Quotations.html

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  13     <h1>Quotations</h1>
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  20 <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><blockquote>
  21 <p class="quoted">
  22 There are those who consider that studies in harmony, counterpoint,
  23 and fugue are the exclusive province of the intended composer. But if
  24 we reflect that theory must follow practice, rarely preceding it
  25 except by chance, we must realize that musical theory is not a set of
  26 directions for composing music. It is rather the collected and
  27 systematized deductions gathered by observing the practice of
  28 composers over a long time, and it attempts to set forth what is or
  29 has been their common practice. It tells not how music will be written
  30 in the future, but how music has been written in the past.</p>
  31 <p class="quoted">The results of such a definition of the true nature of musical theory
  32 are many and important. First of all, it is clear that this knowledge
  33 is indispensable to musicians in all fields of the art, whether they
  34 be composers, performers, conductors, critics, teachers, or
  35 musicologists. Indeed, a secure grounding in theory is even more a
  36 necessity to the musical scholar than to the composer, since it forms
  37 the basis for any intelligent appraisal of the individual styles of
  38 the past or present.</p>
  39 <p class="quoted">On the other hand, the person gifted for creative musical composition
  40 is taking a serious risk in assuming that this genius is great enough
  41 to get along without a deep knowledge of the common practice of
  42 composers. Mastery of the technical or theoretical aspects of music
  43 should be carried out by him as a life's work, running parallel to his
  44 creative activity but quite separate from it. In the one he is
  45 following common practice, while in the other he is responsible solely
  46 to the dictates of his own personal tastes and urge for expression.</p>
  47
  48 </blockquote>
  49
  50 <p>Walter Piston (Intro to the first edition of <em>Harmony</em>)</p>
  51
  52 <p>&mdash;</p>
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  79 <p class="cke-footer">* jeffcovey becomes too groggy to read the directions and becomes
  80   the year's first nasal spray overdose fatality.
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  82 <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
  83     March 13, 2008</p>
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