Music Theory: It’s Just That- Fiction

Music Theory: It’s Just That

by Lex Marburger
illustration by Opie

I just found out something. All our music is based on a mistake. Our whole system of musical theory came from a mistranslation of ancient Greek. Here’s how it happened:

The Greeks, as we all know, have been touted as the wisest of the ancients (although it’s also true that those who win the wars write history). Well, they had a theory of music that was based on mathematical principles created by our good friend Pythagoras. Then they took two of the resulting chords and stacked them on top of each other, and called this a “mode,” using terms such as Phrygian, Lydian, and Locrian (there are four others, but who cares about the names, anyway?). Then Athens fell, Rome fell, and Western society entered the Dark Ages, where all knowledge was lost. About 600 CE (Common Era), Pope Gregory, along with a few other Christians with too much time on their hands, started finding these ancient Greek texts and translating them, hoping to get an idea of what their music sounded like, and if it could be used to enhance the mood in their monasteries. They found out about the modes, recreated them, and used them to write a capella music to be sung by the monks. Since it was Pope Gregory’s idea, they called it Gregorian Chant (and over 1000 years later, he becomes a #1 hit at Tower).

Over several hundred years, the modes of Ionian and Aolian were found to be the most stable and were used almost exclusively. Soon they became known as major and minor. The modes had a resurgence in the ’60s when Miles Davis began exploring all the possibilities of modal music, but most people nowadays are writing in either a major or minor key. There’s only one problem. Pope Gregory was completely wrong.

That’s right, the old Christian scholars mistranslated and came up with a system of arranging notes that was, for the most part, completely arbitrary. This new system was imposed upon the people and has been proclaimed the only way to understand music for almost 1500 years. It was beaten into everyone’s head that this was “right,” and anything that strayed was “wrong.” I guess you could call it “truth through insistence.” If I say this enough times it will be true. So where does this leave us?

Well, you could say that since it works and it’s firmly established, why not just keep it around and use it? Well, where’s the fun in that? Now that you know the music theory you’ve learned (or soaked up by osmosis) is arbitrary, why not make up your own? Does the fact that the traditional one is older make it any more true or “right”? All music theory is, after all, is just as it claims – a theory. If you can figure out a new way to organize notes, use it. I have a guess that if you use it enough times, it will start sounding right and may just catch on.