I have a question, which has been bothering me for some time. Perhaps some posters here, with better knowledge of music theory than I, can enlighten me.
Since (Western) music consists of only 12 notes, is there a limited number of melodies possible? Does a composer 'invent' a piece of music, or does he 'discover' it? Let's take a very obvious example to simplify my point: the four note motive of movement 1, Symphony 5. Did Beethoven invent it, or did he rather discover it? If he had died just after writing the 4th Symphony, could someone else have 'discovered' this catchy, memorable motive? Would the symphony have been written anyway, by someone else? And if musical themes/ideas are in fact discovered rather than invented, then does this not mean they are finite?; that we may reach a point at which tonal music becomes exhausted? Would this explain why there have been for some time few great composers, because the old masters came first, and used up all the musical themes possible? Perhaps all the great musical themes have been 'discovered', and there is none left?
I am not sure if my query makes sense - I suspect the answer to the question, 'discovered or invented?' will be, 'it doesn't matter' - but it is a problem that has been nagging at me, which I can't quite put out of my mind. I actually would rather the answer be, that music is invented. For if it is merely discovered, that seems to take the gloss off it somewhat. It diminishes the magic and greatest of the masters, as they are revealed not to have 'created' musical masterpieces as much as just happened to stumble across them.
Since (Western) music consists of only 12 notes, is there a limited number of melodies possible? Does a composer 'invent' a piece of music, or does he 'discover' it? Let's take a very obvious example to simplify my point: the four note motive of movement 1, Symphony 5. Did Beethoven invent it, or did he rather discover it? If he had died just after writing the 4th Symphony, could someone else have 'discovered' this catchy, memorable motive? Would the symphony have been written anyway, by someone else? And if musical themes/ideas are in fact discovered rather than invented, then does this not mean they are finite?; that we may reach a point at which tonal music becomes exhausted? Would this explain why there have been for some time few great composers, because the old masters came first, and used up all the musical themes possible? Perhaps all the great musical themes have been 'discovered', and there is none left?
I am not sure if my query makes sense - I suspect the answer to the question, 'discovered or invented?' will be, 'it doesn't matter' - but it is a problem that has been nagging at me, which I can't quite put out of my mind. I actually would rather the answer be, that music is invented. For if it is merely discovered, that seems to take the gloss off it somewhat. It diminishes the magic and greatest of the masters, as they are revealed not to have 'created' musical masterpieces as much as just happened to stumble across them.
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