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Schillinger system
The Schillinger system of musical composition, named after Joseph Schillinger (1895–1943) is a method of musical composition based on mathematical processes. It comprises theories of rhythm, harmony, melody, counterpoint, form and semantics, purporting to offer a systematic and non-genre approach to music analysis and composition; a descriptive rather than prescriptive grammar of music.
While it influenced some prominent figures, such as Lawrence Berk (founder of the Berklee College of Music) and George Gershwin (likely influencing the piece "I Got Rhythm Variations"), it began to fall out of favor in the 1960s after receiving criticisms for being over-complicated and pseudo-scientific, and was removed from the Berklee curriculum.
Schillinger was a professor at The New School in New York City and taught such musicians as George Gershwin, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and other Hollywood and Broadway composers.
Schillinger's celebrity status made him suspect, and his ideas were treated with skepticism. He died young from stomach cancer. He did not finish work on the texts he hoped would advance his theories in the realm of academe. His widow and biographer, Frances Schillinger, hired editors to complete and publish a text. They pulled together his unfinished monograph with parts of his correspondence courses. Despite its length, it presents only a partial exposition of the system. For example, Schillinger's theory of counterpoint covers only two-part counterpoint. It is marred by a wildly uneven tone, at times neutral and objective, at times vehement and polemical. His method remained difficult and obscure for the uninitiated.
His flamboyant manner based on extreme assertions is evident in his writings: "These procedures were performed crudely by even well-reputed composers. For example L. van Beethoven…"
Later, in The Theory of Melody, Beethoven is taken to task over the construction of the opening melody of his Pathétique Sonata.
Schillinger's system of musical composition is an attempt to create a comprehensive and definitive treatise on music and number. By revealing principles of the organization of sound through scientific analysis, Schillinger hoped to free the composer from the shackles of tradition. He was clear that his methods allowed any style of composition to be undertaken more effectively.[citation needed]
My system does not circumscribe the composer's freedom, but merely points out the methodological way to arrive at a decision. Any decision, which results in a harmonic relation, is fully acceptable. We are opposed only to vagueness and haphazard speculation.
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Schillinger system
The Schillinger system of musical composition, named after Joseph Schillinger (1895–1943) is a method of musical composition based on mathematical processes. It comprises theories of rhythm, harmony, melody, counterpoint, form and semantics, purporting to offer a systematic and non-genre approach to music analysis and composition; a descriptive rather than prescriptive grammar of music.
While it influenced some prominent figures, such as Lawrence Berk (founder of the Berklee College of Music) and George Gershwin (likely influencing the piece "I Got Rhythm Variations"), it began to fall out of favor in the 1960s after receiving criticisms for being over-complicated and pseudo-scientific, and was removed from the Berklee curriculum.
Schillinger was a professor at The New School in New York City and taught such musicians as George Gershwin, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and other Hollywood and Broadway composers.
Schillinger's celebrity status made him suspect, and his ideas were treated with skepticism. He died young from stomach cancer. He did not finish work on the texts he hoped would advance his theories in the realm of academe. His widow and biographer, Frances Schillinger, hired editors to complete and publish a text. They pulled together his unfinished monograph with parts of his correspondence courses. Despite its length, it presents only a partial exposition of the system. For example, Schillinger's theory of counterpoint covers only two-part counterpoint. It is marred by a wildly uneven tone, at times neutral and objective, at times vehement and polemical. His method remained difficult and obscure for the uninitiated.
His flamboyant manner based on extreme assertions is evident in his writings: "These procedures were performed crudely by even well-reputed composers. For example L. van Beethoven…"
Later, in The Theory of Melody, Beethoven is taken to task over the construction of the opening melody of his Pathétique Sonata.
Schillinger's system of musical composition is an attempt to create a comprehensive and definitive treatise on music and number. By revealing principles of the organization of sound through scientific analysis, Schillinger hoped to free the composer from the shackles of tradition. He was clear that his methods allowed any style of composition to be undertaken more effectively.[citation needed]
My system does not circumscribe the composer's freedom, but merely points out the methodological way to arrive at a decision. Any decision, which results in a harmonic relation, is fully acceptable. We are opposed only to vagueness and haphazard speculation.