and maleness are woven into the fabric of the field, and BIPOC music theorists face enormous hurdles due to their racial identities. In On Music Theory, Philip Ewell brings together autobiography, music theory and history, and theory and history of race in the United States to offer a black perspective on the state of music theory and to confront the field’s racist roots. Over the course of the book, Ewell undertakes a textbook analysis to unpack the mythologies of whiteness and western-ness with respect to music theory, and gives, for the first time, his perspective on the controversy surrounding the publication of volume 12 of the Journal of Schenkerian Studies. He speaks directly about the antiblackness of music theory and the antisemitism of classical music writ large and concludes by offering suggestions about how we move forward. Taking an explicitly antiracist approach to music theory, with this book Ewell begins to create a space in which those who have been marginalized in music theory can thrive.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikwissenschaft Allgemein Musiktheorie, Musikästhetik, Kompositionslehre
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikwissenschaft Allgemein Musikkritik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Acknowledgments
- Intro: On Music Theory
- Chapter 1: On Music Theory, Race, and Racism
- Defining Music Theory
- How Music Theory Has Dealt with Race in the Past
- Race and Demographic Data in Music Theory
- Race and Demographic Data in Music Theory Textbooks
- Final Thoughts on 'On Music Theory, Race, and Racism'
- Chapter 2: On White Mythologies
- Whiteness
- White Supremacy
- Western Civilization and Origin Myths
- The Western Canon in Music
- One Example of How the Western Canon Discriminates
- How the Western Canon Creates Racist Policies: The Foreign-Language Requirement
- Epistemological Ignorance
- Final Thoughts on 'On White Mythologies'
- Chapter 3: On Heinrich Schenker and His Legacy
- Schenker's Racism
- Whitewashing Schenker
- Reframing Schenker
- How Schenker's Racism Affects His Music Theory
- Schenker's Sexism
- Teaching Schenker
- Final Thoughts on 'On Heinrich Schenker and His Legacy'
- Epilogue to Schenker and His Legacy
- Chapter 4: On Volume 12 of the Journal of Schenkerian Studies
- White Stories, Black Histories, My Testimony
- Background
- Racism in Volume 12
- Music Theory's Assimilationism
- The Ten Core JSS Response Authors
- Reactions to the JSS Affair
- Final Thoughts on 'On Volume 12 of the Journal of Schenkerian Studies'
- Chapter 5: On Music Theory's Antiblackness
- The Society for Music Theory's Outstanding Publication Awards
- How Music Theory Online Tried to Suppress Publication of 'Music Theory and the White Racial Frame'
- Other Examples of Music Theory's Antiblackness
- Final Thoughts on 'On Music Theory's Antiblackness'
- Chapter 6: On Classical Music's Antisemitism
- Differences Between Antisemitism and Racism
- Examples of Antisemitism in Classical Music
- Overcontextualizing Antisemitism
- Antisemitism and Divisiveness in Music Theory
- Recommendations for Confronting Classical Music's Antisemitism
- Final Thoughts on 'On Classical Music's Antisemitism'
- Outro: On a Path Forward and Music Theory's Future
- The 1855 Project
- Recommendations
- Final Thoughts on On Music Theory
- Bibliography