Todd Decker is an American

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

. He is the Paul Tietjens Professor of Music at Washington University in St. Louis. Decker edited the journal American Music from 2020 to 2022. Decker was graduated from Fresno Pacific College in 1989, then earned a

Master of Music The Master of Music (MM or MMus) is, as an academic title, the first graduate degree in music awarded by universities and conservatories. The MM combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually performance in singing or i ...

degree in

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1991. He completed his Ph.D. at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 2007 and joined the faculty of the

Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis is home to the College of Arts and Sciences and corresponding graduate programs across its many departments. The current Dean of the Faculty is Feng Sheng Hu, the Lucille P. Markey Distingui ...

that same year. Decker's research, teaching, and publications generally focus on

American popular music American popular music (also referred to as "American Pop") is popular music produced in the United States and is a part of American pop culture. Distinctive styles of American popular music emerged early in the 19th century, and in the 20th ...

from 1920 to the present, with particular emphasis on the Broadway and Hollywood musical, Hollywood film music (and sound), the recorded popular music industry, and pre-1970 jazz.

Expert witness

In 2019, Decker testified as an expert witness in a lawsuit against

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

, stating that Christian rapper

Flame A flame () is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction made in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density, they are then considered plasm ...

produced a "unique" eight-note

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...

— a repeating sequence of musical figures within a song — which Flame's legal team claimed Perry plagiarized. Decker further testified that the ostinatos used in Perry's 2013 song "Dark Horse" and Flame's 2008 song "Joyful Noise" share "five or six points of similarity." A jury verdict that found the Katy Perry song did infringe the copyright of Flames's song was overturned on appeal on the March 16, 2020. US District Court judge Christina A Snyder said "It is undisputed in this case" that the ostinato was "not a particularly unique or rare combination." Music theorist and YouTuber

Adam Neely Adam Neely (born 1988) is an American bassist, YouTuber, and jazz musician based in New York City. His YouTube content includes Q&A videos, vlogs about performing music, and video essays about online music culture. As a musician, he performs wi ...

criticized Decker's arguments as "intellectually dishonest", and claimed that Decker had "sold us all out" with his involvement in the case.

Publications

;Books * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decker, Todd Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Washington University in St. Louis faculty American musicologists Fresno Pacific University alumni San Francisco Conservatory of Music alumni University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni