Editing Musicology (section)

===Music theory, analysis and composition===
Music theory is a field of study that describes the elements of music and includes the development and application of methods for composing and for analyzing music through both [[musical notation|notation]] and, on occasion, musical sound itself. Broadly, theory may include any statement, belief or conception of or about music ([[Benjamin Boretz|Boretz]], 1995){{incomplete short citation| date= January 2021}}. A person who studies or practices music theory is a music theorist.

Some music theorists attempt to explain the techniques composers use by establishing rules and patterns. Others model the experience of listening to or performing music. Though extremely diverse in their interests and commitments, many Western music theorists are united in their belief that the acts of composing, performing and listening to music may be explicated to a high degree of detail (this, as opposed to a conception of musical expression as fundamentally ineffable except in musical sounds). Generally, works of music theory are both descriptive and prescriptive, attempting both to define practice and to influence later practice.

Musicians study music theory to understand the structural relationships in the (nearly always notated) music. Composers study music theory to understand how to produce effects and structure their own works. Composers may study music theory to guide their [[precomposition]]al and compositional decisions. Broadly speaking, music theory in the Western tradition focuses on [[harmony]] and [[counterpoint]], and then uses these to explain large scale structure and the creation of [[melody]].