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Music Theory and White Supremacy
For many Westerners, it’s easy to conclude that the ‘rules’
of music theory are universal, accepted around the world. However, in
his thought-provoking and timely video, Music Theory and White
Supremacy, YouTuber Adam Neely argues that this isn’t the case.
He
claims that, for many of us, the default definition of ‘music theory’
is actually something else: the harmonic style of 18th century European
musicians. What’s more, he argues that there is a white racial frame of
music theory, in which the views and ideas of white people are held to
be more significant than the views of non-whites.
Neely
gives the example of figured bass, a form of musical notation that was
widely used in the Classical era but is rarely used today. However, it
remains in many music theory textbooks, some of which have barely
changed for more than a century...
Neely’s video has already amassed almost half a million views and
started what some might say is a long overdue debate. Check it out
above.
Read more... Source: MusicRadar and Adam Neely Channel (YouTube)
