THEORY AND COMPOSITION http://dmitri.tymoczko.com THEORY AND COMPOSITION Dmitri Tymoczko Princeton University dmitri@princeton.edu 1

INTRODUCTION http://dmitri.tymoczko.com Bigand, et. al. “On Listening To Atonal Variants Of Two Piano Sonatas By Beethoven,” Music Perception 26:3 (2009), 223-234.

FIRST POINT Theory is unnecessary. http://dmitri.tymoczko.com FIRST POINT Theory is unnecessary. We can make music out of force, gesture, energy, trajectory. Penderecki, Xenakis, Varese, Ligeti, early Schoenberg From 1500-1900 music theory was obsessed with rules and composers were mostly obedient: Rules about harmony Rules of counterpoint

http://dmitri.tymoczko.com AMAZING DIGRESSION In 1600, Monteverdi imagined a new and free music in which nonharmonic tones could not be “reduced” to harmonic tones. He was attacked by Artusi, a spokesman for theoretical orthodoxy.

http://dmitri.tymoczko.com AMAZING DIGRESSION Historians say that Monteverdi won the debate by having his music accepted. But in the grand scheme of things Artusi was the winner: later composers were less free than Monteverdi with nonharmonic tones.

http://dmitri.tymoczko.com FIRST POINT The big realization of twentieth-century music is that rules were not essential. Many musicians and theorists have shied away from this realization. They have tried for find structure in music where structure is not the point. So, what is theory good for?

SECOND POINT Four uses of theory: http://dmitri.tymoczko.com SECOND POINT Four uses of theory: Some musicians have felt there is something missing from the music of pure gesture Being a composer involves writing a lot of notes. Theory can help you make choices quicker. Theory can lead you to music you might not otherwise have been able to imagine. Theory can give you a reason to value your material.

http://dmitri.tymoczko.com BEETHOVEN REDUX

http://dmitri.tymoczko.com STRAVINSKY

STRAVINSKY http://dmitri.tymoczko.com An amazing two-dimensional coherence!

So much music is idiomatic http://dmitri.tymoczko.com FOR ME For me the primary use of theory is to reinforce my belief that different musical styles are related. Branches of the same tree So much music is idiomatic A matter of repeating familiar patterns By understanding music more deeply I feel I can free myself from those patterns and learn to “modulate” between different kinds of music.

http://dmitri.tymoczko.com FOOLS AND ANGELS

THIRD POINT: CHOOSING NOTES http://dmitri.tymoczko.com THIRD POINT: CHOOSING NOTES

http://dmitri.tymoczko.com FOURTH POINT In the modern world, there is no line between processes or algorithms, on the one hand, and improvisation and spontaneity on the other. This is because algorithms can be made interactive. A BORING SYNTAX! Yosef Goldenberg helped ----- Meeting Notes (2/11/13 13:01) ----- ALLOWABLE AND not ALLOWABLE

http://dmitri.tymoczko.com FIFTH POINT At first, young composers work very hard to avoid incoherence in their music. The problem is, this sometimes leads them to avoid the unexpected. The challenge in writing music is to create surprise without incoherence.

“Music is a logical deduction from absurd premises.” http://dmitri.tymoczko.com FIFTH POINT “Music is a logical deduction from absurd premises.”

http://dmitri.tymoczko.com SIXTH POINT Theory, done right, should not constrain your compositional imagination. It should open your mind to new possibilities. Music as a kind of play. Improvising Digital delay and other effects “Sampling” Natural selection

THE THOUSAND FACES OF FORM http://dmitri.tymoczko.com THE THOUSAND FACES OF FORM Commissioned by the Kitchener- Waterloo Symphony Video by Nathan Selikoff

http://dmitri.tymoczko.com Thank you!