| This dissertation develops the definition of an information loop, and uses its various types to describe the constructional logic of certain repetitive musical devices. An information loop is a musical feature that happens over and over again, either within a work or amongst numerous works sharing the same musical feature. A musical feature is understood here to mean a sound, or a method of organizing sound. The viewing of music, sonic or notational, as "music information" is part of a methodology that seeks to transcend engrained stylistic, historical, and ideological boundaries that have traditionally compartmentalized Western music repertoires.;A theoretical framework, called sequential information analysis, is proposed for analyzing the operation of repetition as it organizes music information. By dealing with patterns of music information rather than with more style-specific musical nomenclatures, sequential information analysis allows comparisons between widely divergent musical types from the last 1000 years of Western music. This broad analytic tool is demonstrated in applications drawn from a diverse sampling of western music. Similarities between the creative and logical premises underlying these examples are discussed. |
