This week, my research from last week continued as I explored the Music Theory Online journal from the Society for Music Theory to find many more sources to extend my modern musical knowledge. I struck gold when I found three specific articles that not only provided great information, but also inspiration for specific ISM topic focuses.
Topic Theory
Two of these articles talked about a new concept to me called "Topic Theory," which is the analysis of specific choices composers make to follow musical tropes. Musical tropes are emotional and physical imagery delivered through music with use of musical devices and textures. A lot of my research has had me finding myself looking for this information in what I'm reading about, so this specific term and information about it will be very helpful. Both of these articles also had many citations that would be a great starting point for some of my research moving forward.
Timbre
The other article focused a lot on the "feel" of music as described through the idea of "timbre" in music. Timbre is a fairly vague term which can in some ways be seen as "color" as many musicians would describe it, but in the modern era factors such as recording quality and distortion play a large role in affecting this important factor to music. Both of these concepts have been a big part of my curiosity so far in research and with this information I've found my footing for how to move forward with my topic.