Applying the generative theory of tonal music to world music idioms

Abstract

Based on the premise that a considerable number of the rules of Lerdahl and Jackendoff’s A Generative Theory of Tonal Music (GTTM) are universal—meaning that the principles of music perception and cognition are the same for all experienced listeners, regardless of the musical idiom in which they are experienced—the application of GTTM to musical idioms other than the Western classical one appears to be feasible. Such an undertaking requires the formulation of idiom-specific well-formedness and preference rules, and the description of the idiom’s special tonal hierarchy. These tasks may be accomplished through the analytical study of music specimens representing a certain idiom, and the description of its features in relation to the GTTM’s components. This endeavor is further encouraged by the GTTM’s flexibility as a reductional analysis methodology, stemming from the substitution of the Schenkerian fundamental structure (Ursatz) with the tonally unspecialized and cognitively based normative structure, thus enabling its extensive use beyond its initial analytical range. Another factor that supports the development of GTTM in this direction is the parallel theory of Lerdahl’s Tonal Pitch Space, which aids the creation of tonal hierarchies and provides stability preference rules for the time-span reduction and prolongational analysis. The chosen analytical idiom—the polyphonic singing of Epirus, a region of northern Greece—is an intrinsically polyphonic Balkan folk idiom based on anhemitonic pentatonic modes and performed by three- or four-voice groups, with each voice having a specific musical and narrative role. The analytical corpus comprises 30 polyphonic songs, obtained from archives as staff-notation transcriptions and audio recordings. Two analyses are presented in full and another two concisely, in an attempt to provide an optimally representative sample of the Epirotic polyphonic style. The reductional GTTM methodology applied to the corpus reveals the idiom’s melodic/harmonic content, phrasing/grouping norms, and cadential formulas. It also discloses and explains its tonal hierarchy through a categorization of its modal sonorities and the concept of intrinsic/sensory vs. cultural stability of events. Research results include the description of the idiomatic normative structure and a set of new/modified GTTM rules, thus achieving a formal expansion/adaptation of the theory. In conclusion, GTTM emerges as a powerful analytical tool for the Epirus polyphonic songs, and possibly for other world musics as well. Its four-component cognitive/experienced-listener’s approach enables the analyst to achieve a holistic analysis of the music under investigation, using a concise and precise analytical apparatus. It also allows the identification of the deeper/prototypical melodic, harmonic, and phrase elements of the examined idiom. Thus, the present research may suggest a previously unexplored potential for the GTTM and a fruitful approach toward the understanding of world music idioms.