Music Theory and White Supremacy

Caption notes

In this 2020 video, Adam Neely draws on an interview with Philip Ewell to ask what becomes the default, and what is marginalized, when one tradition’s analytical methods are simply called “music theory.” They discuss repertoire selection, analytical frameworks and institutional inertia in American music education, and propose comparisons involving North Indian theory and approaches developed by jazz theorists. Neely explicitly retains the value of European classical music and its analytical tools. His objection is to making a single perspective a universal standard, not to continuing to perform those works. This guide uses their spoken concepts and educational debate. Judgments about individuals, academic events and institutional history remain part of their contemporary argument, rather than independently verified accusations. Musical excerpts, scores and displayed quotations have not been checked; the captions do not establish that two passages sound alike or that an analysis proves one culture superior to another.