The Philosophy of Music
Being the Substance of a Course of Lectures Delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, in February and March 1877

First published in 1879, this work brings together a lecture series given by Pole in 1877 for the Royal Institution.

William Pole (Author)

9781108038782, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 1 December 2011

346 pages
21.6 x 14 x 2 cm, 0.44 kg

The physics, or natural philosophy, of music has fascinated scholars and scientists since ancient times: from Pythagoras' concept of celestial harmony, to the work of Galileo, Mersenne, Euler and Ohm, culminating in the nineteenth century with Helmholtz's definitive work On the Sensations of Tone. William Pole (1814–1900) was a civil engineer and musicologist. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1861 and was a founder member of the Royal Musical Association. First published in 1879, this work brings together his series of lectures on the theory of music, from the nature of sound to the physics of harmony, given in 1877 at the invitation of the Royal Institution. They were intended as an introduction to Helmholtz's research for the student or lay person, and include discussions of sound, scales, intervals, harmony and counterpoint (covering both historical and theoretical aspects), all illustrated with musical examples.

Preface
1. Introduction
Part I. The Material of Music: 2. The phenomena of sound in general
3. Special characteristics of musical sounds
4. Theoretical nature of the sounds of musical instruments
Part II. Elementary Arrangements of the Material: 5. General arrangement of musical sounds by steps or degrees
6. Musical intervals
7. History of the musical scale
8. Theoretical nature of the diatonic scale in its ancient form
9. The ancient modes
10. Modern tonality
11. The modern diatonic scale as influenced by harmony
12. The chromatic scale - the scales of the minor mode
13. Time - rhythm - form
Part III. The Structure of Music: 14. Melody
15. Harmony. A. History
16. Harmony continued. B. Theoretical rules and systems
17. Harmony continued. C. Elementary combinations
18. Harmony continued. D. Compound combinations - chords
19. Harmony continued. D. Harmonic progressions
20. Counterpoint
21. Conclusion
Appendix.

Subject Areas: Music [AV]