What these 24 chapters have described is one system among the world's music. Calling it "music theory" full stop is not accurate. This chapter makes that explicit.
Chapter one said that this series covers Western-rooted theory. At the end of the series, it is worth looking at what lies outside it. Believing that this is all there is narrows how you hear music.
Splitting the octave into twelve is a choice
The premises here have been twelve equal divisions of the octave and an organisation around major and minor keys. That is not a law of physics. It is a convention chosen in Western Europe that spread worldwide along with the recording industry. Other regions divide pitch differently.
- Maqam (Arabic music) — uses intervals that twelve equal divisions cannot express; each mode has its own way of moving
- Raga (Indian classical music) — different notes ascending and descending, tied to times of day and to emotional states
- Pelog and slendro (Indonesian gamelan) — five- and seven-note scales whose spacing differs from Western scales
- Japanese scales (miyako-bushi, ritsu, min'yō) — the semitones sit in different places than in major or minor
- Blue notes (blues) — the essential pitches sit between the ones Western notation can write
Some things do recur
Systems differ, and yet some elements appear everywhere. The five-note scale — pentatonic — arose independently in Western Europe, East Asia, Africa, the Andes and elsewhere. Play it below; it will sound familiar from somewhere.
The usual explanation is that it can be built from simple frequency ratios and that any two of its notes sit comfortably together. Why humans find it pleasant is not fully settled.
Dividing the octave into twelve equal steps. It is the premise of this series and of ChordMelo — not the world's only division.
What ChordMelo cannot do
ChordMelo handles twelve pitches, so the finer intervals of maqam and raga are out of reach. Scales that select from within those twelve — pentatonics, Japanese scales — can be approximated through your choice of chords. Guitar mode leans pentatonic, which gets closer to that flavour.
- Research the tradition of your own region, or of music you love, in sources written in its own language
- Reading about another system after learning Western harmony makes the hidden premises of both visible
- When you meet the phrase "this is correct music", ask who it is correct for
Generate in guitar mode, which leans pentatonic. Even inside Western harmony you can lean towards a different colour.
Generate in guitar modeWestern harmony is one music theory. Maqam, raga, pelog and others stand on different principles entirely.