Music Theory in the Plural (MTitP) will be an open-source web resource composed of music theoretical source documents from languages and communities that have been historically underrepresented in music studies. As a publishing mechanism, the project endeavors to make accessible peer-reviewed translations of music theoretical documents from diverse sociocultural, geographic, and historical settings and to bring these sources into conversation with music theories from other times and places through invited scholarly commentaries. We seek to include source materials beyond the conventional written publication—including unpublished archived texts, ethnographic interviews, and oral histories—in order to capaciously reimagine how musical sound has been construed across different cultural contexts.
Moreover, the project will support a public, moderated Global Forum where users can interact and collaboratively analyze translated source materials across linguistic barriers with the aid of real-time translation AI. We imagine these threaded discussions in multiple user languages becoming themselves new layers to the living tradition of global music theory. The Global Forum will also map new and existing translated sources and commentaries in multiple network views, allowing users to visualize and productively navigate between sources through their geographic, temporal, and conceptual connections.
Please stay tuned for future developments, and contact us at musictheoryintheplural@gmail.com if you would like to propose a translation or be involved as a commentator, consultant, or advocate of the project!
Edwin K. C. Li (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Anna Yu Wang (Princeton University)
Chris Stover (Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University)
Quintina Carter-Ényì (University of Georgia)
Sheryl Man-Ying Chow (The University of Hong Kong)
Daniel Goldberg (University of Connecticut)
Commentary: Music Theory, Nationalism, and the “Invention” of Bulgarian Rhythm
Clifton Boyd (New York University)
Liam Hynes-Tawa (Harvard University)
Sami Abu Shumays (Queens, New York)
Seokyoung Kim (The University of Texas at Austin)
Ji Yeon Lee (University of Houston)
Edwin K. C. Li (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Nathan John Martin (University of Michigan)
Joon Park (University of Illinois Chicago)
Chris Stover (Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University)
Eshantha Peiris (University of British Columbia)
Amanda Villepastour (Cardiff University)
Qian Rong (Central Conservatory of Music)
Aaron Carter-Ényì (Morehouse College)
Chris Stover (Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University)
Anne Danielsen (University of Oslo)
Michael Tenzer (University of British Columbia)
Dan Wang (University of Pittsburgh)
Lee Cannon-Brown (Harvard University)
Amy Bauer (University of California, Irvine)
Enrique Valarelli Menezes (Universidade de São Paulo)
Carlos Eduardo de Barros Moreira Pires (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro)
Nicole Biamonte (McGill University)