Index of /~echew/papers/MTSNYS2005

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In this directory is the PDF file for a paper proposal titled

"Re-Considering the Affinity between Metric and Tonal Structures 
in Brahms' Op. 76 No. 8"

by Anja Volk (Fleischer) and Elaine Chew
{avolk, echew}@usc.edu

The proposal was submitted to MTSNYS on September 30, 2004.

The paper was presented at the 
Music Theory Society of New York State (MTSNYS) Conference
in New York City, New York, on April 10, 2005.

The MTSNYS website is at 
http://www.ithaca.edu/music/mtsnys

The call for papers is at 
http://www.ithaca.edu/music/mtsnys/2005_call.html

THE PAPER PROPOSAL, text with figures, can be viewed as a PDF document.
Click on volkchew-mtsnys2005.pdf if you wish to view the paper proposal in PDF format.
Click on volkchew-mtsnys2005-slides.pdf if you wish to view the presentation in PDF format.

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"Re-Considering the Affinity between Metric and Tonal Structures 
in Brahms' Op. 76 No. 8"

by Anja Volk (Fleischer) and Elaine Chew
{avolk, echew}@usc.edu

ABSTRACT: The relation between metric and tonal structures is a
controversial discussion in music theory. Brahms' music is well-known
for both its metric and harmonic ambiguities. According to David Lewin
and Richard Cohn, Brahms' Capriccio, Op. 76 No. 8, is characterized by
a deep affinity between metric and tonal processes. Both theorists
analyzed the first section of the piece and found different metrical
states of 6/4, 3/2 and 12/8 that correspond to harmonic regions
associated with tonic, subdominant and dominant. Starting from this
coincidence, they develop mathematical arguments supporting a deep
affinity between harmony and meter. We re-consider the study of this
relation from a different perspective using independent mathematical
models, namely Inner Metric Analysis and the Spiral Array, that
describe the metric and tonal domains. Inner Metric Analysis
investigates the metric structure expressed by the notes independently
of the notated bar lines, based on the active pulses of the
piece. When applied to the Capriccio the model detects the different
metrical states of 6/4, 3/2 and 12/8. The Spiral Array Model consists
of a three-dimensional realization of the tonnetz that embeds
higher-level tonal structures in its interior. When applied to the
Capriccio the model segments the piece into tonally stable sections
that correspond to Lewin's and Cohn's observation. The comparison of
the results of these models provides further evidence of what Lewin
and Cohn have proposed about a close relation between harmony and
meter in Brahms' Op. 76 No. 8.

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