Re:Music theory for nerds (2016)
by giraffe_lady on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @11:46AM
(#30362256)
They are not saying it's arbitrary, they're just saying it can't be consistently derived from some fundamental, smaller set of principles.
'Music theory' is much more of a working practice musicians use to communicate with each other and document their work and discoveries. How programmers feel about their notation systems isn't something working musicians should be concerned with, I don't think.
There is no fundamental thing that makes some notes or combinations pleasing and others not. It is all culturally mediated. I know that possibly seems unlikely and uncomfortable, but nonetheless it is true. If you drill down far enough into music you find the harmonic ratios, and human culture. That's it, there is nothing else down there at the foundations.
'Music theory' is much more of a working practice musicians use to communicate with each other and document their work and discoveries. How programmers feel about their notation systems isn't something working musicians should be concerned with, I don't think.
There is no fundamental thing that makes some notes or combinations pleasing and others not. It is all culturally mediated. I know that possibly seems unlikely and uncomfortable, but nonetheless it is true. If you drill down far enough into music you find the harmonic ratios, and human culture. That's it, there is nothing else down there at the foundations.