Musical Analysis: Back to Basics?

Abstract

The traditional basics of elementary education – the three R's: Reading, Writing and Arithmetic – whilst problematic, not least in the poverty of alliteration involved, are seriously limiting in the promotion of technique at the expense of creative thinking. There appears to be a corresponding situation with current trends in musical analysis. Here, events have moved a notch further with the three S's: Schenker, Semiology and Set-Theory. No doubt the quality of alliteration has improved, but we should still be wary of adopting techniques which may be used as a substitute for the essential creative processes involved in coming to understand how music works. If a back to basics approach is seriously to be considered, then perhaps we should return to the three A's: Analysis, Awareness and Accessibility.