Dr. Miriam Piilonen – UMass Amherst Joint Meeting of the SMT/AMS/SEM New Orleans - November 13, 2022 Music Theory Memes: Spreading Information and Misinformation I. Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 It was the debate that followed which helped this meme garner over 30,000 engagements. Music theory memes are examples of people spreading information through and about music theory and thus experimenting with the very concept of music theory, as well as what it means to be a music theorist. Thesis Statement Talk Outline I. Introduction – A music theory meme gone viral II. Defining and theorizing meme transmission III. Unpacking the histories, musical values, and social meanings of memes – Why is it difficult to fact check a music theory meme? IV. Memes spread (mis)information, but that is only their most obvious feature – Memes get circulated by users who prize creating, copying, and sharing bits of content. – The p eople and the “e - crowds” which form online are as significant as the memes, their messages, and their media. V. Concluding Thoughts – Online music theorists have been participating in the discourse of music theory in an unprecedented way through memes. II. Defining and Theorizing Meme Transmission What is a meme? Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene (1976) What is a meme? What is a meme? “[The term] ‘Internet meme’ is commonly applied to describe the propagation of items such as jokes, rumors, videos, and websites, from person to person via the Internet.” — Limor Shifman , Memes in Digital Culture Christmas Chord Millennial Whoop Christmas Chord Millennial Whoop Scotch Snaps Triplet Flow Memes such as these depend upon insider awareness of niche cultural contexts and conventions, and can be partially or totally illegible to outsiders. Still, this does not mean that memes only spread when they become popular within a niche group. It was the element of debate that helped the meme to spread. The term “music theory” became a site of debate, revealing a range of ways users think about music theory: ~Structures of music ~A way of organizing sounds ~”Contemplating music” ~A class ~A textbook etc ...