Three Interesting Topics

I have come up with three topics that I find thought-provoking and would be interesting in researching and writing about:

1. Music theory has always been an interest of mine, and there are a couple of controversies that I think would lead to a good paper:

1a. (All in classical, not modern, notation) Triad chords are three notes separated by the interval of a third ( with components such as I III V, II IV VI, VII II IV, etc) and the normal form of a chord always has the root in the bass. However, sometimes this is troublesome for making bass lines or voicing chords, so it's much more convenient to have one of the other tones be the lowest note of the chord. Musicians developed a method for coping with this issue: If the third of the chord should be in the bass, the chord is denoted by the roman numeral of the bass note with a superscripted 6 (Called a "one six" or a "two six" etc.). If the fifth should be in the bass, the roman numeral is shown with a superscripted 6 and a subscripted 4 (referred to as a "one six four", "two six four" etc.).

One of the elementary composition techniques called a nonharmonic tone is an appoggiatura. The idea behind this is that you can start a chord with a wrong note, but then resolve it to the right note and still have a composition that follows the rules. (Like for a I in C with CEG, you could play an A, then resolve to a G)

In the key of C, a I 64 chord has the notes CEG with a G in the bass. A V chord has the notes GBD with a G in the bass. Some music theorists propose that there is, in fact, no such thing as a six four chord, and that it is simply a chord a fifth above it with two appoggiaturas. This is what interests me and I would like to research: the sides of the argument and why people think the way they do. I'm not, however, too sure how this pertains to culture...

1b. I had a friend Michael who moved to Deleware in 10th grade, but he was under the impression that great composers are born infused with natural musical skill that requires no knowledge of theory or techniques. I think that greatness can be learned to an extent and that most people are capable of becoming (at the very least) adequate composers.

This has a larger cultural aspect: Are we born with what it takes to succeed? Does hard work play a part in our lives? More generally, the nature vs. nurture debate is found in this topic.

2. Completely different from the prior topics, this one was conceived in class when you were talking about drugs and alcohol. It is appalling to me how people are in a constant desire to alter their mental state with drugs or alcohol. Do we really lead lives that are that pathetic and miserable that the only way to improve them is to escape from them and drown ourselves in alcohol?

One of my friends says she likes to, "Drink away the cotton mouth and smoke away the nausea." Another one of my friends was recently arrested for having a meth lab in his dorm room. Is it worth it? Do we need these things just to lead happy lives? Why aren't we trying to make lives that are euphoric without the addition of alcohol and narcotics?