Music Theory Ontology

Jordan FeenstraYonatan Schreiber

Scope

Scope

• The first chord contains an Eb, Bb, Eb, and G – an Eb major triad. Since this is I in Eb major, we are most likely in that key.

Scope

Scope

http://motools.sourceforge.net/chord_draft_1/chord.html#symbolservice

Scope

Terms and Definitions:

• Tone: A temporal part of a sound that occurs in some temporal interval such that frequency remains within a restricted range throughout the temporal interval.• Pitch: The characteristic (BFO: ‘process profile’) of a tone determined

by its frequency restriction.•Melody: A sequence of continuous or discontinuous temporal

intervals each of which contains a tone.• HarmonyEvent: A temporal interval in which tones occur such that

more than one pitch is instantiated.

Structural Process Profiles

• Modeled on Structuralist theories in Philosophy of Math• Elucidation: (subject to revision)

a structural_process_profile_of b iff: a process_profile_of b, & a has disjoint proper parts all of which are mutually s-dependent & for all proper parts x, x’ of a there is some relation R (R ≠ s-

dependence) such that xRx’, & for all relations R (R ≠ s- dependence) such that xRx’, there are some parts y, y’ of b such that yRy’.

Processes and Structures:

AmBm Bbm C#m

Dm

HarmonyEvent

Process

StructuralProcessProfile

Chord

Am

minorTriad

has part

Chord

chordRoot

Chord

chordRoot

Triad

chordFifth

Chord

chordRoot

Triad

chordFifth

minorTriad

chordMinorThird

Chord

chordRoot

Triad

chordFifth

minorTriad

chordMinorThird

Am

Future Development:

• Related ontologies: MusicOntology, IAO, physics

• Fine tune approach: We haven’t solved all of the problems. Can we get necessary and sufficient conditions? Further conceptual analysis is required.

• Extensions: Traditional Western theory, contemporary theory, other systems of music.