ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces some key ideas in critical theory that may help musicians to improve their critical judgments. It considers modernism, postmodernism, structuralism, deconstruction and semiotics, and their consequences for musicology. A discussion of aesthetics roots the arguments in historical philosophical questions going back to the eighteenth century, but considers the implications of their extension into the contemporary critical and musical environment. The chapter goes on to consider how these ideas might be developed and applied by digital musicians in the context of their own work. It includes comments on critical engagement from the case study musicians. It offers some critical questions as food for thought. It provides three creative projects for practical work in class, and a list of recommended further readings.
