Organized Time

Jason Yust is Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Boston University. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he received a BA in Music at Brown University and a PhD in Music Theory from the University of Washington. His research interests include mathematical theories of harmonic space; metrical, tonal, and formal structure in tonal music; and music perception and cognition.

• ContentsIntroductionTime and LandscapeDimensionChapter 1: Rhythmic Hierarchy and the Network Model1.1 Metric and Rhythmic Structures as Temporal Hierarchies1.2 Rhythmic Classes and Transformations1.3 Inferring Rhythmic Hierarchies1.4 MetricalityChapter 2: Tonal Structure2.1 Melodic Structure2.2 Backgrounds2.3 Repetition2.4 Keys2.5 Tonal Models for Binary FormsChapter 3: Formal Structure3.1 Elements of Form: Repetition, Contrast, Fragmentation3.2 Small Baroque Forms3.3 Expositions and the Secondary Theme3.4 Interactions of Form and Tonal StructureChapter 4: Structural Networks and the Experience of Musical Time4.1 Depth, Distance, and the Classification of Structural Shapes4.2 A Phenomenology of Structure4.3 Center, Skew, and Bias4.4 Splitting and DisjunctionChapter 5: Timespan Intervals5.1 Large-Scale Rhythmic Design in Bach's F Minor Fugue5.2 Classification of Timespan Intervals5.3 Hypermetric Hemiola in a Bach Prelude5.4 Transformations of Rhythmic StructuresChapter 6: Hypermeter6.1 Hypermeter in the Eye of the Beholder6.2 Some Criteria for Hypermetric Analysis6.3 Functions of Hypermetric Shift in Haydn's Symphonies6.4 Indefinite Hypermeter and Hypermetric ReinterpretationChapter 7: Hypermeter, Form, and Closure7.1 Hypermetric Placement in Cadential Syntax7.2 Mozart's Afterbeat Melodic Ideas7.3 Main Theme Endings in Haydn's Symphonies7.4 Elided Cadences and Expositional Closure7.5 Beethoven's Open ExpositionsChapter 8: Syncopation8.1 Contrapuntal and Tonal versus Structural Syncopation8.2 Contrapuntal Syncopation and Metrical Dissonance8.3 Hypermetric Syncopation and Contrapuntal Displacement8.4 Rhythmic Process as Formal Process in BeethovenChapter 9: Counterpoint9.1 Rhythmic Counterpoint9.2 Brahms's Use of Rhythmic Irregularity and Rhythmic Counterpoint 9.3 Counterpoint of Tonal Structures9.4 Formal CounterpointChapter 10: Harmony Simplified10.1 Harmonic Syntax and Structure10.2 Voice Leading on the Tonnetz10.3 EnharmonicismChapter 11: Reforming Formal Analysis11.1 Tonal Disjunction and the Phrase11.2 Ritornello Form in the Eighteenth-Century Symphony11.3 Form(s) and Recipes11.4 Outside the FrameChapter 12: Tonal-Formal Disjunction 12.1 High-Level Tonal-Formal Disjunction in Sonata Form12.2 Alternate Subordinate Keys12.3 Disjunction in the Exposition: Modulating Subordinate Themes12.4 Off-Tonic RecapitulationsChapter 13: Graph Theory for Temporal Structure13.1 Planarity and Cycles13.2 Direction and Confluence13.3 Chords and Holes13.4 Reduction Trees, Event Trees, and Spanning Trees over MOPs13.5 Spanning Trees and the Cycle/Edge-Cut AlgebrasChapter 14: A Geometry of Temporal Structure14.1 Associahedra14.2 Higher-Dimensional Associahedra and their Facets14.3 EvennessEpilogue

Astonishing in both its ambition and its achievement. [Organized Time] offers a theory of tonal music that treats harmony, rhythm, and form as separate dimensions that might either reinforce or contradict each other, providing an appealing notation system that permits direct comparison of these dimensions. It profoundly rethinks aspects of tonal theory that we had thought pretty well settled. The theoretical framework is powerful and the analyses-of both familiar and unfamiliar tonal works-are deeply revealing.