Reconsidering quantization in MIR

This paper presents a critique of the ubiquity of boilerplate quantizations in MIR research relative to the paucity of engagement with their methodological implications. The wide-ranging consequences of reflexivity on the future of scholarly inquiry combined with the near-universal contemporary recognition of the need to broaden the scope of MIR research invite and merit critical attention. To that end, focusing primarily on twelve-tone equal-tempered pitch and dyadic rhythm models, we explore the practical, cultural, perceptual, historical, and epistemological consequences of these pervasive quantizations. We analyze several case studies of meaningful and successful past research that balanced practicality with methodological validity in order to posit several best practices for both future intercultural studies and research centered on more narrowly constructed corpora. We conclude with a discussion of the dangers of solutionism on the one hand and the self-fulfilling prophecies of status quoism on the other as well as an emphasis on the need for intellectual honesty in metatheoretical discourse.