On the politics of “music theory” and the implications of its importation into research on music and meaning

Abstract This paper critically examines the importation of concepts and tools from the field of music theory into interdisciplinary research that investigates music and meaning. Within the field of music theory, one type of music theory – Western classical music theory – holds institutional dominance to the extent that the term “music theory” has become synonymous with this specific type of theory, even though it has been demonstrated to be highly incompatible with non-Western musical practices as well as many genres of popular music. This paper examines the biases and blind spots of Western classical music theory that carry over into research in music semiotics and related interdisciplinary fields such as music psychology, critically reflecting on the limitations these biases and blind spots impose on investigations into music and meaning. An eclectic range of alternative discourses on musical knowledge (e.g. from theoretical texts on non-Western and non-classical musical practices) are also explored and insights from these alternative music theories are collated in order to synthesise practical considerations that allow for broader (and less ethnocentric) perspectives to be applied in future research on music and meaning, with a particular emphasis on considerations for multimodal semiotic studies of music in contemporary global media practices.