Treatise on Harmony

Rameau's 1722 Treatise on Harmony initiated a revolution in music theory.[48] Rameau posited the discovery of the "fundamental law" or what he referred to as the "fundamental bass" of all Western music. Heavily influenced by new Cartesian modes of thought and analysis, Rameau's methodology incorporated mathematics, commentary, analysis and a didacticism that was specifically intended to illuminate, scientifically, the structure and principles of music. With careful deductive reasoning, he attempted to derive universal harmonic principles from natural causes.[49] Previous treatises on harmony had been purely practical; Rameau embraced the new philosophical rationalism,[50] quickly rising to prominence in France as the "Isaac Newton of Music".[51] His fame subsequently spread throughout all Europe, and his Treatise became the definitive authority on music theory, forming the foundation for instruction in western music that persists to this day.