Last Friday the students in Foundations of Music Theory and Advanced Music Theory gave delightful presentations showcasing their compositions. Each student spent several weeks crafting either an original harmonization of a hymn or arranging a hymn into a more complex choral setting. But why should music theory be required for all these students when only a handful of them are planning future studies in music? Isn’t music theory a rather nerdy topic? Here are a few reasons why music theory is a worthy subject of study.
While music theory is indeed specialized, it has long enjoyed a place in classical education as one of the four mathematical subjects of the Quadrivium: Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy. Music as defined by Boethius, a sixth century Christian and Roman philosopher, is number and time combined. A student who wants to understand how math plays out in the world of sound should study music theory to see all the ratios, frequencies, and numerical patterns that make music work. Music theory gives the vocabulary necessary to identify notes, chords, progressions, voicing, modes, and rhythms that comprise music.
Another reason to study music theory is to become a master of music and not a lowly slave. Boethius wrote that there are three kinds of musicians. The first kind of musician simply plays an instrument, not knowing how the music is composed and unable to judge the reasons behind the music. This is the kind that Boethius likens to a slave—all he can do is follow instructions and perform a physical task. The next level is one who can compose songs because he has a natural musical instinct. Though better than being dubbed a slave, he is still not a master of music, because his natural talent cannot explain why the music sounds how it does. The last category is what students at Mount Hope can become through learning music theory, which Boethius regards as the only true musician. This kind of musician may not even have natural musical talent or play an instrument, but he perceives the inner workings of music and can judge the music he hears with understanding.
Students who learn music theory also make more intuitive congregational singers and better choir members. They can recognize a Picardy third at the end of a piece, harmonize with a knowledge of how their note fits into the chord, and explain exactly how a hymn could tonicize from the tonic to the dominant or from the major to relative minor key. Knowing music theory gives them the vocabulary to understand what is happening in the music they encounter every day both in church and at home. They can have the joy of building on the music that they hear because they understand how it is made.
Understanding theory also gives them the discernment to tell when music isn’t good, not just because they have a vague feeling about how it sounds, but because they have learned about the intervals and chord structures that are dissonant and know how to combine notes and resolve dissonances properly. Music can work for good or evil depending on the interests of the composer, and realizing that certain chords or modes will produce a certain effect frees the listener from being unwittingly manipulated by music. Music has the power to affect emotions, but one who has learned the inner workings of music can take charge over this power in music and use it to impact his emotions in a pure and good way.
Among many other reasons, students should learn music theory to serve the neighbor and glorify God. This will be seen in a few days when the seniors present their capstone projects—writing an entire hymn with their own text and musical accompaniment. In conjunction with the many other subjects they have studied, the seniors will be using music theory in order to craft a hymn for the praise of God and edification of others.
In Christ,
Miss Engwall
