List of music theorists

Left to right, from top left: Ptolemy (after 83 – 161); Al-Farabi (872–950); Safi al-Din al-Urmawi (c. 1216 – 1294); Nicola Vicentino (1511–1575/76); Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764) Heinrich Schenker (1868–1935)

Music theory has existed since the advent of writing in ancient times. The earliest known practitioners include primarily Greek and some Chinese scholars. A few Indian sages such as Bharata Muni (Natya Shastra) are also credited with important treatises. Though much is lost, substantial treatises on ancient Greek music theory survive, including those by Aristoxenus, Nicomachus, Ptolemy and Porphyry. The influential Yue Jing Classic of Music from China is lost, though a few Ancient Chinese theorists from the Han dynasty and later have surviving contributions, such as Jing Fang and Xun Xu.

Writers of late antiquity—particularly Boethius, Cassiodorus and Isidore of Seville—were crucial in translating and transmitting much thought on music theory from classical antiquity to medieval Europe. However, the information relayed to the Post-classical era was minimal and European medieval theorists frequently misinterpreted what little Greek writings had been preserved. Important medieval European theorists include Hucbald, Guido of Arezzo, Johannes Cotto, Franco of Cologne, Philippe de Vitry. Many medieval music manuscripts of Europe were anonymous, and later compilers such as Martin Gerbert and Edmond de Coussemaker assigned names to unknown authors, such as 'Anonymous IV'. Concurrent with medieval Europe, scholars of the emerging Islamic Golden Age often more readily and thoroughly engaged with ancient Greek music treatises. Many Arab and Persian music theorists of this time have surviving works, such as Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, Safi al-Din al-Urmawi, Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi and Abd al-Qadir Maraghi. Theorists of the Byzantine Empire include George Pachymeres and Manuel Chrysaphes.

By the 15th century, European theorists were readily discussing the qualities of Renaissance music, with theorists such Johannes Tinctoris and Gioseffo Zarlino making important contributions to the study of counterpoint. Zarlino and Nicola Vicentino developed new theories on musical tuning, a topic which Vicentino publicly debated on with theorist Vicente Lusitano. At this time, the quality and quantity of Turkic musical sources increased, due to the rise of the Ottoman Empire. This laid the foundation of an 18th-century musical golden age in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, exemplified by composer-theorists such as Kasımpaşalı Osman Effendi, Dimitrie Cantemir and Abdülbaki Nasır Dede. Meanwhile, the Age of Enlightenment and the common practice period in Europe led to substantial changes in the nature of published music theory.

Antiquity

Name Lifetime Nationality Major writing Known for Ref(s)
Archytas fl. early 4th century BCE Greek Only fragments and later citations survive
In Barker 1989, pp. 39–52
Naming the harmonic mean; a theory of acoustics correlating pitch with the speed of sound; may have been the first to describe the quadrivium
Aristoxenus c. 375–360 BCE – ? Greek Ἁρμονικὰ στοιχεῖα [Elements of Harmony]
In Barker 1989, pp. 119–189 and elsewhere
The oldest surviving substantial work of music theory. Foundational and comprehensive, though not completely extant
Archestratus fl. early 3rd century BCE Greek Περὶ αὐλητῶν [On auletes]; quotations in Porphyry and Philodemus
In Barker 2009, pp. 394–395, 410–411
Tetrachord theory concerning the pyknon
Ptolemais of Cyrene Perhaps fl. 250 BCE Greek Πυθαγορικὴ τῆς μουσικῆς στοιχείωσις
[The Pythagorean Principles of Music] (lost)
Quoted by Porphyry
In Barker 1989, pp. 239–242
Theories on the proper roles of reason and sensory experience in the study of music. The only known female music theorist of antiquity.
Eratosthenes c. 276c. 196 BCE Greek Only fragments and later citations survive
In Barker 1989, pp. 364–369
Calculating of the tuning of the tetrachord degrees
Didymos fl. Late 1st century BCE Greek Only fragments and later citations survive; quoted by Porphyry, Ptolemy and Clement of Alexandria
In Barker 1989, pp. 229–230, 242ff, 342ff
Theories on chromatic tetrachords
Jing Fang 78–37 BCE Chinese 京式段嘉 [Jīng Shì Duàn Jiā];
excerpts in the 淮南子 Huainanzi and 隋書 Book of Sui
Discovered that 53 perfect fifths was approximate to 31 octaves while creating a musical scale of 60 tones
Bharata fl. Early centuries CE Indian नाट्य शास्त्र [Natya Shastra] Wrote a comprehensive overview of ancient Indian music
Dionysius the Areopagite fl. 1st century CE Roman Concerning the Divine Hymns (lost); quoted by Dionysius Purportedly one of the only treatises that discussed the Byzantine rite
Nicomachus of Gerasa fl. late 1st – early 2nd century CE Greek Ἐγχειρίδιον ἁρμονικῆς [Manual of Harmonics];
Θεολογούμενα ἀριθμητικῆς [Theology of Arithmetic]
In Barker 1989, pp. 245–269; Zanoncelli, pp. 133–204
The only significant extant music theory works between Aristoxenus/Euclid and Ptolemy.
Ptolemy after 83 – 161 CE Greek Ἁρμονικόν [Harmonics]
In Barker 1989, pp. 270–391
Among the most comprehensive and through music theory works of antiquity
Cleonides After the 1st century CE Greek Εἰσαγωγὴ ἁρμονική [Introduction to Harmonics]
In Strunk, pp. 35–46; Zanoncelli, pp. 71–132
Introduces Aristoxenus' harmonic system. Influenced Manuel Bryennius considerably
Theon of Smyrna fl. early 2nd century Greek On Mathematics Useful for the Understanding of Plato
In Barker 1989, pp. 209–229
Discusses music of numbers, instrumental music, and "music of the spheres"
Adrastus of Aphrodisias fl. 2nd century Greek Περὶ Ἁρμονικῶν [On Harmonics] (lost);
Quoted by Theon of Smyrna
In Barker 1984, p. 210
Writings on harmonics
Xun Xu c. 221 – 289 Chinese Quoted in the 隋書 [Book of Song], vol. 6 Linked the Heptatonic scale with the Shí-èr-lǜ. Developed a new finger-hole system for the dizi
Porphyry c. 232/233c. 305 Greek Commentary on Ptolemy's Harmonics
In Barker 1984, pp. 229–244
Included substantial commentary on earlier theorists, sometimes quoting otherwise lost works. May have been the earliest Western writer to criticize secular music for its purported "sensual attraction"
Gaudentius fl. 3rd – 4th century Greek Εἰσαγωγὴ ἁρμονική [Harmonic Introduction]
In Strunk, pp. 66–85; Zanoncelli, pp. 305–369
Synthesized the music theory of Pythagoras and Aristoxenus. Influenced Cassiodorus considerably
Alypius fl. 4th century CE Greek Εἰσαγωγὴ Μουσική [Introduction to Music]
In Zanoncelli, pp. 371–464
Momprehensive explanation of ancient Greek musical notation
Aristides Quintilianus fl. late 3rd and early 4th centuries Greek Περὶ Μουσικῆς [On Music]
In Barker 1989, pp. 392–395
Most comprehensive Greek writings on music's relationship to other topics
He Chengtian [ru] 370–447 Chinese Treatise on Harmonics (lost) Developed a theory of equal temperament
Bacchius [el] fl. 4th century Greek Eisagōgē technēs mousikēs
[Introduction to the Art of Music]
In Zanoncelli, pp. 245–304
General introductory text
Martianus Capella fl. early 5th century Roman Book 9 of De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii
[On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury]
Includes a translation of Aristides Quintilianus's On Music
Shen Yue 441–513 Chinese Treatise on Harmonic and Celestial Systematics
Earlier version in the 隋書 [Book of Song]
Includes Xun Xu's developed dizi finger-hole system

6th–14th centuries

Name Lifetime Nationality Major writing Known for Ref(s)
Boethius c. 480 – 524 Roman De institutione musica Transmission of ancient Greek music theory
Cassiodorus c. 485 – 585 Roman Institutiones Divinarum et Saecularium Litterarum Helped formalize the seven liberal arts
Isidore of Seville c. 559 – 636 Spanish Etymologiarum sive Originum libri xx (chapters 15–23 deal with music)
Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi 718 – 786 Arab ʿArūḍ and its application to music
Yunus al-Katib al-Mughanni fl. late-8th century Persian Kitab al-Nagham
Al-Kindi 801–873 Arab Al-risāla al-kubrā fī al-ta’līf (Grand treatise on composition)
Ibn Khordadbeh 820–912 Persian Kitāb al-lahw wa-l-malahi Description of music in pre-Islamic Persia
Aurelian of Réôme fl. 840–850 Frankish Musica disciplina Earliest extant treatise on medieval music
Johannes Scottus Eriugena c. 810c. 877 Irish De divisione naturae and De divisione naturae Mentions organum (scholars doubt this refers to polyphony)
Hucbald c. 850 – 930 De musica (formerly known as De harmonica institutione) "One of the foremost expositors of music theory in the Carolingian era"
Anonymous 8 9th century Musica enchiriadis earliest extant discussion of polyphonic singing and the first chant melodies preserved in a precise pitch notation
Abu Ahmad Monajjem 855 or 866 – 912 Resāla fi’l-mūsīqī Oldest extant Middle Eastern treatise with a detailed description of modal structure
Regino of Prüm c. 842 – 915 De synodalibus causis and Epistola de armonica institutione "Correct the intonations and confirm the modes of the antiphons and responsories of the Mass and Office"
Al-Farabi 872–950 Arab Kitāb al-mūsīqī al-kabīr (Great book on music) "most imposing of all Arabic works on music"
Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani 897–967 Arab Kitab al-Aghani (Book of Songs)
Notker Labeo 950–1022
Anonymous, of the Brethren of Purity second half of the 10th century Rasa’il Ikhwan al-Safa, Epistle 5: On Music
Guido of Arezzo c. 991–992 Italian Micrologus
Avicenna (Ibn-Sīnā) c. 980 – 1037 Persian Danishnama-i 'Alai
Abhinavagupta fl.c. 1000 Indian Abhinavabharati Important commentary on the Natya Shastra
Berno of Reichenau d. 1048 Musica Seu Prologus In Tonarium He compiled a tonarius, dealing with the organisation of the church chants into ‘tones’ – eight modes of the Gregorian chant.
Ibn Zaylah d. 1048 al-Kāfī fī al-mūsīqī
Hermannus Contractus 1013–1054
Michael Psellos 1018 – after 1078 Byzantine Eis tēn psychogonian tou Platōnos
Prolambanomena eis tēn rhythmikēn epistēmēn
On the Resounding Hall at Nicomedia
Aribo Scholasticus fl. 1068–1078 De musica also known as simply "Aribo." Created a "caprea," a diagram showing modal tetrachords superimposed on the gamut.
Wilhelm of Hirsau died 1091 De musica
Frutolf of Michelsberg mid-11th century – 1103 German Brevarium compiler of treatises, in particular Boethius and Berno of Reichenau.
Theogerus of Metz c. 1050 – c. 1120 Musica
Johannes Cotto fl. 1100 De musica
Avempace c. 1085 – 1138 Risālah fī l-alḥān
Cai Yuanding 1135–1198 Chinese Lülü xinshu [New treatise of music theory] Theories on scales, pitches and intervals
Hermann of Carinthia fl. 1138–43 De essentiis Translating Arabic treatises into Latin
Guido of Eu fl. 1130s supposed author of Regule de arte musica earliest Cistercian treatise on music theory.
Jiang Kui 1155–1221 Chinese Dayueyi and Qinse kaogutu Two treatises, the Dayueyi on proper music (yayue) and the Qinse kaogutu on the qin and se zithers. Also created a popular 18 symbol form of music notation
Theinred of Dover (Theinredus Doverensis) 12th century De legitimis ordinibus pentachordorum et tetrachordorum discussion of chromatically altered tones in plainsong
Tanchi (堪智) (1163 – 1237?) Japanese Introduced strict music theory of shōmyō, based on that of gagaku. This included standards for modulation, rhythm, pitch and new five-tone notation system (goin-bakase)
Śārṅgadeva fl. early 13th century Indian Sangita Ratnakara [Ocean of Music] Wrote the authoritative text for subsequent Indian music
Ficker Anonymous early 13th century Ars organi
Franco of Cologne fl. mid to late 13th century German Ars cantus mensurabilis Franconian Notation
Safi al-Din al-Urmawi c. 1216 – 1294 Persian Kitab al-Adwār and Risālah al-Sharafiyyah fi 'l-nisab al-taʾlifiyyah (The Sharafiyyah Letter on the Art of Composing)
Bartholomeus Anglicus before 1203 – 1272 French
George Pachymeres 1242 – c. 1310 Byzantine Syntagma tōn tessarōn mathēmatōn, arithmētikēs, mousikēs, geōmetrias kai astronomias
Egidius de Zamora fl. 1260–1280 Ars musica noted for inclusion of Spanish instruments and description of organ used in church.
Amerus fl. 1271 English Practica artis musice
Hieronymus of Moravia died after 1272 Tractatus de musica
Anonymous IV fl. 1270 – 1280 De mensuris et discantu
Magister Lambertus fl. c. 1270 Tractatus de musica
Engelbert of Admont c. 1250 – 1331 De musica tractatus
Jacob of Liège c. 1260 – after 1330
Johannes de Garlandia fl. 1270–1320 French De Mensurabili Musica Explains the rhythmic modes, particularly that which the Notre-Dame school engaged in
Petrus de Cruce late 13th century French
Johannes Balox late 13th century Gaudent brevitate moderni
Petrus de Picardia mid-13th century Ars motettorum compilata breviter
Elias Salomo late 13th century Scientia artis musice
Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi c. 1236 - 1311 Persian Dorrat al-tāj fi ḡorrat al-dabbāj
Philippe de Vitry 1291–1361 French Ars nova notandi (1322)
Hugo Spechtshart [de] c. 1285 – 1359/60 Flores musicae omnis cantus Gregoriani
Johannes Vetulus de Anagnia 1st half of 14th century] Liber de musica
Petrus frater dictus Palma ociosa fl. early 14th century Compendium de discantu mensurabili
Johannes de Grocheio fl. 1300 French Ars musicae
Manuel Bryennius 14th century Byzantine Harmonika
Walter Odington died 1330 English
Johannes de Muris c. 1290 – after 1344 French
Marchetto da Padova fl. 1305–19 Italian Lucidarium in arte musice plane and Pomerium in arte musice mensurate
Robert de Handlo fl. 1326 English
John Hanboys fl.c. 1370 English Summa
John of Tewkesbury fl. 1351–92 English Quatuor principalia musice Writings on ars nova
al-Āmulī died 1352 Persian Nafā’is al-funūn His Nafā’is al-funūn on the quadrivium contains a chapter on music theory; it is one of the few surviving Persian sources dated in the time between the works of Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi and Abd al-Qadir Maraghi
Ibn Kurr Died 1357 Arab Ġāyat al-matḷūb fī 'ilm al-adwār wa-'l-dụrūb (The Enticing Roads to Rhythms and Modes) Examines musical discourse of 14th-century Cario
Johannes Boen Died 1367 Dutch Ars [musicae]; Musica Writings on ars nova
Johannes Ciconia 1360–1412 Flemish Nova musica [New Music] Discusses music as an art
Philippus de Caserta fl.c. 1370 Active in France Tractatus figurarum (attributed)
Zhu Quan 1378–1448 Chinese 神奇秘谱 [Wondrous and secret notation] (1425)
and 太和正音譜 [Song Register of Great Harmony and Accurate Tones] (1398)
Studies on qin music; classification and analysis of over 300 melodies from Chinese dramas
Ugolino of Forlì c. 1380–1452 Italian Declaratio musicae disciplinae [Declaration of the Discipline of Music]
John Laskaris fl. first half of 15th century Byzantine The Interpretation and Parallage of the Art of Music Discusses the Byzantine modal system
Gabriel Hieromonachos [de] fl. first half of the 15 century Byzantine Discourse on the Signs of Chant
Manuel Chrysaphes fl. 1440–1463 Byzantine Peri tōn entheōroumenōn tē psaltikē technē kai hōn phronousi kakōs tines peri autōn
[On the Theory of the Art of Chanting and On Certain Erroneous Views That Some Hold about It]
Includes otherwise unknown information on Byzantine singing, modal theory and general musical practice

15th and 16th centuries

Name Lifetime Major writing Known for Ref(s)
Fernand Estevan fl. 1410 Reglas de canto plano è de contrapunto, è de canto de organo
Kırşehrî Yusuf fl. 1411 Kitâbü’l Edvâr
Prosdocimus de Beldemandis d. 1428
Abd al-Qadir Maraghi d. 1435 Makâsıd al-Alhân Corpus attributed to him was a seminal work of the 17th century renaissance of Ottoman music
Giorgio Anselmi c. 1386 – c. 1440/43
Ugolino of Forlì
Also Ugolino of Orvieto
c. 1380 – c. 1452
Fatḥallāh al-Shirwānī d. approximately 1453 Majalla fī 'l-mūsīqī [Codex on music]
Antonius de Leno early 15th century Regulae de contrapunto (title created by Coussemaker from incomplete treatise)
John Hothby c. 1410 – 1487
Johannes Gallicus c. 1415 – 1473 Praefatio libelli musicalis de ritu canendi vetustissimo et novo First 15th century theorist to describe attributes of Renaissance music.
Nicolaus Polonus 15th-century Tractatus musicalis ad cantum gregorialem brevis et utilis Authored an introduction on singing
Ladikli Mehmet Chelebi fl. 1483 Zeynü’l-elḥân fî ʿilmi’t-teʾlîf ve’l-evzân
Johannes Tinctoris c. 1435 – 1511
Bartolomeus Ramis de Pareia c. 1440 – after 1491
Muhammad al-Ladiqi d. 1494 Risâla al-fathiyya fi’l-al-müsïqï
Ioannis Plousiadinos d. approximately 1500 His system of parallage
Adam von Fulda 1445–1505
Johannes Cochlaeus 1449–1552
Hızır bin Abdullah fl. mid-15th century Kitābü’l-edvār His work on fragmentary modal structures (terkîb), in which he defined a total of 240 modes.
Hadji Büke fl. mid-15th century Mukaddimetü’l Usûl Noted for his pioneering work on compound (mürekkep) makams.
Hace Abdülaziz fl. mid-15th century Nekavetü’l Edvâr
Franchinus Gaffurius 1451–1522 Practica musicae, 1496
Nicolò Burzio 1453–1528 Musices opusculum
Giovanni Spataro [it; ca; no; ru] 1458–1541 Tractato di musica di Gioanni Spataro musico bolognese nel quale si tracta de la perfectione da la sesqualtera producta in la musica mensurata exercitate
Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples (alias Jacobus Faber Stapulensis) c. 1460 – 1536 Musica libris demonstrata quattuor, Paris 1496
Domingo Marcos Durán c. 1460 – 1529
Erasmus Horicius c. 1465 – early 16th century Musica and Tractatus de sphera
Michael Keinspeck c. 1470 – mid-16th century Lilium musicae planae
Lodovico Fogliano [de; fr; ru] c. 1475 – 1542 Musica theorica (Venice, 1529)
Johannes Aventinus 1477–1534
Pietro Aaron c. 1480 – c. 1550
Nicolaus Wollick [fr] c. 1480 – 1541 Enchiridion musices (1512)
Sebastian z Felsztyna c. 1480/1490? – after 1543
Melchior Schanppecher born c. 1480 Opus aurem musicae (Cologne, 1501)
John Tucke c. 1482 – after 1539 His notebook (British Library, Additional Ms. 10336)
Martin Agricola 1486–1556
Heinrich Glarean 1488–1563
Georg Rhau 1488–1548
Giovanni Del Lago c. 1490 – 1544 Correspondence with Giovanni Spataro and Pietro Aaron
Giovanni Maria Lanfranco c. 1490 – 1545 Scintille di musica Author of the earliest treatise on music theory in Italian
Andreas Ornithoparchus born c. 1490 Musicae activae micrologus (Leipzig, 1517)
Bonaventura da Brescia late 15th century Breviloquium musicale (Brescia, 1497) (later editions known as Regula musicae planae)
Gulielmus Monachus late 15th century De preceptis artis musicae
Guillermo de Podio late 15th century Ars musicorum (Valencia, 1495); In enchiridion de principiis musicae
Kadızade Mehmet Tirevî late 15th century Risâle-i Mûsîkî
Silvestro Ganassi dal Fontego c. 1492 – mid-16th century Opera intitulata Fontegara (Venice, 1535) Regola Rubertina (Venice, 1542) Lettione Seconda (Venice, 1543)
Henricus Grammateus (alias Heinrich Schreiber) 1495–1525/6
Sebald Heyden 1499–1561 De arte canendi (Nuremberg, 1532–40)
Heinrich Faber before 1500–1552 Compendiolum musicae (1548) De musica poetica (1548) Ad musicam practicam introductio (1550)
Simon de Quercu early 16th century Opusculum musices (Vienna, 1509)
Vicente Lusitano 16th century Introdutione facilissima et novissima de canto fermo (Rome, 1553)
Seydî fl. early 16th century Al-Matlah
Auctor Lampadius c. 1500 – 1559 Compendium musices, tam figurati quam plani cantus, ad formam dialogi (Berne, 1537, 5/1554)
Adrianus Petit Coclico c. 1500 – 1562
Juan Bermudo c. 1510 – 1565 Libro primero de la Declaración de instrumentos musicales (1549) Comiença el Arte Tripharia(1550)
Nikolaus Listenius born c. 1510 Rudimenta musicae (1533)
Ghiselin Danckerts c. 1510 – after 1565
Diego Ortiz c. 1510 – 1570
Nicola Vicentino 1511–1576
Francisco de Salinas 1513–1590
Gioseffo Zarlino 1517–1590
Girolamo Mei 1519–1594
Aiguino da Brescia 1520–1581 Illuminata de tutti i tuoni di canto fermo (Venice, 1562)
Vincenzo Galilei late 1520–1591
Wei Liangfu [zh] fl. 1522–72 Qulü [Principles of arias] Theories of singing and composition (in the Kunshan qiang tradition)
Hermann Finck 1527–1558
Francisco de Montanos c. 1528 – after 1592 Arte de música (1592)
Ercole Bottrigari 1531–1612
Pietro Pontio 1532–1595
Gallus Dressler 1533 – c. 1580/89
Orazio Tigrini c. 1535 – 1591 Il compendio della musica nel quale si tratta dell’arte del contrapunto
Zhu Zaiyu 1536–1611 Lüxue xinshuo and Lülü jingyi Possibly the first person to accurately describe equal temperament
Giovanni Maria Artusi c. 1540 – 1613
Giulio Caccini c. 1545 – 1618
Cyriakus Schneegass 1546–1597
Philibert Jambe de Fer fl. 1548–1564
Simon Stevin 1548–1620 Two incomplete treatises Theories of consonance
Ramamatya fl. 1550 Svaramelakalanidhi [Treasury of Musical Scales] c. 1550
Riccardo Rognoni c. 1550 – 1620 Passaggi per potersi esercitare nel diminuire, Venice 1592
Elway Bevin c. 1554 – 1638
Girolamo Diruta c. 1554 – after 1610
Lodovico Zacconi 1555–1627
Sethus Calvisius 1556–1615
Johannes Nucius c. 1556 – 1620
Thomas Morley c. 1557 – 1602
Adam Gumpelzhaimer 1559–1625
Giovanni Luca Conforti c. 1560 – 1608 Breve et facile maniera d’essercitarsi..., Rome 1593
Charles Butler 1560–1647 The Principles of Musik (1636)
Giovanni Bassano 1560/61–1617 Ricercate, passaggi et cadentie, Venice 1585
Pietro Cerone 1561–1625
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck 1562–1621
Giovanni Camillo Maffei fl 1562–73 Delle lettere del Signor Gio. Camillo Maffei da Solofra, libri due ..., Naples 1562
William Bathe 1564–1614
Joachim Burmeister 1564–1629
Johannes Christoph Demantius 1567–1643
Thomas Campion 1567–1620
Adriano Banchieri 1568–1634
Girolamo Dalla Casa before 1568 – 1601 Il vero modo di diminuir con tutte le sorti di stromenti di fiato, & corda, & di voce humana Venice: Angelo Gardano 1584
Michael Praetorius c. 1569/73 – 1621
Tomás de Santa María died 1570 Arte de tañer fantasía
Eucharius Hoffmann died 1588
Rudolf Schlick flourished 1588 Exercitatio, qua musices origo prima, cultus antiquissimus, dignitas maxima et emolumenta ... breviter ac dilucide exponuntur, Speyer, 1588
Giovanni Battista Bovicelli [de; ca] fl 1592–94 Regole, passaggi di musica, madrigali et motetti passeggiati, Venice, 1594
Francesco Rognoni Taeggio second half of the 16th century – after 1626 Selva de varii passaggi, Milan, 1620

17th century

Name Lifetime Major writing Known for Ref(s)
John Coprario c. 1570 – 1626
Johannes Kepler 1571–1630 Harmonices Mundi
Robert Fludd 1574–1637
Salomon de Caus c. 1576 – 1626
Gerhard Johann Vossius 1577–1649
Agostino Agazzari 1578–1640 Del sonare sopra il basso, 1607
Henricus Baryphonus [ca] 1581–1655
Severo Bonini 1582–1663
Thomas Ravenscroft c. 1582 – 1635
Johannes Lippius 1585–1612 Synopsis musicae novae (1612)
[Synopsis of New Music]
Coined the term "harmonic triad"
Johann Heinrich Alsted 1588–1638
Johann Andreas Herbst 1588–1666
Marin Mersenne 1588–1648
Heinrich Grimm 1593–1637
Giovanni Battista Doni 1595–1647
René Descartes 1596–1650
Galeazzo Sabbatini 1597–1662
Joan Albert Ban 1597–1644
Johann Crüger 1598–1662
Antoine de Cousu c. 1600 – 1658
Marco Scacchi c. 1600 – 1681/87
Athanasius Kircher 1601–1680
Christopher Simpson c. 1605 – 1669
Wojciech Bobowski c. 1610–1675 Mecmûa-i Sâz ü Söz Introduction of staff notation to Ottoman music, which would overtake abjad notation in the 19th century.
Hans Mikkelsen Ravn [da; sv] c. 1610 – 1663
Wolfgang Ebner 1612–1665
Otto Gibelius [de] 1612–1682
Thomas Mace 1612/3 – c. 1706
Lorenzo Penna 1613–1693
William Holder 1616–1696
John Wallis 1616–1703
Isaac Vossius 1618–1689
Matthew Locke 1621–1677
John Playford 1623–1686
Kasımpaşalı Osman Effendi fl. c. 1623
Andrés Lorente [de; ca] 1624–1703
René Ouvrard 1624–1694
Bénigne de Bacilly c. 1625 – 1690
Giovanni Andrea Bontempi c. 1624 – 1705
Christoph Bernhard 1628–1692
Christiaan Huygens 1629–1695
Venkatamakhin fl.c. 1630 Chaturdandiprakashika [The Illuminator of the Four Pillars of Music]
Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers c. 1632 – 1714
Nikolay Diletsky c. 1630 – after 1680
Angelo Berardi c. 1636 – 1694
Daniel Speer 1636–1707
Francis North 1637–1685
Wolfgang Caspar Printz 1641–1717
Giovanni Maria Bononcini 1642–1678
Jean Rousseau 1644–1700
Andreas Werckmeister 1645–1706
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 1646–1716
Thomas Salmon 1648–1706
Çengi Yusuf Dede fl. c. 1650
Johann Georg Ahle 1651–1706
Giovanni Battista Chiodini died 1652 Arte pratica latina et volgare di far contrapunto à mente, & à penna, 1610
Joseph Sauveur 1653–1716
Georg Muffat 1653–1704
Nâyî Osman Dede fl. c. 1680–1729 Rabt-ı Tâbirât-ı Mûsikî
Pier Francesco Tosi c. 1653 – 1732
Pablo Nassarre c. 1654 – 1730
Johann Baptist Samber [de] 1654–1717
Johann Beer 1655–1700
Sébastien de Brossard 1655–1730
Étienne Loulié c. 1655 – 1707
Nicola Matteis fl. 1670–c. 1698
Friedrich Erhard Niedt 1674–1717
Charles Masson fl. 1680–1700
De La Voye-Mignot [fr] died 1684

18th century

Name Lifetime Major writing Known for Ref(s)
Johann Joseph Fux 1660–1741 Gradus ad Parnassum Palestrinian style of Renaissance polyphony
Johann Kuhnau 1660–1722
Tomáš Baltazar Janovka [cs; ru] 1669 –1741
Francesco Gasparini 1661–1727
Johann Heinrich Buttstett 1666–1727
Johann Christoph Pepusch 1667–1752
David Kellner c. 1670 – 1748
Dimitrie Cantemir 1673 – 1723 Kitâbu 'İlmi'l-Mûsiki alâ Vechi'l-Hurûfât (or simply Edvâr) The empirical school of Ottoman music theory, Cantemir notation, description of pseudo-makam
Georg Philipp Telemann 1681–1767
Johann Mattheson 1681–1764
Jean-Philippe Rameau 1683–1764 Treatise on Harmony reduced to its natural principles
Johann David Heinichen 1683–1729
Meinrad Spieß [de; ca; it] 1683–1761
Johann Gottfried Walther 1684–1748
Alexander Malcolm 1685–1763
Johann Georg Neidhardt [de; ca; no; ru] 1685–1739
François Campion [fr] c. 1686 – 1748
Francesco Geminiani 1687–1762
Giuseppe Tartini 1692–1770
Francesco Antonio Vallotti 1697–1780
Jakob Adlung 1699–1762
Christoph Gottlieb Schröter 1699–1782
William Tans'ur 1700–1783
Georg Andreas Sorge 1703–1778
Gottfried Keller died 1704
Giovanni Battista Martini 1706–1784
Leonhard Euler 1707–1783 Tentamen novae theoriae musicae (Attempt at a New Theory of Music) See Leonhard Euler#Music
Johann Adolph Scheibe 1708–1776
Joseph Riepel 1709–1782
Lorenz Christoph Mizler Kolof 1711–1778
Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1712–1778
Nicola Sala 1713–1801
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach 1714–1788
Jean le Rond d'Alembert 1717–1783
Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg 1718–1795
Leopold Mozart 1719–1787
Johann Friedrich Agricola 1720–1774
Johann Georg Sulzer 1720–1779
Martin Gerbert 1720–1793
Kevserî fl. 1720–1740 Kevserî Mecmuası
Johann Philipp Kirnberger 1721–1783
Giuseppe Paolucci 1726–1776
Antonio Soler 1729–1783
Luigi Antonio Sabbatini c. 1732 – 1809
Johann Georg Albrechtsberger 1736–1809
Vincenzo Manfredini 1737–1799
Panayotis Chalatzoglou fl. 1740–1748 Comparative study of Ottoman and Byzantine modal systems.
Petros Peloponnesios 1740–1788 His codex of music
Johann Abraham Peter Schulz 1747–1800
Maximilian Stadler 1748–1833
Georg Michael Telemann 1748–1831
Johann Nikolaus Forkel 1749–1818
Heinrich Christoph Koch 1749–1816
Abbé Vogler 1749–1814
Kyrillos Marmarinos fl. 1749
Augustus Frederic Christopher Kollmann 1756–1829
Daniel Gottlob Türk 1756–1813
Luigi Cherubini 1760–1842
Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny 1762–1842
Abdülbâki Nâsır Dede 1765–1821 Tedkîk u Tahkîk
Bedřich Diviš Weber 1766–1842
Hampartsoum Limondjian 1768–1839 Hampartsoum notation
Józef Elsner 1769–1854
Anton Reicha 1770–1836
Alexandre-Étienne Choron 1771–1834
Charles Simon Catel 1773–1830
Matthew Peter King 1773–1823
Johann Anton André 1775–1842
Johann Bernhard Logier 1777–1846
Gottfried Weber 1779–1839

19th century

Name Lifetime Major writing Known for Ref(s)
Christian Theodor Weinlig 1780–1842 Theoretisch-praktische Anleitung zur Fuge für den Selbstunterricht (1842) Fugue theory
François-Joseph Fétis 1784–1871 Traité complet de la théorie et de la pratique de l'harmonie (1844) Frameworks of tonality and harmony
Simon Sechter 1788–1867
Carl Czerny 1791–1857 Theoretico-Practical Piano School Volume 4, Vienna, 1847
Moritz Hauptmann 1792–1868
Adolf Bernhard Marx c. 1795–1866
Sarah Mary Fitton c. 1796–1874
Johann Christian Lobe 1797–1881
Siegfried Dehn 1799–1858
Auguste Barbereau 1799–1879
Joseph d'Ortigue 1802–1866
Henri Reber 1807–1880
Carl Friedrich Weitzmann 1808–1880
Ernst Friedrich Richter 1808–1879
Alfred Day 1810–1849 A Treatise on Harmony
George Alexander Macfarren 1813–1887
Hermann von Helmholtz 1821–1894
Anton Bruckner 1824–1896
Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley 1825–1889
Rudolf Westphal 1826–1892
François-Auguste Gevaert 1828–1908
František Zdeněk Skuherský 1830–1892
Salomon Jadassohn 1831–1902
Heinrich Bellermann 1832–1903
Arthur von Oettingen 1836–1920
Ebenezer Prout 1835–1909
Théodore Dubois 1837–1924
John Stainer 1840–1901
Bernhard Ziehn 1845–1912
Otakar Hostinský 1847–1910
Hugo Riemann 1849–1919
Vincent d'Indy 1851–1931
Percy Goetschius 1853–1943
Guido Adler 1855–1941 Umfang, Methode und Ziel der Musikwissenschaf (1885)
Sergei Taneyev 1856–1915 Convertible Counterpoint in the Strict Style
Ludwig Thuille 1861–1907

20th century – present

Name Lifetime Major writing Known for Ref(s)
Stephan Krehl 1864–1924 Kontrapunkt (1908) Attempted to synthesize harmony and counterpoint
André Gedalge 1868–1926 Traité de la fugue (1901) Fugue theory
Alfred Lorenz 1868–1939 Das Geheimnis der Form bei Richard Wagner (1924–1933) Musical analysis, particularly of Richard Wagner's works
Heinrich Schenker 1868–1935 Free Composition, Counterpoint, Harmony Founding Schenkerian analysis
August Halm 1869–1929 Die Symphonie Anton Bruckners (1914) Musical analysis
Suphi Ezgi 1869–1962 Nazarî ve Amelî Türk Müzikisi (1933–1953)
Rauf Yekta 1871–1935 La musique turque (1922)
Arnold Schoenberg 1874–1951 Style and Idea Twelve-tone technique, Serialism
Donald Tovey 1875–1940 Essays in Musical Analysis (1935–1939, 1944) Musical analysis
Julián Carrillo 1875–1965 Sonido 13 (1948) The Sonido 13 theory
Arnold Schering 1877–1941
Boleslav Yavorsky 1877–1942
Zdeněk Nejedlý 1878–1962
Hüseyin Sadeddin Arel 1880–1955 Türk Musikisi Kimindir? The nationalist school of Ottoman classical music
Rudolph Reti 1885–1957 The Thematic Process in Music (1951) Musical analysis
Ernst Kurth 1886–1946
Charles Seeger 1886–1979 formulation of dissonant counterpoint
Adele T. Katz 1887–1979 "Heinrich Schenker's Method of Analysis" (1935) Schenkerian analysis
Iurii Nikolaevich Tiulin 1893-1978
Nicolas Slonimsky 1894–1995 Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns (1947)
Paul Hindemith 1895–1963 Unterweisung im Tonsatz
[The Craft of Musical Composition]
Joseph Schillinger 1895–1943 The Schillinger System of Musical Composition (1941) System of music composition
Howard Hanson 1896–1981 Harmonic Materials of Modern Music: Resources of the Tempered Scale (1960) Nascent development of set theory
Erwin Ratz 1898–1973 Einführung in die musikalische Formenlehre
[Introduction to Musical Form]
Musical analysis of form and structure
Felix Salzer 1904–1986
Lev Abramovich Mazel' born 1907 O melodii (1952) Elements of music; among the founders of the Soviet/Russian music theory tradition
Ernst Oster 1908–1977 English translation of Free Composition Schenkerian analysis
George Perle 1915–2009 Serial Composition and Atonality (1962) Methods of atonality
Milton Babbitt 1916–2011 Numerous; "Some Aspects of Twelve-Tone Composition" (1955); "Twelve-Tone Invariants as Compositional Determinants" (1960); and "Set Structure as a Compositional Determinant" (1961) Serialism
Edward T. Cone 1917–2004 Musical Form and Musical Performance (1968) Musical analysis
Muḥammad Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn 1917–1965 Taṣwīr al-Alḥān al-‘Arabiyyah (1950)
[The transposition of Arab melodies]
Division of the octave into 24 quarter tones, transposition of the Arabic maqam
Rostislav Berberov 1921–1984 Spetsifika strukturï khorovogo proizvedeniya ('Specifics of the Structure of a Choral Work', Moscow, 1981) and Ėpicheskaya poėma’ Germana Galïnina: estetiko-analisticheskiye pazmïshleniya ('The Epic Poem of German Galïnin: Aesthetic-Analytic Reflections', Moscow, 1986) Leading Soviet theorist who create a complex yet structurally integrated system of music analysis that was built on combining theories developed by Ernst Kurth, Boris Asafyev, Hugo Riemann, and Johannes Bobrowski.
Iannis Xenakis 1922–2001 Formalized Music (1963) Writing on music composition based on math
George Russell 1923–2009 Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization (1953) Pioneering music theory systems centered around jazz
Jaroslav Volek 1923–1989
Ernő Lendvai 1925–1993 Bartók's Style (1955) Musical analysis, particularly of Béla Bartók's works, such as with the axis system
Allen Forte 1926–2014 Tonal Harmony (1962) Musical analysis, Schenkerian analysis and set theory
William Ennis Thomson 1927–2019 "Pitch Frames as Melodic Archetypes" (2006) Cognitive and perceptual foundations of music
Wallace Berry 1928–1991 Structural Functions in Music (1976); Musical Structure and Performance (1989) Musical analysis, particularly on formal structure
Harold Powers 1928–2007 Mode and Raga (1958); "Mode" in Grove 1980 Comparisons of the Western and Indian classical traditions, particularly on modes and ragas. Also research on the use of musical theory to convey drama in Italian opera
Carl Schachter born 1932 Harmony and Voice Leading (1979; with Edward Aldwell) Schenkerian analysis
David Lewin 1933–2003 Generalized Musical Intervals and Transformations (1987) Transformational theory
Benjamin Boretz born 1934 Language as a Music: Six Marginal Pretexts for Composition (1981)
Robert Porter Morgan born 1934 Anthology of Twentieth-Century Music (1992) Musical analysis of 20th-century classical music
Edward Aldwell 1938–2006 Harmony and Voice Leading (1979; with Carl Schachter)
Edward Laufer 1938–2014 Schenkerian analysis
Stefan Kostka born 1939 Tonal Harmony (1984)
Fred Lerdahl born 1943 A Generative Theory Of Tonal Music (1983; with Ray Jackendoff) Generative theory of tonal music
Maury Yeston born 1945 Readings in Schenker Analysis (1975); The Stratification of Musical Rhythm (1976) Rhythmic stratification and Schenkerian analysis
James Hepokoski born 1946 Elements of Sonata Theory (2006; with Warren Darcy) Sonata theory
William Caplin born 1948 Classical Form (1998) Analysis of classical period music
Willie Anku 1949–2010 "Circles and time: a theory of structural organisation of rhythm in African music" (2000) Studies on African rhythm, particularly using set theory
Laurence Dreyfus born 1952 Analysis of the music of Bach
Richard Cohn born 1955 Audacious Euphony (2012) Rhythm and atonal pitch-class theories
Victor Kofi Agawu born 1956 Playing with signs (1991); African Rhythm, A Northern Ewe Perspective (1995) Musical semiotics and musical analysis
Timothy L. Jackson born 1958 Schenkerian analysis
Miller Puckette born 1959 The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music (2007) Max (software), Pure Data
Philip Ewell born 1966 Music Theory and the White Racial Frame (2020) Race in music, Russian and twentieth century music, as well as rap and hip hop
Ellie Hisama Gendering Musical Modernism: The Music of Ruth Crawford, Marion Bauer, and Miriam Gideon (2007) Gender, race, and sexuality in music theory. Popular music
Suzannah Clark born 1969 Music theory and natural order from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century (2001) Franz Schubert, history of music theory, medieval music
Dmitri Tymoczko born 1969 A Geometry of Music (2010) Proposed framework for considering tonality

This page was last updated at 2024-02-20 22:18 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari