[otabdeveloper4]

> I seldom see any discussion of the underlying math, and instead see discussions of timbres, instruments, and stylistic/historical influences

Music today is utter crap at all levels, this is a verifiable scientific fact.

This is probably why.

Music "theory" was invented as a critical tool (i.e., basically to enable reviewers to describe and evaluate the music of the time), not as a composition tool.

Basically, we're holding it wrong and it's doing us harm.

[Ylpertnodi]

> Music today is utter crap at all levels, this is a verifiable scientific fact.

No it's not, and it's not a verifiable fact. Unless you have a source? Rick Beato knocks the sami-ness of 'the charts', but there's more to music than that...take a look at who he interviews.

[otabdeveloper4]

Bach is considered the greatest musical genius of all time, but he was part of an industry and composing was his day job. Each of those BWV's was written in a couple days. Bach's performers at the time didn't study for years for a single recital, they read the sheet music in an afternoon and then performed the BWV next day.

Beethoven improvised his pieces on the fly and performed them himself. This wasn't considered as something out of the ordinary at the time.

Can you imagine the average conservatory graduate imporovising anything today? Even a pentatonic blues riff?

Clearly we went off the rails bigtime somewhere along the way. The framework we're using to teach and compose music is actively hindering us.