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New System of Musical Theory

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The New System of Theoretical Music is the second treatise on musical theory written by Jean-Philippe Rameau, and published in 1726. [1][2]

Rameau completes this work with his Treatise on harmony reduced to its natural principles in 1722, and presents it as an introduction to it.

In the meantime, he learns about the work of Joseph Sauveur on the harmonic resonance of the sound body, which corroborates the principles identified in his first book, on the level of physics and auditory perception. The perception of harmonics (or consonances) during the emission of the fundamental sound had also been noted previously by the Jesuit scholar Marin Mersenne[3]

While the entire theoretical approach of the previous treatise was based exclusively on mathematical considerations, Rameau evoked in his New System, the physical phenomenon of harmonic sounds, so to speak "consubstantial" with the fundamental sound. Their inevitable presence is based on Nature and justifies, for the author, the notion of perfect harmony. [4]


  1. ^ "Nouveau système de musique théorique - Rameau". jp.rameau.free.fr. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  2. ^ "Free sheet music : Rameau, Jean-Philippe - Nouveau système de musique théorique (Music theory)". www.free-scores.com. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  3. ^ Elie, Jean. "Marin Mersenne et sa contribution à la théorie de la musique : consonances et dissonances". escholarship.mcgill.ca. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  4. ^ Hayes, Deborah (1974). "Rameau's "Nouvelle Méthode"". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 27 (1): 61–74. doi:10.2307/830515. ISSN 0003-0139.