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Boris Asafiev was one of the leading musicologists whose Theory of Intonation is a philosophical and aesthetic study that comprehensively explains the historical and theoretical aspects of musical art. The Theory of Intonation is the methodological basis for music disciplines in Russia, including piano pedagogy. The purpose of this study is to create a source that explains Asafiev’s philosophical and aesthetic vision of the concept of intonation and to show how it can be applied to piano pedagogy. This study is also intended to translate and codify the Theory of Intonation and to provide examples of how it may be implemented in any piano teaching method or repertoire study.
Both volumes of Asafiev's books Musical Form as a Process were devoted to the Theory of Intonation. While the first book presented musical form a broader social and historical perspective as a form of communication and organization of musical material that is socially recognized generation by generation, the second book of Musical Form as a Process titled Intonation discussed more the specific aspects of musical language and semantics. Asafiev developed unique terminology to support his ideas and the Theory of Intonation. The concept of "intonation" in the Theory of Intonation has a more comprehensive meaning than the pitch accuracy of a musician or musical instrument. Intonation is "the organization of acoustical media, by the human consciousness, into meaningfully expressive sound correlations." The author of this study explains in depth the terminology of the Theory of Intonation.
Asafiev followed Mikhail Glinka’s and The Mighty Five composers’ ideas about the importance of the melodic nature of music and implemented the concept of melos as one of the key elements of the Theory of Intonation. While any kind of human communication by means of sound involves intonation, intonation in music is distinguished by the use of intervals that form melos and other elements of music. The author of this study presents the elements of the Theory of Intonation and shows how they co-exist holistically in the Theory of Intonation.
Finally, the author of this study provides musical examples and shows how the Theory of Intonation can be merged in piano performance and pedagogy based on her experience as the process of implementing the Theory of Intonation is unique to each individual pianist