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How did Cowell contribute to music theory?

  • As a writer

  • Inventing new instruments

  • Creating a new scale

  • Establishing a music school

Answer

As a writer, Cowell expanded musical theory by introducing and advocating for new techniques: tone clusters, which involves playing multiple adjacent keys on the piano for a dissonant effect; polyrhythms, employing two or more different rhythms simultaneously; and microtones, where notes are divided beyond standard semitones for finer pitch divisions. These experimental approaches expanded composers' tonal palettes and opened doors to novel sonic possibilities within the musical landscape.
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