The Theory of Musical Forces: Filling Some Gaps with Integrations and Expansions

Abstract

Since Steve Larson published the first writings on his theory of musical forces in 1992, many of the aspects, terms and definitions that he  introduced were developed, expanded upon and improved by himself and other researchers. Larson wanted to expand on his own work  and write a sequel to his book Musical Forces: Motion, Metaphor, and Meaning. However, he passed away in 2011, shortly before the  publication of his first book on musical forces. His intention to write a sequel shows Larson's awareness of the incomplete state of his  theory and of the opportunities the theory offers for expansion. Several theorists expanded Larson's theory, the most important being  Robert Hatten. Through my own work on expanding the theory of musical forces, I discovered certain perspectives and terminologies  that invite further exploration and clarification, as is the case with developing theories. Clarification of these ambiguities and an  integration of Hatten’s work into the theory are indispensable for further work within the theory of musical forces. The aim of this article  is to identify potential gaps in the theoretical framework, as well as potential areas for further investigation and clarification. I aim to fill  some of these gaps for prospective researchers so that it will not be necessary for them to work on fundamental aspects of Larson's  theory. Some of the issues in this article are speculative, similar to Larson’s work on this developing theory, and will need further  research and refinement. I hope that the work presented in this article will enable other researchers to apply and further expand the  theory. Although some of the parts in this article is an expansion of Larson’s work, the aim here is not to offer full expansions of  particular aspects, but rather to contextualise and partly elucidate existing expansions.