The Journal of Music Theory and BrowZine
Music theory is a practice musicians use to understand and communicate the language of music. It identifies the basic building blocks of music that form harmony, melody and rhythm.
Music Theory Spectrum publishes research and critical thought in the field of music theory. It is published by Oxford University Press. SMT members have access to the journal by logging into their profiles and clicking on the “Quick Links” tab.
Journal of Music Theory
The Journal of Music Theory is the principal publication of the Society for Music Theory. It features research and scholarship in all areas of music theory, from aesthetics to the history of theory, linear analysis to atonal and post-tonal theory, rhythm to music cognition. It also welcomes interdisciplinary articles that reveal intersections with other fields such as musicology, acoustics, computer science, psychology and philosophy.
The JMT is one of the oldest journals in its genre and has been a cornerstone in music theory’s emergence as a research field in North America. It publishes articles covering an enormous variety of musical styles and traditions, from antiquity to the present day, including ethnomusicology, theory, history and criticism.
This journal features research and commentary on the rapidly developing methods of compositional practice. It is geared to composers, performers and scholars, and provides an essential forum for discussion of the techniques and issues that are at the cutting edge of contemporary compositional technique.
Music Theory Online
Music Theory Online is the open-access journal of the Society for Music Theory, publishing research and scholarship in music analysis, criticism, and pedagogy. In addition to publishing articles, review essays, and conference reports, MTO also hosts the job and dissertation listings of its parent society.
The journal is published quarterly, in March, June, September, and December. It is read by researchers, teachers, students, and practitioners of music theory around the world. Its main aims are to publish high-quality music-theoretical scholarship in the broadest sense, and to exploit the potential of new digital media in its presentation.
As an example, the music-theory journal Integral has published special half-issues or issues on animated analyses, disability in music, rhythm in African music, the music of Conlon Nancarrow, and jazz improvisation and transcription. It is hoped that other journals will follow suit.
SMT Newsletter
The SMT Newsletter features national and regional theory conference information, award announcements, calls for papers and articles, grant and fellowship news, and general music theory news. It is published twice a year, in February and August.
The Society for Music Theory was founded in 1977 out of the American Musicological Society by Richmond Browne and Allen Forte. Their goal was to promote the teaching of music theory as a scholarly discipline separate from and distinct from the disciplines of musicology, history, performance, and composition.
Despite this, SMT’s four official publications—Music Theory Spectrum, Music Theory Online, the Journal of Music Theory, and SMT-V—are dominated by white persons. There are 66 people listed as members of the editorial staffs/boards of these four journals; only three of them—Daphne Tan (Spectrum), Rene Rusch (MTO), and Kara Yoo Leaman (SMT-V)—are POC. The same is true for many of the governing committees of these journals. This skewing has implications beyond music theory itself.
SMT-V
Designed to help users explore scholarly journals across disciplines, BrowZine gathers articles found in open access and subscription databases and brings them together on a newsstand. Using the latest in browser and tablet technology, the site is intuitive and easy to use.
Professor Michael Buchler teaches a range of graduate and undergraduate theory courses, including linear analysis and theory of recent music. He is also the faculty director of FSU’s Music Living-Learning Community.
William O’Hara studies tonal analysis, chromatic harmony, and the history of music theory. He is the web editor of SMT-V, an online scholarly video journal for the Society for Music Theory, and serves on the editorial board of Integral and GAMUT.
Visiting Assistant Professor Matthew Ferrandino has published on various topics in music theory pedagogy. He is a review editor for Music Theory Online and has presented at national and regional conferences. His research explores the pedagogical potential of analyzing popular music, and he is working on an investigation into timbre and sonic identity in the music of David Bowie.