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(1997) Music, Gestalt, and computing, Dordrecht, Springer.
Although in the last decades the traditional theory of harmony in tonal music has often been sharply criticized, it is still in use and a better alternative has not yet been elaborated. Since it is used today mainly for the purpose of describing and teaching tonal harmony, a modern alternative should offer, above all, a better method of describing any succession of harmonies. Starting from a recently evolved system of encoding harmony objectively as a succession of harmonic interval combinations and melodic bass steps, a similar shorthand writing of harmonies with additional mnemonic qualities is suggested. This shorthand may be used in describing and teaching tonal harmony. Moreover, its use within the scope of a modern Gestalt theory of musical perception concentrating on the learning and recognizing of patterns of harmonic and melodic intervals is outlined.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/BFb0034117
Full citation:
Eberlein, R. (1997)., A method of analysing harmony, based on interval patterns or "Gestalten", in M. Leman (ed.), Music, Gestalt, and computing, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 225-236.
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