The Unanswered Question 1973 1 Musical Phonology Bernstein Norton
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN recommends it for a deep theory of why music sounds the way it does.
What it is
Leonard Bernstein's 1973 Norton Lectures at Harvard, starting with Musical Phonology. He draws analogies between music and linguistics, including references to Chomsky.
Recommended by 4 HN commenters across 5 different months, 2018 to 2023.
What Hacker News said
Recommends beliu · 2018-09 · on “We know music is pleasurable, the question is why?”
Leonard Bernstein gave his answer on the question in a series of lectures titled "The Unanswered Question." Draws analogies to concepts in linguistics and CFGs: [this video]
Recommends sailfast · 2019-12 · on “Ask HN: How Can I Learn Music Theory?”
I haven't watched the whole thing but this lesson from Barry Harris (and the whole Lincoln Center Jazz Academy) is pretty great for thinking about harmony, solos, and improvisation / voicing: [LINK] I've also enjoyed the Leonard Bernstein Norton lectures at Harvard in terms of overall theory of why things sound good to our ears: [this video]
Recommends sailfast · 2020-08 · on “Ask HN: How to Become a Music Buff?”
I agree 100% with this. While you can appreciate music it's hard to be a "buff" unless you can try to understand the effort or absolute virtuosity that goes into playing a really complex piece. Knowing that you like the way music sounds is great, but understanding _why_ a particular harmonic shift / change is unexpected, novel, or unique is even better. That said, understanding that sort of theory takes a lot of work and investment. If you can't make that investment, I'd say watching some videos about theory, or reading up on production, or technique on any instrument will help gain a deeper understanding. Bernstein did the Norton Lectures in the 70s around a language of music ( [this video] ) bu
Recommends sseagull · 2021-09 · on “Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom”
Leonard Bernstein has some lectures that might be helpful. This one has some good stuff about why notes an octave apart sound similar, etc. [this video]
Recommends coolandsmartrr · 2023-04 · on “If Philip Glass Were a Film”
I feel that this video inherits the spirit of Leonard Bernstein's lectures, particularly the Young People's Concert and the Norton Lectures at Harvard. Bernstein likened music to linguistics, calling each movement of a symphony "a musical sentence."[1] While Two Set Violin may have had facetious intentions, they have faithfully reenacted tensions within the music in their conversation. [1] Check out the Norton Lectures especially, where Bernstein analyzes musical structure with references to Chomsky. The maestro was really well learned. [this video]