Music Theory Online· 2020Q1
Music Theory and the White Racial Frame
- 349citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2020year
Short summary
Music theory has failed to diversify despite two decades of effort, remaining dominated by white practitioners and privileged composers/theorists.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Music theory has not diversified racially in over 20 years.
- The field privileges composers and theorists who are predominantly white.
- A 'white racial frame' is identified as a structural and institutional barrier.
- Deframing and reframing this structure is proposed as a solution.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
For over twenty years, music theory has tried to diversify with respect to race, yet the field today remains remarkably white, not only in terms of the people who practice music theory but also in the race of the composers and theorists whose work music theory privileges. In this paper, a critical-race examination of the field of music theory, I try to come to terms with why this is so. I posit that there exists a “white racial frame” in music theory that is structural and institutionalized, and that only through a deframing and reframing of this white racial frame will we begin to see positive racial changes in music theory.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Music Theory Online, 2020 · DOI ↗
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Field: Music
MusicArts and Humanities