Expanding the Commons Available to Purchase

i'm persuaded. The term tonality adds little to our theoretical discourse and brings with it a troubling history; we lose little and gain much if we abandon it as an umbrella concept for a range of musical phenomena better theorized à la carte. I'd like to pause over this balance of loss to gain at the outset, as readers of Yust's provocative essay may worry that they are being asked to give up too much. I do not want to downplay the vertigo that some may feel when considering life without tonality—I feel it too. Our curricula are structured around the word, as Yust observes, and it has acted as a kind of intellectual commons for generations of theorists. But I think Yust is right: losing the word doesn't mean we lose the theoretical insights gained under its banner. Nor does it mean we lose the commons. Indeed,...