writings
books
Composition and Cognition: Reflections on Contemporary Music and the Musical Mind
(2019). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Tonal Pitch Space
(2001). New York: Oxford University Press.
A Generative Theory of Tonal Music
(1983; second printing, 1996). (Co-authored with Ray Jackendoff.) Cambridge: MIT Press.
articles
Structure and Ambiguity in a Schumann Song (2015). In I. Toivonen, ed., Structures in the Mind: Essays in Honor of Ray Jackendoff. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 347-369.
Concepts and Representations of Musical Hierarchies (2015). Music Perception, 33, 83-95.
Tension and Expectation in a Schubert Song (2014). In L. F. Bernstein & A. Rozin, eds., Musical Implications: Essays in Honor of Eugene Narmour. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 255-274.
Musical Syntax and Its Relation to Linguistic Syntax. In M. A. Arbib, ed., Language, Music, and the Brain: A Mysterious Relationship. Strüngmann Forum Reports, vol. 10. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press (2013).
Musical Tension (2011). (Co-authored with Carol Krumhansl.) In F. Bacci & D. Melcher, eds., Art and the Senses. New York: Oxford University Press.
Looking into the Eyes of a Conductor Performing Lerdahl’s Time after Time (2011). (Co-authored with Emmanuel Bigand, et al.). Musicae Scientiae, Special Issue, 273-292.
Interview with Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff (2010). Musicae Scientiae, Discussion Forum 5, 257-267.
Genesis and Architecture of the GTTM Project (2009). Music Perception, 26.3, 187-194. (pdf)
On Carter’s Influence (2008). In M. Ponthus & S. Tang, eds., Elliott Carter: A Centennial Celebration, 15-22. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press.
Foreword (2008). In George Edwards, Collected Essays on Classical and Modern Music, vii-ix. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
Response to Richard Cohn (2008). Music Theory Spectrum, 30, 189-192.
Reflections on Leonard Meyer (2008). Music Perception, 25, 483-484.
Modeling Tonal Tension (2007). (Co-authored with Carol Krumhansl.) Music Perception, 24, 329-366. (pdf)
The Capacity for Music: What Is It, and What’s Special About It? (2006). (Co-authored with Ray Jackendoff). Cognition, 100.1, 33-72. (pdf)
La teoría de la tensión tonal y sus consecuencias para la investigación musical (2004). (Co-authored with Carol L. Krumhansl.) In J. Martín Galán & C. Villar-Taboada, eds., Los últimos diez años en la investigación musical. Valladolid: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Valladolid.
Two Ways in Which Music Relates to the World (2003). Music Theory Spectrum, 25.2, 367-373.
Composing Notes (2002). Current Musicology, 67 & 68, 243-251. (pdf)
The Sounds of Poetry Viewed as Music (2001). In R. J. Zatorre and I. Peretz, eds., The Biological Foundations of Music. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 930, 337-354. Reprinted (with revisions) in I. Peretz and R.. Zatorre, eds., The Cognitive Neuroscience of Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. (pdf)
Spatial and Psychoacoustic Factors in Atonal Prolongation (1999). Current Musicology, 63, 7-26.
Prolonging the Inevitable (1998). Revue belge de musicologie, 52, 305-309.
Prolongational Structure and Schematic Form in Tristan's "Alte Weise" (1998). Musicae Scientiae, special issue, 27-41.
Issues in Prolongational Theory: A Response to Larson (1997). Journal of Music Theory, 41.1, 141-155.
Composing and Listening: A Reply to Nattiez (1997). In I. Deliége & J. Sloboda, eds., Perception and Cognition of Music. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
Tonality and Paranoia: A Reply to Boros (1996). Perspectives of New Music, 34.1, 242-251.
Calculating Tonal Tension (1996). Music Perception, 13.3, 319-363.
Perception of Musical Tension in Short Chord Sequences: The Influence of Harmonic Function, Sensory Dissonance, Horizontal Motion, and Musical Training (1996). (Co-authored with Emmanuel Bigand and Richard Parncutt.) Perception & Psychophysics, 58, 125-141.
Tonal and Narrative Paths in Parsifal (1994). In R. Atlas & M. Cherlin, eds., Musical Transformation and Musical Intuition: Essays in Honor of David Lewin. Roxbury, MA: Ovenbird Press.
Octatonic and Hexatonic Pitch Spaces (1994). Proceedings of the International Conference for Music Perception and Cognition.
A Generative Textsetting Model (1994). (Co-authored with John Halle.) Current Musicology, 55, 3-26.
Pitch-space Journeys in Two Chopin Preludes (1992). In M.R. Jones & S. Holleran, eds., Cognitive Bases of Musical Communication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
A Theory of Poetry as Music and Its Exploration through a Computer Aid to Composition (1991). (Co-authored with Xavier Chabot.) Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference.
Some Lines of Poetry Viewed as Music (1991). (Co-authored with John Halle.) In J. Sundberg, L. Nord, & R. Carlson, eds., Music, Language, Speech, and Brain. Wenner-Gren International Symposium Series. London: Macmillan.
Underlying Musical Schemata (1991). In I. Cross & P. Howell, eds., Representing Musical Structure. New York: Academic.
Whither Music Theory? (1990) Indiana Theory Review, 10.
Les relations chromatiques come moyen d'extension d'une théorie générative de la musique tonale (1989). Analyse Musicale, 16, 54-60.
Atonal Prolongational Structure (1989). Contemporary Music Review, 3.2, 65-87.
Tonal Pitch Space (1988). Music Perception, 5.3, 315-350.
Cognitive Constraints on Compositional Systems (1988). In J. Sloboda, ed., Generative Processes in Music. Oxford University Press. (pdf)
Timbral Hierarchies (1987). Contemporary Music Review, 2.1, 135-160.
La composition assistée par ordinateur (1986). (Co-authored with Yves Potard.) IRCAM: Rapports de recherche.
Reply to Peel and Slawson (1985). (Co-authored with Ray Jackendoff.) Journal of Music Theory, 29.1.
Théorie genérative de la musique et composition musicale (1985). In T. Machover, ed., Le Concept de Recherche Musicale. Paris: Christian Bourgois.
An Overview of Hierarchical Structure in Music (1983). (Co-authored with Ray Jackendoff.) Music Perception, 1.2.
A Grammatical Parallel between Music and Language (1982). (Co-authored with Ray Jackendoff.) In M. Clynes, ed., Music, Mind, and Brain. New York: Plenum.
On the Theory of Grouping and Meter (1981). (Co-authored with Ray Jackendoff.) Musical Quarterly, 67.4.
Generative Music Theory and Its Relation to Psychology (1981). (Co-authored with Ray Jackendoff.) Journal of Music Theory, 25.1
Discovery Procedures vs. Rules of Musical Grammar in a Generative Music Theory (1980). (Co-authored with Ray Jackendoff.) Perspectives of New Music, 18.2.
Toward a Formal Theory of Tonal Music (1977). (Co-authored with Ray Jackendoff.) Journal of Music Theory, 21.1.
Charles Ives and His America (1976). Harvard Magazine.
A Guide to Contemporary Music (1975). Harvard Magazine.