A Study of the styles and characteristics of basic music theory textbooks in China in the past 100 years

Abstract

Due to various historical and realistic reasons, the development of basic music theory in China lags behind in the teaching system, teaching content and other aspects. It is an important task for Chinese music workers to revise or supplement the current basic music theory and related textbooks and then build a discipline system of basic music theory in China. This paper synthesizes the theories of music education and music history, music culture, music morphology and other related disciplines. It uses scientific, objective and rational values and holistic and comprehensive concepts. It takes the development of the basic music theory education of China as the research object and takes history as a mirror to further consider and prospect the construction of the basic music theory discipline system of China. The basic theory of Chinese Music can be roughly divided into three stages: (1) The basic music theory from the early 20th century to the founding of the People’s Republic of China; (2) From the founding of the People’s Republic of China to the period of reform and opening up; (3) Basic music theory compiled and published since the reform and opening up. It can be seen, from the development of the basic theory education of Chinese Music and its teaching materials, that the development of western music theory in China, before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, was a process from passive acceptance to active absorption. The scope of spreading western music theory was from the palace to the church, then to the school, and, finally, to the society, which made the music theory teaching in China gradually develop into a major and minor system as the leading mode. The basic theory of Chinese Music gradually deviated from its own track. With the deepening of music research after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the discipline development of basic music theory has witnessed a prosperous situation, and the construction of basic music theory is moving towards the direction of diversification and deepening. Many musicologists and music educators have made contributions to the construction of basic music theory in China from different disciplines and research perspectives. Based on the principle of “combining history with the theory” and combing the development of basic music theory in China, the ideal model of Chinese music theory discipline construction is conceived to promote the integration between traditional music theory and modern music theory from a diachronic perspective What is relevant to strengthen the unity of the nation and the world in basic music theory from a synchronic perspective, and to pay attention to the connotation of technology and culture in music theory teaching. But also to strengthen the scientific and logical concept in music theory textbooks.