Lecture Notes: Universality and Structure in Music

Introduction

• Lecturer's Return to Harvard
  • Delighted to be back at Harvard, albeit intimidated by the prestigious chair.
• Dedication to Professor David Prawl
  • Revered professor who bridged beauty, analytic method, and historical perspective.

Interdisciplinary Approach

• Cross-Disciplinary Lectures
  • Focus on music with inclusions from poetry, linguistics, aesthetics, and physics.

The Unanswered Question

• Inspiration from Charles Ives
  • Addressing the question 'Whither music?' by examining 'whence, what, and whose music?'
• Redefinition of Musical Inquiry
  • Aim not to answer definitively but to better understand music's current and future directions.

Nostalgic Recollection

• Introduction to Aaron Copland's Music
  • Discovering a universal set of notes across different composers and cultures.
• Concept of a Universal Musical Grammar
  • Resonates with the idea of a universal grammar in human speech.

Linguistics and Music

• Noam Chomsky's Universal Grammar
  • Studying linguistic principles to understand communication across art forms.
• Music as Heightened Speech
  • Links between emotional intensity in speech and the origins of music.

Phonology in Music

• Fundamentals of Sound
  • Examination of sound as the basis of music and language.
• The Harmonic Series
  • Understanding music's universal elements through natural acoustic phenomena.

Universal Elements in Music

• Musical Universality
  • Exploration of universal notes and scales found globally.
• Cultural Variations
  • How different cultures construe the same universal musical elements.

Harmonic Series and Music Development

• Role of Harmonic Series
  • Basis for the tonal system and musical structure.
• Diatonic and Chromatic Systems
  • Evolution of Western music through balance of these systems.
• Octaves and Fifths
  • Fundamental intervals that form the basis of Western music.

Mozart's G Minor Symphony

• Analysis of Structure and Ambiguity
  • Demonstrates balance of chromaticism and diatonicism.
• Classical Containment of Musical Ideas
  • Example of how complex ideas are contained within structured music.

Conclusion

• Music's Universal Language
  • Despite cultural differences, music shares fundamental universal elements.
• Preparation for Next Lecture
  • Focus on musical syntax, building on phonology to understand deeper semantic meanings in music.