Customer Reviews:
wow.......2007-09-27
It was everything i ever wanted. thanks.
and it came very fast. i appreciate that
Perfect supplement to the text!.......2007-09-15
The tonal harmony workbook contains exemplary exercises to provide efficient practice of the material covered in the text. The audio CD are definitely helpful in supplying aural guidance, and the Final Workbook CD-ROM is perfect for the Theory student (not yet in need of the complete, and extremely costly, version of Finale). Overall, the Tonal Harmony text and workbook are a great asset to any student of Music Theory over the lifetime of his/her musical career.
tonal harmony workbook.......2007-08-17
The book came really fast and I was really pleased with it's condition hope to do more business!!!
Tonal Haramony workbook.......2006-11-10
A great asset to the Tonal Harmony book. The workbook makes the lessons come alive. Far more experiential than just reading the book.
Tonal Harmony Workbook and CD.......2006-08-08
Great product. One of the best theory books out there.
Average customer rating:
- This is not the book plus CD version.
- Pretty good.
- Best Music Theory Books available
- ERROR
- As good as learning gets.
|
Harmonic Materials in Tonal Music: A Programed Course, Part I (9th Edition)
Greg A. Steinke , and
Greg A Steinke
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Basic Materials In Music Theory: A Programed Course
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Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm, and Meter: A Programmed Course in Elementary Music Theory, With an Introduction to Partwriting, Third Edition ... (Norton Programmed Texts in Music Theory)
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Bridge to Twentieth-Century Music: A Programed Course (Revised Edition)
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Music for Sight Singing (7th Edition)
ASIN: 0130910732 |
Book Description
This self-paced, auto-instructional book in two volumes has become a “classic” in the field of music. A wealth of clearly laid-out lessons and exercises provide learners with continual feedback and reinforcement as they work through the activities and assignments at their own pace. Chapter topics include some definitions, the structure of tonality, triads in root position: doubling and spacing, triads in root position: voice leading, triads in first and second inversion, introduction to seventh chords and the dominant seventh, phrase structure and cadences, nonharmonic tones, harmonic progression, and the technique of harmonization. For music studio teachers and students, and use in preparatory music programs.
Customer Reviews:
This is not the book plus CD version........2006-11-27
The ISBN to the book/cd version for part 1/9ed is:
ISBN-10: 0130382086 | ISBN-13: 9780130382085
And for part II/9ed:
ISBN-10: 0130382078 | ISBN-13: 9780130382078
Those ISBN numbers come from the publisher (Pearson / Prentice Hall). Amazon carries both items, although it doesn't have photos, gives the same title to both items, and fails to mention which one is which part.
Be aware that the CDs cannot be bought separately from the books... so that you don't make the same mistake I did!
Pretty good........2005-01-18
It's a good book for people who are learning for their first time, but I learned it in the context of an AP (advanced placement) Music Theory class. The first 7 or so chapters I already knew, as well as almost all of the first book (Basic Materials in Music Theory, also by Harder).
The picture at the top of the Amazon page is outdated, there is a new design for the cover.
However, there are several mistakes both in this book and the prerequisite book. The teacher's edition (actually just the same book but a few editions earlier) did not match up well with the current edition, and the changes were very, very random.
The order of things they introduce is OK but I think they skip alot of material and jump straight to four part harmonies (basically what the entire book is compounding on). For example, you learn rules of voice leading, then rules of voice leading for inverted chords, and then augmented, diminsihed, and 7 chords. Which means you basically have to go back and relearn some of the rules that don't apply anymore since you have more complicated chords. For example, if you have a triad B diminished chord, they will introduce that as a candence and then you have to later relearn it as a V7/5 first inversion (G7/5 in C) because of the perfect authentic cadence or something like that. And you have to relearn figured bass after you learn about 7 chords.
Best Music Theory Books available.......2004-10-09
I have passed music theory exams prior to using these books, but have never been fully happy with my understanding; especially in the more complex usage of chromatism. Having used these books for a while, I believe them to provide and impart the best understanding of Classical Western music theory for harmony, part writing and voice leading available, I have many other music theory books, most are very good, but this series is far superior to any other.
However, it is limited in terms of practical music writing required for diploma and degree exams, so though they cover the theory elements very well, for practical work I would recommend getting a good workbook, here I would recommend getting the ABRMS or Trinity College publications, available via their web sites or their distributors.
I would recommend all the books, Basics, Programmed Course 1 & 2, and excellent bridge to 20th Music and Contrapuntal Techniques.
Sadly like most college level text books they are expensive!
ERROR.......2004-09-12
Harmonic Materials in Tonal Music by Harder & Steinke, 7th Edition, is described in the Amazon Product Details as having 2 pages. It actually has 383 pages plus a CD.
As good as learning gets........2000-05-03
Paul Harder has created the best book on music theory I have ever had the privelege to use. His systematic course will take the reader from basic chordal theory to Voice leading, and beyond. I have been searching for just such a book for almost twenty years. My composition instructor and I have used this book to teach me the proper "rules" one needs to create tonal compositions of any scale. This book allows one to find their weaknesses and their strengths through it's well thought out structure, and the answers set in to the margins. By covering the answers with a sheet of paper and doing the excercises, then removing the paper to check his/her results the student can immediately identify his/her weaknesses and strengths. Supplemental and mastery excercises help the student achieve the level of knowledge necesary for the creation of their own masterpieces. Long standing as a mainstay of instruction for Harmony, Dr Steinke, through his thoughtful revisions, has assured that "Harmonic Material in Tonal Music, A Programmed Course part 1" will continue to teach many more up and coming composers.
Book Description
Conceptually sophisticated and exceptionally musical, Harmonic Practice in Tonal Music provides a thorough treatment of harmony and voice-leading principles in tonal music. Taking a linear functional approach, Professor Gauldin uses clear explanations and outstanding musical examples to show students how individual chords function in the overall structure of a piece, explaining how both harmonic and melodic forces contribute to the development of musical ideas.
For the Second Edition, Professor Gauldin has undertaken a comprehensive revision that responds directly to the suggestions of instructors. The new text emphasizes fundamental concepts, using a more effective organization and simpler, more accessible language to bring the most important ideas and information to the foreground.
Customer Reviews:
This textbook is very unclear.......2006-03-29
As a student studying AP music theory in high school using this book, I do not recommend it. Aside from all of the inaccuracies and odd terms that Gauldin has seemingly made up on his own, there are many occurances of terms that he describes for paragraphs but doesn't define...ANYWHERE. On a humorous note, in the glossary in the back, the term arco (bowed notes on string instruments) is spelled acro. Don't buy this book; it is not clear or concise at all.
There are much better books.......2004-07-20
I was in Cambridge when, looking at Heffers, I met this book. I was preparing a Harmony course merging Schönberg with Kostka/Payne, and I was looking for something practical and rich of examples; so the title kept my attention. Then I was called outside in a hurry, and without thinking very much, I bought the volume. What a mistake! First of all it is full of errors: from real ones (a major sixth doesn't have 8 semitones) to typographical (almost all the headnotes are wrong). Moreover terms and rules are absolutely non-standard. And, as a cherry on the cake, when, in the appendix, he tries to explain some "Fundamentals of Acoustic, he reveals a great deal of ignorance, defining a logarithm base 10 (where he needed a logarithm base 2), confusing energy with amplitude, and giving vague explanations of the length of an instrument. Definitely, there are better books!
College Music Theory.......2004-04-27
This is the theory book my university uses for it's theory courses. We use it for Theory 1 through Theory 4 (2 years). I've loved this book with what I've studied this far. I do agree with those who have said you have to be ambitious to take on this book on your own. Our professors do well with their explanations and play the exerpts on piano (they use the pre-recorded examples when it's above their abilities). In combination with a good teachers, this book is awesome. I could personally sit in a theory class all day with this book, but then again, I'm a major music dork.
There are better theory texts out there..........2002-02-12
I am currently a TA at a university and have been forced to use this book for my class. Forced, mind you, is the operative word here. Of my own free will, I would never have chosen this book. Gauldin often uses terms that are not "standard" in the theory world and even gives an entirely new definition and usage for a term that IS standard. Trying to do suspensions the way Gauldin lays them out (especially in the accompanying workbook) is like doing a crossword puzzle. The student first has to figure out if things go up and down or sideways. I have seen more students unecessarily confused by this book.
Now, granted, another one of my issues with this book might simply be my own personal bias. I am not a Schenkerian. I have never seen the importance in reducing everything interesting in tonal music to I-V-I and mi-re-do. To this end, I have found much of this book completely useless. The harmony is introduced far too slowly with over-emphasis placed on voice-leading reductions rather than "real" music. I would suggest that anyone who actually wants to somewhat learn theory, especially those not in a classroom situation, look into something along the lines of the Kostka/Payne book. I also know one review stated the Gauldin text was vastly superior to the Piston/DeVoto. In that, I have to agree. Simply adding some actual musical examples makes this book a better choice than the Piston. However, I still do not recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn theory.
A Comprehensive Theory Text for Modern Students..........2001-07-08
I quite enjoy professor Gauldin's harmony text. It was comprehensive and yes, as the publisher's review states concise. Personally, I studied theory/harmony out of several different texts (Benjamin, et.al.; Siegmeister; Kostka; Piston) as an undergraduate and on my own time and I find Gauldin's to be one of the best I have come across. While in theory pedagogy class I was able to study and dissect over two dozen texts from various regions and time periods. "Harmonic Practice..." is a modern text which is great today for the modern student. The use of basic Schenker reductions is an excellent idea and one that helps the students realize linear aspects of the music that many past harmony texts either ignore or too briefly discuss. Gauldin gives a nice balance of both the vertical and linear aspects of music throughout this text (it reminds somewhat,although much better, of Elie Siegmeister's "Harmony & Melody"). The overall appearance of the book is very similar to many of the current high school texts that students use today. This is a comfortable approach for students coming into theory for the first time or with little background in the area. Many of the reviews I have read seem to be critical in areas they know little of. Yes, Gauldin presents the basics (scales, chords, etc.), but many, many undergraduate level texts do so in order for review. Also, many critics have discussed professor Gauldin's scale building on 5ths. While this is in the text it is not the primary focus on scale construction, merely a footnote (p. 27). Overall this is a very good theory text for undergrauates which could and eventually will use some improvements (the misprint in the bass of the second mm. in Ex. 10 p. 107). This book gives much insight into many aspects of beginning theory, basic Schenker principles, voice-leading, form (the excursions are a great idea), and analysis that many other books in this field often neglect. Like most popular theroy texts, "Harmonic Practice" is excellent for an undergrad program, so long as the students have a teacher with a strong foundation in theory. I highly recommend this text.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent textbook...
- An excellent linear approach to common-practice harmony
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The Complete Musician: An Integrated Approach to Tonal Theory, Analysis, and Listening Includes 2 CDs
Steven G. Laitz
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Complete Musician Student Workbook, Volume I: An Integrated Approach to Tonal Theory, Analysis, and Listening
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The Complete Musician Student Workbook: An Integrated Approach to Tonal Theory, Analysis, and Listening Volume I
ASIN: 0195095677 |
Book Description
Bringing together the analytical, aural, and tactile activities that comprise a tonal theory curriculum, The Complete Musician relies on a diverse repertoire and innovative exercises to integrate theory (writing and analysis), skills (singing, playing, and dictation), and music-making outside the theory class. Key Features * Common practice literature is the driving force of the text and comprises the bulk of the harmonic dictation component. * Musical examples range from Schutz to Scriabin and from solo vocal and instrumental music to orchestral ensembles. They include popular and folk music. * Topics covered run the gamut from rudiments to compositional processes of the late nineteenth century. * Exercises are interspersed throughout and increase in pedagogical complexity, ranging from passive identification activities to active composition. * The 2 CDs packaged with each text include more than 300 recorded textbook examples performed by students and faculty from the Eastman School of Music. (A separate set of 8 CDs offers nearly 2000 more examples--from solo piano to full orchestra--of the exercises in the text and workbooks, played by the same performers.) * The premise of the text is that students can learn to hear, comprehend, and model the structure and syntax of the music they love, and that simple processes, which are fleshed out in diverse contexts, underlie tonal music. An innovative text, The Complete Musician makes the study of tonal theory as engaging and as musical as possible. It provides students with a strong foundation in the principles of writing, analyzing, hearing, singing, and playing tonal harmony and enables them to understand the most important musical forms. Students can then apply these principles to their performances and to any tonal pieces that they encounter throughout their musical careers. Accompanying Supplements Instructor's Manual: 0-19-509568-5 Student Workbook, Volume I: 0-19-516059-2 Student Workbook, Volume II: 0-19-516060-6 8-CD Set: 0-19-509569-3
Customer Reviews:
Excellent textbook..........2006-09-29
...comprehensive, detailed but nevertheless succinct and to the point...the writing is a bit dry but after all it is a textbook.
An excellent linear approach to common-practice harmony.......2005-04-02
This book is best for those who have already taken a full course in tonal harmony and understand it well from a functional perspective but want to understand it better from a linear perspective.
It is a very complete course in common practice tonal harmony. It is in many ways an updated successor to Aldwell & Schachter in that it pays attention to every minute detail of voice leading and part-writing. Varieties of V-I take over 100 pages alone. For those interesting in mastering the common practice writing style, this is much better than, for example Benward or Piston, which focus more on the functional aspects of harmony, but neglect the linear. If you have this, W. A. Mathieu's Harmonic Experience, Bert Ligon's Jazz Theory text, and Ludmila Udmela's text on contemporary harmony you have 90% of what you need to know about tonal harmony.
Who is this book not for? It is not for those interested in learning harmony in Jazz, Pop, or 20th century styles. Also, the title "Complete Musician" is a misonomer. It is only common-practice harmony.
This book requires a solid foundation of the basics of music theory to absorb--I can imagine it being very confusing if used for unprepared college freshmen, because it doesn't spend much time on fundamentals.
Book Description
A primer--rather than a survey--this book offers exceptionally clear, simple explanations of basic theoretical concepts for the post-tonal music of the twentieth century. Emphasizing hands-on contact with the music--through playing, singing, listening, and analyzing--it provides six chapters on theory, each illustrated with musical examples and fully worked-out analyses, all drawn largely from the "classical" pre-war repertoire by Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartok, Berg, and Webern. Considers three principal kinds of post-tonal music--free atonal music, twelve-tone music, and centric music. Makes extensive use of transformational graphs and networks to present analytical information; and includes a variety of exercises in theory, analysis, musicianship and ear-training, and composition. For anyone interested in Twentieth-Century Music Techniques and Post-Tonal Theory and Analysis.
Customer Reviews:
Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory (3rd Edition).......2007-08-22
I have read this book several times and simply cannot reconcile the text with music as i encounter it. When exactly did tonal music go away? turn on the television and you'll find that the name is itself a fallacy.
That out of the way. this is the textbook all Classical Composition majors are required to read. "harmony and melody be damned. serialism and the like have replaced it." if however you actually feel like writing music your first step should be to burn this book. there are better books on the subject many of them mentioned in the bibliography.
just like you learn counterpoint in theory class from Fux the sources of this type of theory are more useful and informative than this brief and poorly written distillation. On the other hand since there is already enough ugliness in the world why you would want to write atonal music in the first place is rather a mystery to me. but then i've written some myself in fits of rage so it must be the same reason punk rock came about. ah theres a good analogies for my friends serialism is classical punk rock. angry people venting their frustations.
Great Book - But expensive.......2007-07-15
I used this book in school to get a better grasp on atonal theory, Although most of my initial confusion came from teachers using different methods of computing pitch class sets... see other reviews for arguments based on the "Rahn" Method and the "Forte" method.
If your knowledge of basic western harmony is lacking, this book isn't for you yet. But after you have a good handle on your I's IV's and V/iii's and whatnot, you'll find this book helpful and extremely approachable. I really wish it could be reprinted cheaper, as it's price will undoubtedly keep it out of the reach of some while the rest of us fight over the one tattered copy remaining in the library.
great, but no answers.......2005-09-10
This is a well-organized and thorough review of post-tonal theory. And there are great exercises, but there is NO ANSWER KEY! This was a great annoyance to me as I reviewed for an exam.
Uninformed reviewers.......2004-05-09
Reviewers of such a book as Intro. to Post-Tonal Theory should know a bit about set-class theory before trying to discredit Straus's work. "A Reader"'s review (titled "Inaccurate") is itself blatantly wrong. Set [0,3,4,5,8,10,11], this reviewer proposes, does not yield prime form if one applies Straus's methods to it. What the reviewer doesn't seem to realize is that he has failed to apply the first rule of finding normal order, of finding the MINIMUM SPAN of a set, which Straus does tell readers to do. The aforementioned septachord must be put in normal order first with minimum span (that is, 0,1,2,7,8,9) before applying Straus's right-to-left rule. A review must be critical but such a mistaken reading must either be ignorance or willful malevolence, neither of which is appropriate here. "from the real world of music" is arguably a worse review, throwing up a veil of unnecessary "big words," to use the vernacular, to hide a critique based upon nothing. What abuses of terminology, what logical fallacies, and what errors does this reviewer refer to? And if Straus's book is "cliff notes", then what is the real version? I don't discredit these reviews from a difference of opinion on my part but rather I am disgusted by the ignorance present in these reviews.
Having said all that, is is no surpise that I firmly believe that Straus's text belongs at the top of a short list of anyone who wishes to pursue pitch class set theory. It is indeed designed as a text and as such is often times clearer and more practical than the Allen Forte original. He engages precisely the repertoire Forte set out to engage (the second Viennese school mainly) and supports his clear explanations with convincing musical examples and step-by-step analyses. The positive reviews here obviously outweight the astoundingly ignorant negative ones. As well, this book has the blessing of the majority of the music theory community behind it, and rightly so. This is a valuable book that deserves a place on any theorist's (or aspiring theorists's) shelves.
Very useful.......2003-02-25
I like this book a lot. It is a practical, balanced, to-the-point guide. I have been composing for a long time (14+ years) but I've only been studying it full time for 3 years now, and I found that the book really helped to clarify a lot of my thinking about pitch collections, 20th century harmonies, and 20th century compositional techniques.
RE: The Prime Form debate. There are two methods for computing the prime form, the "Forte" and "Rahn" method. This book uses the "Rahn" method and is perfectly consistent throughout. While this is a minor issue, because it only affect 5 pitch class sets (of 200), perhaps it would be good to add a paragraph about the differences in a future revision to help beginniners avoid confusion.
Customer Reviews:
Essential Reading but..........2007-09-27
This an amazing book on improvisation. Just buy it brand new from the publishers for less than half instead of this grossly inflated price and you'll be straight.
Book Description
An exploration of musical harmony from its ancient fundamentals to its most complex modern progressions, addressing how and why it resonates emotionally and spiritually in the individual.
W. A. Mathieu, an accomplished author and recording artist, presents a way of learning music that reconnects modern-day musicians with the source from which music was originally generated. As the author states, "The rules of music--including counterpoint and harmony--were not formed in our brains but in the resonance chambers of our bodies." His theory of music reconciles the ancient harmonic system of just intonation with the modern system of twelve-tone temperament. Saying that the way we think music is far from the way we do music, Mathieu explains why certain combinations of sounds are experienced by the listener as harmonious. His prose often resembles the rhythms and cadences of music itself, and his many musical examples allow readers to discover their own musical responses.
Customer Reviews:
Life Changing Perspective on Music.......2007-08-12
Mathieu generously, and eloquently, teaches and inspires the reader to explore the harmonic Deep Structure of the mystery we call Music. Using music theory, philosophy, mathematics, poetry, botany, and his own rich world view, he unearths the underlying relationship between harmony, scale, and rhythm. Starting with the acoustical given of the overtone series, Mathieu builds a coherent system with which the Music student can frame and further delve into the patterned world of Musical phenomena.
What a fantastic experiential approach to learning harmony!.......2007-05-05
I am a musician and have played professionally. Now, I work in the psychology field, but I have a good education in science including physics. I think this qualifies me to speak about the merits of this very fine book.
This book differs from most other musical theory books in that it encourages you to experience how music evolved and harmony grew out of the natural harmonics that occur in strings and other instruments. It gives you the theory and some of the physcis, but must importantly it provides exercises to give you the FELT SENSE of what each concept corresponds to. This is both at the emotional and somatic levels.
This is a very natural way to learn and embody harmony. It makes use of chanting intervals with a string drone or note from an instrument or tuning fork. It teaches you how to listen for harmonics and explains how these harmonics naturally lead to the contruction of certain chords and scales. It is really a "ground up" approach as one reviewer said and an eye opener even for most musicians.
The book encouraged the use of Indian syllables for the musical exercises, which was a bit difficult for me. However, the ideas behind the exercises were great and could be converted to do, re, mi, fa, so, la, di, do. I must confess, however, that at times this was a bit of an annoyance, but totally forgivable given what I took away from this book!
Harmonic Experience changed my life! .......2007-02-16
Harmonic Experience has proven to be as valuable of an education as my four years at a music conservatory. But this is also easily accessible to all musicians, not just professionals! The book is written in clear English and it feels like Mathieu is in the room with you.
I'm delighted to find some insight into some musical contradictions that I frequently think about, but have never reconciled. Harmonic series vs. major and minor tonality? just intonation vs. equal temperament? western harmony vs. eastern music? It's beautiful to see a unified perspective that embraces acoustics, emotion, intuition, knowledge and many musical traditions. My approach to intonation has also changed for the better!
Here is my favorite testimonial:
"Harmonic Experience is the Rosetta stone of music. It turns harmonic theory into a web of "ah hah's"! What has been a tangle of inexplicable concepts is transformed into a repertory of generative experiences. Mathieu puts together what no one has put together before"
-Will Johnson, professor of music, Sonoma State University
a text book must-have.......2000-11-17
This is hands down one of the best books about music I've ever read. This should be circulated in ever high school and college throughout the U.S. and beyond!
ear and mind opener.......1999-08-25
I am so glad to see jzmckay's excellent review of this book, posted here. He said many of the things that I feel about this book.
I have studied music, including theory, for thirty years, and nothing has expanded my understanding (and perception!) of music as much as the information in this book.
I have studied music with the author of this book -- he's a great writer about music and an even better teacher! I know that this work is the result of a lifetime of profound consideration of what is at the very heart of the musical experience, and of why music affects us as it does. W. A. Mathieu's highly intelligent exposition is a great gift to all who wish to deepen their understanding of music.
I would like to express my personal thanks to the author for this book, which has enhanced my sensitivity to music.
Book Description
Designed to meet the needs of the two-year theory curriculum for music majors, this straightforward market-leading text emphasizes practicality and ease of use for both the student and the instructor. Its outstanding ancillaries, which include a collection of audio examples on CD (for both the text and workbook), Finale Workbook Software, and an extensive Instructor's Manual, round out the comprehensive teaching package.
Customer Reviews:
Tonal Haramony.......2006-11-10
Recommended by my piano teacher, I have found this book very helpful for the theory I never studied when I began piano lessons over 20 years ago. I wish I had read this book when I began playing the piano. My practice time would be much more efficient if I had.
Excellent Harmony Text.......2006-03-30
This is an excellent introduction, covering most aspects of theory thoroughly. It is also MUCH easier to read than Walter Piston's Harmony. The problem is that this book is much more abstract than piston's book, breezes over inversions of chords much too quickly and is a tad lax in the rules of voice leading. I do suggest you consider that text as well.
It's still a good introduction that you will ACTUALLY READ. It covers all triads, seventh chords, chord functions, chromatically altered chords like Neapolitan and Augmented sixth chords, covers non-harmonic tones, and even goes off onto other (more abstract) topics.
As to the reviewer below who pointed out that it neglects counterpoint and focuses too much on the vertical aspect of music (for example, in the exercises EVER note is a different chord and almost no non-harmonic tones are employed): this is an ELEMENTARY HARMONY text. Counterpoint is generally approached after the student has mastered all that is contained in this book. The exercises are meant to teach voice leading and chord functions. Fux's treatise on Counterpoint from Gradus Ad Parnassum clearly states that what is learned in the "first part" on Harmony still applies in writing counterpoint. The horizontal aspect of music can be taught better if the the vertical aspect is understood first. Multiple times Fux also says that exercises, whether those in the book on counterpoint or those in this text, are designed to instruct and make future writing of music easier, but aren't the same as writing music.
good book.......2006-01-03
I thought this was a very good text. I have also had a wonderful theory professor who made great use of the book.
Oh well ... nice try........2005-10-18
I've been teaching music theory for 35 years, and have seen a lot of texts that I like less than this one. However, it doesn't make this one wonderful.
As other reviewers have mentioned, there are a lot of errors. Also, there are far too many places in the examples where they say, "Ignore this note", or "Forget about this for now". You'd think they'd have found better examples without making the interested student wonder what's really going on, and the less involved student confused with excess.
This book is heavy in overkill. It's the same problem as in computer manuals: they obviously feel like they have to tell you EVERYTHING, and that nothing is more important than anything else. For example, they go on for pages and pages about chord spacing and voice leading, where a simple grounding in how to write and recognize decent melodies would go a lot farther and reduce dependance on mastering mountains of scrupulous finicky detail.
The authors obviously feel that the inner voices are no more or less important than the soprano-bass counterpoint, whereas perceptually, the soprano and bass carry most of the weight of what's heard and experienced. The emphasis is on recognizing the vertical component of harmony at the expense of the horizontal, but music is experienced as ongoing linear motion, not as successive blocks of stuff. On the other confused hand, they treat Alberti Bass as a note-to-note melodic line, where it's exprienced as just a rhythmised chord with the bass predominant. Minor scales and harmony are introduced as soon as major, and this much complexity before students know what's going on is pedagogically weak. It's the same with triads and seventh chords. And so-on.
You need to understand the simple before getting into the complex.
If you are good at taking a long string of finicky detail where all is of equal importance, and developing it all into a bigger picture with hierarchies, this book might be good for you. Otherwise, keep looking.
Book does not come with Audio CD.......2005-08-21
As the title of this review states, this book does not come with the audio CD that is needed for the book. They expect the student to pay over $60 for the book and about $30 (thats right, I said $30) for the CD. Their avarice cannot be any more obvious. It is a shame.
Customer Reviews:
a great instructional text.......1998-08-24
I had the honor of being a member of a graduate counterpoint class whose instructor was Dr. Green himself. This text is clearly written, with helpful and challenging exercises in writing counterpoint.
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- Words of Wisdom: Daily Affirmations of Faith
- 24 Italian Songs and Arias - Medium High Voice (Book/CD): Medium High Voice - Book/CD
- A Game as Old as Empire: The Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption (BK Currents)
- Acoustic Masters Series: Bob Brozman's Bottleneck Blues Guitar (Acoustic Masters Series)
- Adobe Audition 2.0 Classroom in a Book
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers,The (Voices That Matter)
- All Together Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 7)
- American Guitars Revised Edition: Illustrated History, An
- Apple Pro Training Series: Advanced Logic Pro 7 (Apple Pro Training)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Five Minds for the Future
- 1,000 Greetings: Creative Correspondence Designed for All Occasions
- The Future of Unified Messaging Research Report 1999 Edition
- The Einstein Factor: A Proven New Method for Increasing Your Intelligence
- The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life
- 1984
- Watching Wildlife: Australia
- Cartoon History of the Universe 1 Vol. 1-7
- The Complete Guide to International Financial Reporting Standards
- Encyclopedia of Associations : Regional, State, and Local Organizations: South Central and Great Pla
Tonal Harmony
Alfred's Group Piano for Adults, Book 1 (Adult Piano Course)
Music for Ear Training (with CD-ROM and Workbook)
