For questions about studying the intricacies of a piece of music. Questions should also be tagged with a more specific form of analysis if applicable.
Analysis is all about identifying the component musical structures that give a piece of music some of its identity. Examining and explaining the effect of observed concepts is the general goal of a musical analyst or theorist.
The analysis of music and pieces of music is designed to dissect the basic aspects of that piece that can not only be seen in other works of music, but also be used to create new music. Different types of analysis include:
- Harmonic
- Rhythmic
- Melodic
- Functional
- Non-Functional
- Contrapuntal
- Neo-Riemannian
- 12-Tone Serialist
- Microtonal
- Schenkerian
There are many types of musical analysis. For example, chord-theory, which is mostly about individual chord entities. intervals can be the subject of analysis, as can chord-progressions, harmony, rhythm, melody, or even lyrics (lyrical analysis is also on-topic over on MusicFans.SE). As long as the question is about examining how music works, the tag analysis will cover it!
So why analyze? Analysis is a critical listening procedure to build up understanding of how music works. The key to successful musical analysis is pattern recognition: by learning to isolate specific elements of music, one can improve one's understanding of that particular observed element. In short, analysis is the process of actively taking apart music in order to gain insight into the inner workings of music theory.
