Dmitri Tymoczko
Encyclopedia
Dmitri Tymoczko is a composer and music theorist. His music, which draws on rock, jazz, and romanticism, has been performed by ensembles such as the Ansermet Quartet, the Brentano Quartet, Janus, Newspeak, the San Francisco Contemporary Players, the Pacifica Quartet, and Ursula Opens. As a theorist, he has published more than two dozen articles dealing with topics related to contemporary tonality, including scales, voice leading, and functional harmonic norms. His article "The Geometry of Musical Chords," was the first music-theory article ever published by Science Magazine
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was a philosopher of mathematics, while his mother Maria Tymoczko was a professor of comparative literature. He attended Harvard University
, studying composition, music theory, and philosophy, and did graduate work in Philosophy at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar. After being asked to leave the philosophy D. Phil. program, he eventually returned to music, acquiring a Ph.D. in composition from The University of California, Berkeley. Since 2002, he has been a professor at Princeton University
. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim foundation and the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study. He is married to the philosopher Elisabeth Camp, with whom he has a son Lukas.
The first part of the book explores theoretical questions about how these properties can be combined. In particular, Tymoczko uses orbifolds to develop "maps" of musical chords, showing that the first two properties (e.g. conjunct melodic motion and harmonic consistency) can be combined only in special circumstances. The second part of the book uses these tools to analyze pieces from the Middle Ages to the present. Tymoczko argues that there is an "extended common practice" linking superficially distinct styles, with jazz being much closer to classical music than many have thought.
Tymoczko has also written a free software program, "ChordGeometries," allowing users to visualize the orbifolds representing musical chords.
Science (journal)
Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
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Biography
Tymoczko was born on December 16, 1969, in Northampton, Massachusetts. His father Thomas TymoczkoThomas Tymoczko
A. Thomas Tymoczko was a philosopher specializing in logic and the philosophy of mathematics. He taught at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts from 1971 until his untimely death....
was a philosopher of mathematics, while his mother Maria Tymoczko was a professor of comparative literature. He attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, studying composition, music theory, and philosophy, and did graduate work in Philosophy at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar. After being asked to leave the philosophy D. Phil. program, he eventually returned to music, acquiring a Ph.D. in composition from The University of California, Berkeley. Since 2002, he has been a professor at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim foundation and the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study. He is married to the philosopher Elisabeth Camp, with whom he has a son Lukas.
Music
Tymoczko's album Beat Therapy (Bridge 9353), combines jazz instrumentation with classical ideas of development. The critic Frank Oteri describes it as "far reaching and utterly entertaining."Theoretical Work
In A Geometry of Music, Tymoczko proposes a general framework for thinking about tonality, arguing that there are five basic features that jointly contribute to the sense of tonality:- conjunct melodic motion (melodies move by short distances)
- harmonic consistency (harmonies sound similar)
- acoustic consonance (harmonies sound pleasant)
- limited macroharmony (music uses a small number of notes over moderate spans of musical time)
- centricity (one note is heard as "more stable" than the others)
The first part of the book explores theoretical questions about how these properties can be combined. In particular, Tymoczko uses orbifolds to develop "maps" of musical chords, showing that the first two properties (e.g. conjunct melodic motion and harmonic consistency) can be combined only in special circumstances. The second part of the book uses these tools to analyze pieces from the Middle Ages to the present. Tymoczko argues that there is an "extended common practice" linking superficially distinct styles, with jazz being much closer to classical music than many have thought.
Tymoczko has also written a free software program, "ChordGeometries," allowing users to visualize the orbifolds representing musical chords.
External links
- http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1582330,00.html
- http://paw.princeton.edu/issues/2011/02/09/pages/6550/index.xml