Abstract
This chapter discusses the ontology, cognitive domains, and evolution of research paradigms in music theory. To address their ontology, it adopts Dahlhaus's (1984) notion that tendencies within music-theoretical paradigms may be understood as speculative, practical, and analytical. To address their cognitive domains, it draws a parallel with linguistics' cognitive domain categories - phonology, morphology, and syntax. To address their evolution, it places traditional and novel paradigms within a particularity-universality continuum and attends to their general tendency toward transdisciplinarity. Through the various discussions, the chapter explores a wide range of paradigms, including Agency, Contour, Corpus Studies, Cultural Politics, Disability, Embodiment, Expectation, Flow, Narrative, Neo-Riemannian, Phenomenology, Prolongation, Schemata, Schenkerian, Semiotics, Serialism, Spectralism, Temporality, Topics, and Transformation.