The Society for Music Theory (SMT) is an American organisation devoted to the promotion of music theory as a scholarly and pedagogical discipline. It currently has a membership of over 1200,[1] primarily in the United States.[2]
The Society was founded at a meeting of scholars at Northwestern University on 19 October 1977, largely as a result of a belief among theorists that the teaching of music theory was inadequate and that the subject was not properly recognised as a scholarly discipline in its own right.[2] Prominent amongst its aims, therefore, was the promotion of the idea that music theory should be taught by theorists, rather than composers, performers or music historians.[2] Since its foundation, the society has had a significant impact in many other countries, leading to the establishment of similar societies in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Korea.[2]
Amongst its current activities, the Society publishes two peer-reviewed journals: Music Theory Spectrum and Music Theory Online.[2]