:: The Musician's Guide to Theory and Analysis ::

WebFacts

Chapter 20 WebFacts

WebFacts 2
The term "hypermeter" was introduced by Edward T. Cone in Musical Form and Musical Performance (see WebFact 1). The term has since been used extensively by many authors; most influential for the discussions in our book is William Rothstein, whose book Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music (New York: Schirmer, 1989) is the source of much of the terminology introduced here. You might enjoy reading either book; both are heavily weighted toward practical questions of performance.

WebFacts 3
The ideas introduced here are not new at all, but are over two hundred years old! William Rothstein (Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music, p. 51) quotes a discussion of the lead-in from Christoph Koch's Introductory Essay on Composition, which dates from 1787-93. Rothstein also mentions that the term is not Koch's but comes from an even earlier writer.

WebFacts 4
William Rothstein discusses metrical reinterpretation in some detail (see WebFact 2). Pages 52-56 in Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music give more musical examples and analyses of this technique of phrase connection.

WebFacts 5
The term "step progression" was introduced by Paul Hindemith-an early twentieth-century music theorist, composer, and teacher-in his book Craft of Musical Composition (European American Music, 1942; Vol. 1, pp. 193-96). You probably know Hindemith as a composer: he wrote works for many different instruments that are considered standard repertoire. He learned how to play most of the instruments for which he wrote, including a variety of wind, brass, and string instruments. As a music theorist, Hindemith developed a system for naming and categorizing chords in twentieth-century music based on the intervals they contain. He also created a system for graphing the harmonic tension and root progressions in musical compositions. He taught theory and composition at Yale University.