Title page of Rameau’s New System of Musical Theory

Table showing chord progression from Rameau’s New System of Musical Theory

Illustration of continuo and fundamental bass in Rameau’s New System of Musical Theory

The ''New System of Musical Theory'' (''french: Nouveau système de musique théorique)'' published in 1726, is the second

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...

on musical theory written by the composer

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of Fr ...

. Rameau wrote the work four years after the publication of his first theoretical work, the '' Treatise on Harmony Reduced to its Natural Principles'' (french: Traité de l'harmonie réduite à ses principes naturels) (1722). The ''Treatise'' had expounded a theory based on the standard

Pythagorean tuning Pythagorean tuning is a system of musical tuning in which the frequency ratios of all intervals are based on the ratio 3:2.Bruce Benward and Marilyn Nadine Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice'', seventh edition, 2 vols. (Boston: Mc ...

. However, some time after publishing his ''Treatise'', Rameau became aware of the work of the scientist

Joseph Sauveur Joseph Sauveur (24 March 1653 – 9 July 1716) was a French mathematician and physicist. He was a professor of mathematics and in 1696 became a member of the French Academy of Sciences. Life Joseph Sauveur was born in La Flèche, the son of a ...

who had described the phenomenon of

overtone An overtone is any resonant frequency above the fundamental frequency of a sound. (An overtone may or may not be a harmonic) In other words, overtones are all pitches higher than the lowest pitch within an individual sound; the fundamental i ...

s and codified the harmonic sequence scientifically. This was very exciting for Rameau, because it provided an empirical scientific basis for his own theories, for which he had only, in the ''Treatise'', been able to provide mathematical proof. The title Rameau chose for his new work was taken from the title of Fontenelle's report to Royal Academy of Sciences on Sauveur's work (''Sur un nouveau système de musique''). The ''New System'' introduced some important new theoretical ideas, including geometric proportion and the concept of the

subdominant In music, the subdominant is the fourth tonal degree () of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance ''below'' the tonic as the dominant is ''above'' the tonicin other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdomina ...

. However, there was no substantial theoretical investigation of the new idea of the “corps sonore”. Rather, the ''New System'' served as a supplement and elaboration of the ''Treatise'' — indeed

Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera an ...

presented the ''New System'' as an introduction to the earlier work.

References

{{Jean-Philippe Rameau 1726 works Harmony Music theory History of classical music