PHQ | QUESTIONS: Music Type Theory and Donations

39 comments

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  • Mike
  • July 27, 2016 at 5:39 am

  Hi Taylor,

  I recently listened to this podcast, and as a fellow INFJ, I find your theory to be downright gorgeous an elegant. As you would imagine (as INFJs), I love when various complex theories intermingle with each other to generate novel emergent insights, and the way that you interwove emergence theory, music theory, and Jungian type theory has such an elegance to it that I think can be expanded on in really powerful/cogent ways. I see how you connected the circle of fifths and its encapsulated symmetry (in terms of sharps, flats, and neutral keys) to form 16 possible keys, which in some sense can be juxtaposed to the 16 Myers-Briggs types, divided into 8 distinct dominant-inferior poles (with 2 types occupying such poles). I also can see how each type (as defined by its dom-inferior axis) can serve as a distinct flavoring and color, just like each note. Then one can consider both the distinct flavor that each type and axis brings as well as the unity that all types/people have in a deeper metaphysical sense. So in a nutshell, I deeply value your contribution here, and probably would learn a lot more if you found other ways to expand on this level of deep, interwoven mystical Truth. I do think that you are on to something here, given the emergent, interconnected nature of it all, and would love to ponder more about how it all fits together. Really awesome insights here! Thank you for sharing them!

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  • Taylor
  • September 27, 2015 at 3:09 pm

  **whoops, sorry, I meant to say another person saw the driver process as not the dominant P5

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  • Taylor
  • September 27, 2015 at 3:07 pm

  Hi Jennifer,

  Thanks for digging deep into my idea and analyzing it next to the car model. I’m glad you made a reference to the modes ie Phrygian; in Plato’s Republic he discusses how different modes of the octave reflect different personality types. It was the Republic which first got me thinking about the correlation between music and personality. https://theoryofmusic.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/music-in-platos-republic/

  Another person posted they too saw the tonic as the Driver process, which I’ve mulled over for a few days. Your description of the tonic/dominant relationship was very nice, and, while I still hold to my viewpoint that the dominant P5 represents the driver, your phrase “The P5 is a strong guide that will always lead us home” supports this nicely, even if you intended it for another argument. There isn’t tension between P8/P1, and a great deal of tension exists between the driver process and three year old.

  The home we are searching for is the tonic (the resolution), the 3 year old process (as you also described).

  We do not seek nor long for what we already have. We own the dominant, driver process, and we lack conscious control of the inferior, 3 year old. Isn’t life’s journey about finding, integrating and understanding this 3 year old? That wonderful sense of relief of “home”, like the sense of completion (the tonic) at the end of a song, comes at the end of life.

  Again, though you meant it for a different argument, I like viewing the octave, P8, as the “go-to”, simply because I see all of humanity as slowly moving towards the completion and full circle, we’re all trying to go-to the end of the scale.

  The point of relating the circle of fifths to typology is that these intervals of fifths, when strung together, go full circle. If people are symbolically like a fifth, a dominant seeking a tonic, when “strung” together, we create a whole.

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  • Charis Branson
  • September 23, 2015 at 3:26 pm

  Wow! Thanks for that in-depth analysis Jen. We appreciate you taking the time to explain it to the musical theorists of our community. :)

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  • Jennifer K
  • September 18, 2015 at 5:09 am

  Music Theory as a Car Model:

  First off, I think this theory is beautiful! I’m a studied music theorist and a lover for personality types, and I can see the Car Model tucked away in this new idea!

  Before I dissect the model, I’ll give a brief (or as brief as I can make it… haha!) description on music theory as far as how it will relate.

  Music theory part 1:

  Taylor said that when you say the music key center is in C, that gives you an idea of what chords will typically be used the most and what will drive one chord to the next. The most common chords are the I, IV, and V (the “tonic,” “subdominant,” and “dominant” respectively). The V (dominant) will almost always lead us to the I (tonic), and the tonic is often considered “home.” This resolution usually creates the most sense of relief, although you’ll typically experience some form of relief any time you resolve to the tonic. The IV (subdominant) is less likely to lead to the tonic, but not uncommon nonetheless. This resolution is not as strong, but you’ll still feel like you made it “home.”

  I (tonic) = “home”
  IV (subdominant) = “not as strong”
  V (dominant) = “leads us to home base”

  Music theory part 2:

  Using these three prominent chords (I, IV, and V), we can repurpose their natural objectives by reassigning their quality. Meaning, instead of using chords as their function, we can make them either harmonic or melodic intervals. The I (tonic) interval can be an octave or a unison, and the IV and V (subdominant and dominant) can be a fourth or a fifth. When you take an octave and invert it, it becomes a unison. When you take a fourth and invert it, it becomes a fifth.

  I (tonic) = octave becomes unison/unison becomes octave
  IV (subdominant) and V (dominant) = perfect fourth becomes perfect fifth/perfect fifth becomes perfect fourth

  Music theory part 3:

  In four-part counterpoint (traditional music theory stuff), we are trained that perfect octaves and unisons are pleasant, perfect fifths are good, and perfect fourths were to be avoided. They were considered dissonant in the days of our late music ancestors. (Disclaimer: The four-part harmony rules also state that you are not to have too many parallel octaves or perfect fifths. But that’s only important if you are dying to correct me. Hehe!)

  P8 (perfect octaves/tonic) = pleasing to the ear, and usually the peak of interest
  P1 (perfect unison/tonic) = not unpleasing to the ear, but is so uniform that it is sometimes masked-sounding and is considered extremely weak. As the inversion of the octave, it’s usually the least interesting.

  P5 (perfect fifths/dominant) = pleasing to the ear, but feels unfinished (like a pause in a sentence) and therefore leads us to the tonic.
  P4 (perfect fourths/subdominant) = not unpleasing to the ear, and as the inversion of the dominant function, the tonic has a natural tendency to lead to the subdominant (according to the Circle of Fifths rule) rather than vice versa like the dominant, but it is considered very weak and will also feel unfinished.

  (So much for being brief, eh? Hehe!)

  NOW! The car model:

  The Driver: If we decide that our driver is going to be the our “go-to,” then I’d say that “home” is our driver. But which tonic is going to be our “home?” The “home” that peaks our interest? Or the “home” that is hard to find/hear because it’s weak? I’m gonna go with the former! That’s the octave! P8!

  The Co-Pilot: If we’ve decided that our driver is going to be the octave “home,” then which of the dominants will be the Co-Pilot? I like to think of the Co-Pilot as a helper for our driver. So do we want the weak P1 leading us to the Driver? Probably not. Do we want the weak P4 leading us to the Driver? It’s not the worst, but it’s not the best. Or do we want the P5 leading us to the Driver? Since that is, after all, its main function. I say, YES! P5 it is!

  The Ten-Year-Old: If the Ten-Year-Old is the exact opposite (or the inversion) of the Co-Pilot, and the P4 is the direct inversion of the P5, then I’d say this one is basically spelled out for us! Like the P4, we don’t typically run to the Ten-Year-Old process unless under certain circumstances. And also like the P4, we typically never let it drive!

  The Three-Year-Old: Welp. There’s only one left. But let’s work it out! We’ve decided that our driver is the P8. The Driver’s direct opposite and inversion is the Three-Year-Old, and like the P8, so is the unison: P1. We tend to ignore the Three-Year-Old and place little to no value in it. It’s weak to us. The P1 unison is also considered weak and often holds little to no value in music (unless you’re tuning! Hehe!).

  The P1 is the baby because we only use it when we’re tuning or playing in a beginning band. It’s rarely found in intermediate musical compositions. But it’s not to be under appreciated because it holds foundational skill. If we overlook the power of the unison and forget to practice it, the musical composition could be compromised because we’ve lost touch with our tuning/intonation.

  The P4 is also slightly immature because in music it’s typically neither an ending or a beginning. It’s never driving or co-piloting. In a standard 12-bar blues progression, you’ll find the IV chord always placed between the V and the I, or between the I and the V. But it certainly brings colour to life, and when put to practice has the potential to create beautiful tonality (shout out to my Phrygian friends!).

  The P5 is a strong guide that will always lead us home. It’s our friend and our second in command. But like our musical founders, if we ONLY fluctuate between the Driver and the Co-Pilot (or the Tonic and the Dominant), then our music/life could lack challenge and become uninteresting.

  The P8 is similar to the P1 because they are literally the same notes. However, the difference is that the P8 has two different registers and when used melodically, it creates interest and a sense of climax. Also, because it represents “home,” we can lead into it as the triumphant ending that we all desire. It’s the winner’s circle and the trophy. We’re good at it! And that’s why it’s where we want to go as the Driver. We’re always trying to use “home tonic” as a way to be the greatest “us” that we can be! And our Co-Pilot P5 complements our triumph by aiding us.

  But really. How interesting is a triumph if we always make it look easy? I mean, who wants to watch a movie that doesn’t have a villain or some sort of a struggle? But! If we practice our other functions, then we’ll be able to live a life as colourful and beatuifully functional as a musical masterpiece. :)

  Jen K – ISTP