Volume 11, Number 4, October 2005
Copyright � 2005 Society for Music Theory

Editor's Message

Our fourth volume of 2005 features two articles on popular music topics, an article on the theory of key signatures and voice leading, and a review of a major book on the Beatles.

In his article, "On and On: Repetition as Process and Pleasure in Electronic Dance Music," Luis-Manuel Garcia draws upon writings of Adorno, Freud, Schoenberg, and others to reevaluate the musical functions and aesthetic value of repetition. This provides a basis for considering the joys of repetitive looping in audio excerpts of electronic dance music by Plastikman, Tony Rohr, and Akufen.

Allan F. Moore explores ways that texture, harmony, and patterns of repetition form interactions that represent a persona and its environment in his article, "The Persona-Environment Relation in Recorded Song." A broad array of songs are discussed by artists including Patsy Cline, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Nat King Cole, Yes, Janis Joplin, Björk, the Beach Boys, Deep Purple, the Rolling Stones, Bette Midler, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, and the Carpenters.

Dmitri Tymoczko develops a generalized reconstruction of Western notation to define a basic scale and uses key signatures to illustrate aspects of a general theory of voice leading in his article, "Voice Leadings as Generalized Key Signatures."

Mark Spicer reviews Walter Everett's book, The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men Through Rubber Soul (Oxford University Press, 2001).

The issue also includes listings of recently completed dissertations, calls for papers, and conference announcements.

Submissions to MTO are welcome at any time. We encourage readers to post their reactions to this issue's articles and review. The mto-talk email list is available to MTO subscribers (subscription is free) for online discussion of any MTO -related topic. To post to mto-talk, simply send an email message to mto-talk@societymusictheory.org . Longer responses may be submitted to the Editor for publication in the Commentary section of the next issue.

All MTO volumes dating back to our first issue in 1993 can be accessed from the contents page at http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/issues.html.

Thank you for your support of MTO!