This dissertation situates itself in the middle of an ongoing debate about the applicability of Schenkerian analytical techniques to the analysis of pop and rock music. In particular, it investigates ways in which the standard conceptions of voice leading, harmonic function, and counterpoint may be updated to better apply to this new repertoire. A central claim is that voice-leading structure is intimately related to formal structure such that the two domains are mutually informing. Part I of the dissertation focuses on harmonic and melodic theory. Chapter 2, “Harmonic Syntax,” advocates for a conception of harmonic function based on syntax and form rather than the identity of specific chords. In this conception, chords other than V, such as IV, II, ♭VII, or even some versions of I, can often be said to function syntactically as the dominant. Chapter 3, “The Melodic-Harmonic Divorce,” explores contrapuntal paradigms in which the domains of melody and harmony seem to be operating independently. This chapter outlines three types of melodic-harmonic divorce: “hierarchy divorce,” “rotation divorce,” and “syntax divorce.” Part II of the dissertation aims to devise voice-leading models for full song forms. Chapter 4 focuses on AABA form, Chapter 5 on verse–prechorus–chorus, and Chapter 6 on verse–chorus forms. These chapters demonstrate that these common forms are associated with general voice-leading structures that act in dialog with the specific voice-leading structures of songs that exhibit these forms. This part of the dissertation is largely analytical, and has the secondary goal of demonstrating a Schenkerian analytical methodology applied to rock music.

In this study I examine the context and function of some harmonic structures unique to rock music that cannot be interpreted in conventional tonal terms: double-plagal and Aeolian progressions and triad-doubled scale systems. All of these constructs feature the flat-side triads (III, VI and VII) that became prominent in rock music in the late 1960s, in conjunction with a major or minor tonic. I theorize harmonic and phrase functions for these progressions and an expanded diatonic system for post-1960s rock music.

The harmonic progression of aFCG (Am–F–C–G) and its transpositions constitute one rotation of what I call Axis progressions, namely progressions that begin with one of these four chords and cycle through the others in order, hence the Axis-a,-F,-C, and-G, respectively. Of these four progressions, the a-form and C-form, and to a lesser extent, the F-form, have become staples of mainstream popular songs from the last decades of the twentieth century and the first decades of the twenty-first. The a-form is especially noteworthy for being both extremely widespread and tonally ambiguous, in that the perception of its tonality may waver between the major and Aeolian modes. Not only does the progression conflate aspects of the two modes, but it may also vary the degree to which those modes are expressed and their proportion within the progression, resulting in a vast array of possible tonal se$ings. This article posits that tonality in these se$ings depends primarily on the melodic content of the progression. A methodology for melodic analysis is then presented and applied to a number of examples of Axis-a (as well as some Axis-F) progressions, to demonstrate how diverse its se$ings can be.

Harmonic and melodic progressions in rock and heavy metal music are often described as less functional or directional than those of conventional major-minor tonality. This perception is due in no small part to the prevalence of pentatonic, modal, and subdominant-based pitch structures and the corresponding lack of a conventional leading tone to the tonic in many styles, deriving from their roots in both the blues and the modal-folk revival. In this study I address some of the current controversies regarding harmonic, melodic and formal functions in rock music, and the absence of an existing model for these functions in heavy metal. I analyze some characteristic pitch-based constructs in British and American rock and heavy metal—double-plagal progressions and diatonic and triad-doubled pentatonic, hexatonic, and heptatonic modal scales and systems—and compare them to several traditional paradigms of root motion, harmonic function, and phrase structure. This assimilation and expansion of existing theoretical models contributes to a much-needed clearer understanding of modal syntax and function in rock and heavy metal music.

This article offers a contrapuntal explanation of the “melodic-harmonic divorce,” a feature of pop and rock music discussed most recently by David Temperley (2007). I outline three types of melodic-harmonic divorce: “hierarchy divorce,” “loop divorce,” and “syntax divorce.” Each type gives rise to its own voice-leading interpretation. After discussing the contrapuntal frameworks of these three types, I investigate the rhetorical effect of “loosening” and “tightening” the melodic-harmonic relationship over the course of a rock song, showing that the divorce is not just a structural feature but can have expressive effects as well.

Many rock songs have a puzzling feature: despite ostensibly simple harmonic structures, it is not entirely clear what key they are in. The standard analytical response to these situations is to claim ambiguity or competition among the possible key centers and frame a narrative interpretation around this ambiguity. However, the assumption of monotonality in the rock repertoire bears examination, especially the notion that the absence of a single pitch center implies conflict. Might rock tonality allow for multiple tonal centers to exist not in conflict but as equal members of a governing tonal structure? In this article, I propose that some seemingly ambiguous rock songs exhibit the theoretical structure known as the “double-tonic complex.” Not just “tonal pairing”—the alternation of two equally weighted keys—but a true Robert Bailey-style double tonic: a four-note sonority built from the union of two third-related triads acting as prolonged tonic. Though the double-tonic complex has proven controversial in 19th-century scholarship, rock music’s particularities provide a ripe environment for double-tonic structures, with its common use of seventh chords as stable harmonies and Aeolian modality. I investigate three double-tonic situations: 1) a surface intertwining of two relative keys such that both tonics act simultaneously as gravitational centers; 2) multi-section works in which each of the two keys is central for portions but neither emerges as the global tonic; and 3) songs with looped chord progressions that do not settle on a particular tonic.

This dissertation performs analyses of and compositions in three musical traditions that have received little attention in the English-speaking literature: Russian vocal folk polyphony (as described by theorist Aleksandr Kastalskiy in the 1920s), Russian village accordion repertoire and Soviet tourist/traveller bard songs. Each musical tradition is taken through five steps. First, a historical overview of the development of each tradition is provided. Second, a sizeable number of representative pieces or examples from each tradition are analyzed with the use of special methodologies tailor-made to show the most prominent apparent organizational principles in the music (including modes and chord progressions, melodic contour, musical form, poetic form and meter). Third, these analyses, performed upon dozens or hundreds of examples, are compared in order to discover the most typical traits of each musical language or dialect. Fourth, a composition is written in each musical tradition explicitly using these most typical traits: Three Swans (Russian vocal folk polyphony), Torontovka (Russian village accordion repertoire) and Song To Our Children (Soviet tourist/traveller bard song). Fifth, the aforementioned three compositions are arranged and expanded to varying degrees in order to allow them to be performed by contemporary Western small chamber wind groups – the brass quintet and the woodwind ensemble – in pedagogical and other contexts.

While rock’s Aeolian progression has been described by Biamonte (2010), Everett (2009), and Moore (1992), among others, as residing in the Aeolian mode as bVI-bVII-i, its conflation with a major-mode interpretation of IV-V-vi and the tonal ambiguity that results have not been discussed in any great detail. Because rock generally lacks raised leading tones and regularly draws on several different modes, a single diatonic collection can be the source of multiple tonalities. Tonal ambiguity in the Aeolian progression particularly can arise in two ways: 1) when the progression or the phrase in which it occurs lacks an initial tonic harmony of either the major or Aeolian mode, and 2) when the surrounding passages waver between different tonal centers, usually major and Aeolian. When the progression entails such multimodal possibilities, the tonality is generally clarified through the melodic structure of the progression. More specifically, a particular mode is favored when notes of its tonic triad are emphasized by any of several means. In such situations, the progression encompasses aspects of more than one mode even when a single mode is heard to dominate. Thus, rather than view these ambiguous progressions entirely in one mode or another, such an approach aims to characterize their tonal fluidity in a way not easily captured by Roman numerals. This paper attempts to demonstrate that, while rock’s harmonies themselves are often mere triads that are strung together into simple repeated loops, hearing tonality in the progressions they form can be an engaging, complicated, and fascinating affair.

In this paper I examine Hendrix's early recordings with a focus on his use of minor and major pentatonic scales, as well as the ways these may be blended with modal materials. The principal songs analyzed are "Fire," "Purple Haze," and "The Wind Cries Mary."

This article reexamines modal techniques in rock music, using the "problematic" Lydian mode as a test case. I argue that the Lydian scale plays a larger role in rock music than has been previously acknowledged, particularly in songs of the 1970s and '80s. First, I outline a hierarchy of pitches and chords in the scale, which will aid in the recognition of Lydian patterns in rock. Then, I address existing controversies surrounding Lydian interpretations of chord progressions, which will be viewed in light of three "tonal stability rules" necessary for convincing Lydian centricity. This will lead to a general theory of "modal tonicization" in rock music, also relevant to the remaining diatonic modes. Finally, I offer a series of analyses of songs by Todd Rundgren, Tears for Fears, and Steely Dan, which will demonstrate some of the musical and expressive potential of Lydian tonality.