musicians of old

Chapter 887 "The Theory of Pitch Level Sets"!
This time.
Whether it's the 0th century or the old industrial world, whether it's the so-called Baroque style or the medieval style, Classicism or Romanticism, as long as the work does not exceed the scope of post-Romanticism, it will all be dissolved.

The Schenker analysis method, with its profound knowledge, creates a sense of awe.

It's incredible, but not enough.

Not enough effort was put into changing these morbidly elongated, wriggling shadows.

They devoured those works, forcing Fanning to talk about the music they wanted to hear!
"Crackling—" "Crackling—"

The pillars and walls outside the corridor were cracked, leaving only a few thin and pitiful "windows" to separate the inner and outer boundaries. Looking out, there were probably hundreds of millions of twisted and stretched black shadows squeezing in from the outside, sticking to the windows and sliding, staring intently at everything that was happening inside!
That ghastly green hue, and that eerie, complex fragrance, permeated the "lecture hall" even more.

Fan Ning, however, revealed a strange smile.

He moved slowly and deliberately, as if he were still savoring and reminiscing.

"The Schenker I just mentioned was born in 1868 and died in 1935. His birth and death dates do overlap somewhat with those of a certain 'listener.' However, he painstakingly explored this method for a long time, and it wasn't until the year before his death, with the publication of 'Der freie Satz' (Free Syntax), that this analytical method took on a more complete form."

"So it's understandable, and should be understood, that a dangerous individual who died young might not understand this."

Fanning sighed with regret: "But the theory left by Schenk was not recognized in Europe for a long time. Even though some music conservatories in the United States introduced it into their teaching and some scholars noticed its foresight, it was still very unsystematic and not mainstream."

“One very important reason for this is that Schenk himself studied the works of the ‘Crescent Moon’ and ‘Torchbearers’ of the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner and so on.”

As Fan Ning spoke, she glanced back meaningfully.

The three large stacks of musical scores on the podium had completely dissolved.

"There's no way around it; everyone is limited by the era they live in. But unfortunately, this leads many people to misunderstand Schenker's method as 'limited to a finite period in music history,' thus diminishing their understanding of its value, and even, well, this has given rise to a kind of ignorant 'unsatisfied desire.'"

“But I’m grateful to a few people.” Fan Ning shook his head and smiled. “Back in the early days of History 0, there were still a few inheritors of Schenker’s theory who broke free from the fog of dogmatism and revised and developed some analytical techniques.”

"I remember that the scholar Felix Salzer wrote a book called *Structural Hearing*, hmm, how should I translate it? *Structural Hearing*? And his co-authored book with Carl Schachter, *Counterpoint in Composition*, should it be called *Counterpoint in Composition*? It's a pity that I wasn't a music major in my past life, so I only skimmed through these cutting-edge things, but not thoroughly. Don't always act like you're 'eager for knowledge,' you don't know, this is normal. It's rare to be discussing music theory today, as if you're certain that this will achieve some heterogeneous purpose? But I'm suddenly in a good mood, so let's talk more, let's talk further."

Fan Ning suddenly felt like he was back in the classroom at St. Lennia University, teaching a course on harmony that had gone viral to a group of teachers, students, and off-campus learners.

Let's talk about theory? Theory is good, theory is good.

However, we can expect the intensity to continue to rise today.

Do you want to assimilate yourself with knowledge or force yourself to cut yourself off?

Let's see who gets smeared in whose face.

"Back then, the first generation of inheritors of the Schenk analysis method, a handful of people, made some attempts."

"They attempted to analyze a small number of works by artists such as Hindemith, Debussy, László, Stravinsky, Bartók, and Prokofiev, and of course, Scriabin." Fanning's lips curved into a meaningful smile as he spoke, his words flowing smoothly and deliberately.

"Although it only covers some aspects, some special cases, and a few scattered conclusions, it is still enlightening. Schenker analysis has successfully stood on the shoulders of harmony and counterpoint, thereby transcending itself and the limitations of history. Its broad mystical value has been revealed."

"And it is precisely because of this that we have the possibility to go further."

Her tone once again teetered on the precarious edge of temptation.

Fan Ning returned to the podium, gently picked up the chalk, stirring up a few wisps of dust.

"A plan to dismantle the tone, huh."

"The 20th century of the 0th century has arrived, and the new 10th century of the old industrial world has also arrived. The lighthouse is extinguished in the storm, and the ship of art sails to the boundless deep sea. The possibilities of 24 major and minor keys and classical musical forms are being developed and aged by those with ulterior motives, until some other bizarre and wonderful 'new moons' rise on the horizon, unlike anything before."

"Many people have lost their way because of this."

"Many of my old friends are here."

"Either stop looking forward and cling to the afterglow of the late Romantic era, or simply stop looking back and completely sever ties with the beautiful self of the past, entering into some extreme knowledge that is biased and incomplete—yes, don't doubt it, whoever is stirring things up in the 'tone disintegration plan,' I'm talking about them."

Fan Ning slowly blew away the chalk dust that had spilled on the podium, placed his hands on either side, and smiled inexplicably.

"But is it necessary? Absolutely not."

"Because beneath that seemingly chaotic fog of sound, order still exists! The old and the new are both orders! Schenker analysis is a ladder connecting the old and new orders. By climbing it, you will see a more essential, more abstract law, and you will see that it is right there!"

He finally turned around and erased the already profound knowledge from the blackboard.

Once again, a new expression has been written!
"Pitch Class Set Theory"

The brushstrokes are as difficult to replicate as depicting esoteric runes.

"The theory of pitch sets was first proposed by Alan Ford, a scholar of the 0th century, in 1964. Its core idea is to break away from the traditional concepts of 'tonal center' and 'harmonic function' and regard any set of pitches as an abstract set, whether it is a set of chords or a melody!"

"Thus, by comparing the 'basic forms' in different musical fragments to determine whether they are related in terms of material, we can reveal the underlying logic of unity in the work!"

Fanning's tone, used to reveal secrets at higher levels, is more restless, almost seductive, almost whispering.

"At this point, please completely forget what you are familiar with: tonic, dominant, degree, resolution, or obstacle."

"Because here, pitch is just a number."