By extensively revising the I-R model of melody (Meyer, 1973; Narmour, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1991a, 1991b, 1992, 1996, 2000) we can explain the structural functions of many musical parameters. Here I will deal with melodic interval, registral direction, pitch height, scale-step (major and minor), duration (interval, length, rate, speed, and pace), tempo, dynamics (loudness), and texture (saving the other parameters for a later essay). By reconceptualizing the model’s core concept of functional directionality within parametric scales, only three isomorphic structural analogues become cognitively necessary, namely, process (and its variant duplication), reversal, and return. Attached signs (0, ∼, −, and +) augment the main symbols (P, D, and R) so as to track strength of implication, realization, and denial. A new theory of rhythmic structure is put forth. And with an aim toward theoretical unification, the reconfigured model confronts the combinatorial complexities of parametric interactions and offers convincing interpretations of congruence and noncongruence—the primary sources of musical affects. Works of Brahms, Debussy, Mussorgsky-Ravel, and Schoenberg are analyzed.
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September 2015
Research Article|
September 01 2015
Toward a Unified Theory of the I-R Model (Part 1): Parametric Scales and Their Analogically Isomorphic Structures Available to Purchase
Eugene Narmour
University of Pennsylvania
Eugene Narmour, 306 Joseph’s Way, Media, PA, 19063. E-mail: [email protected]
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Eugene Narmour, 306 Joseph’s Way, Media, PA, 19063. E-mail: [email protected]
Music Perception (2015) 33 (1): 32–69.
Article history
Received:
March 22 2015
Accepted:
May 18 2015
Citation
Eugene Narmour; Toward a Unified Theory of the I-R Model (Part 1): Parametric Scales and Their Analogically Isomorphic Structures. Music Perception 1 September 2015; 33 (1): 32–69. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2015.33.1.32
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