Book Description
With nearly three million copies sold over eight editions, The Enjoyment of Music is the best-selling music appreciation text of all time. Spanning the Middle Ages through the twenty-first century, the text offers a thorough introduction to the elements of music, a broad overview of the history of musical styles, and fascinating cultural contexts and perspectives. The Ninth Edition of this classic text features a stunning new design, exciting new repertory, and an unmatched ancillary and media package.
Customer Reviews:
Good, but older editions are better............2007-05-06
I really appreciated the older editions of this book and thought the language was clear and understandable. I still think these aspects of the book are good, however, I am disappointed at the content. I agree with other reviewers who have suggested that the work should be broken into two books -- one on modern music and another on classic music. It just doesn't make any sense to skip major composers and I feel this one size fits all approach misses the mark in this regard.
On the other hand, the book is well-written and has been well-received over its many years and editions. Some reviewers point to an overly politically correct stance, which I believe has some validity. Including minor women composers at the expense of major male composers is not politically correct, it is an inexcusable error. On the other hand, excluding women's contribution to the musical literature completely or leaving out a major woman composer is also an error. I am guessing that a chapter on the cultural issues around women and music with an overview of women composers that are largely unknown or underrated would have better served the target audience.
Textbooks are EXTREMELY expensive and after so many editions, I think this one should be a homerun. Unfortunately, it is now good, but not great. If you don't like this one, you may want to try Music: An Appreciation w/ Multimedia Companion 4.5 CD-ROM. This is done by a concert pianist and does justice to the major composers.
While I am not currently a professional musician, I was for 11 years and I continue to take lessons from a concert pianist. I play a variety of instruments and I've been studying music since before I could read. As such, I think I am in a good position to evaluate the merits of this text. It is still very worthwhile, but I hope they do better in the next edition. Another book worth considering is What to Listen for in Music and Music, The Brain, And Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination. The former book, gives you an inside look at music through the eyes of a composer and the second is a wonderful and entertaining journey through understanding sound and how music produces pleasure from a psychological and biological viewpoint. Both books are very readable by non-musicians and laypersons without a background of any type. The second book is one that I read in two sittings.... AWESOME! I have reviewed both, if you want more details.
If you are also looking to understand some music theory, try Harmony and Theory: A Comprehensive Source for All Musicians (Essential Concepts (Musicians Institute).). This is a great short introduction to music theory and harmony as it relates to modern music. If you are musical at all, you will find that this covers a lot of ground in a short space.
Buying the Book Online.......2007-02-07
This isn't a review about the work of the book but about ordering it online for people who might be nervous about buying this product online. I bought it for a college course. The bookstore wanted to charge me $50 downtown. I bought it online for about $25, including standard shipping. I was nervous that the book wouldn't make it here on time and I also wondered if it really would be the correct book. The book was shipping in 3 business days (5 days) which was faster than I thought. It was more than a great price, it was said to be in "good condition" and it was in great condition and it was the correct book!
The book itself is easy to understand and follow. I enjoy reading it and it has a lot of up to date information that makes it all the more interesting.
Response to "a reader" and "music teacher".......2006-07-20
After having gone through nine editions, this text bears little resemblence to the original work published in 1955. That text, and the next few editions, were solid and informative. With the addition of co-author Kristine Forney, the work has definitely taken on a more modern perspective at the unfortunate expense of truly great composers.
Having been a serious student of music in earlier life, and a constant listener since birth, I have an avid appreciation of most genres of music. Having said that, I firmly believe the study of music appreciation should remain somewhat "high-brow". By this I mean that it should limit itself to what is considered, in common parlance, as "classical" or "orchestral" music.
Modern genres of music do display moments of true musical genius and originality. But, for the most part, the majority of the material is borrowed, ultimately from the "classical." Most popular musicians have little knowledge of musical composition, or even how to record their works in musical notation. Rap and electronic are the ultimate in this area, many times outright recording a piece of someone else's music and blending the cuts together to produce their own "song."
If one seriously wants to develop an appreciation of music, a solid exposure to and understanding of the "classical" composers is a must. Otherwise, as is the case with most modern and post-modern (whatever that means) teaching materials, a true understanding of the origins, history, and development of the subject is lost. Herbie Hancock and Michael Jackson may be interesting and enjoyable, but they are hardly groundbreaking from a musical perspective.
The authors should separate the "classical" from the "modern" into two texts. Both studies would greatly benefit. After all, with the proliferation of college students downloading music and playing it on every device that can produce a sound, does anyone really think students do not have an appreciation of "modern" music?
Excellent History of Music!!!.......2006-05-12
This is an excellent book to read and study music from. It lays out the history of music in a very understandable manner for an average person. The timeline of music consisting of such musical eras as the medieval, renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, post-romantic, impressionism, early twentieth century and later twentieth century is very enlightening. It's all there from folk to jazz to ragtime and swing. The great composers would have loved to read this one. By the way, poets, make your feast on the history of the Troubadours, Trobairitz, Trouveres and Minnesingers poet-musicians from the middle ages from France and Germany. This is really an interesting book to read regarding music. It's truly educational. Also check "Trilogy Moments for the Miond, Body and Soul" with a new selection of Epulaeryu poems.
Responding to "a reader".......2006-04-09
In response to "a reader's" review, Holst and Orff did not contribute to the larger schema of music history. Although a work like "Carmina Burana" is significant only because it's been rehashed over in dramatic parts of a film, it has little value in terms of delineating trends in music. I only partially agree with his/her assessment of J.-de-la-Guerre because her work is used more to show a common example of highly ornamented French harpsichord music, rather than the composer herself. This is a well-organized book, giving a survey (keyword: SURVEY) of Western music, which means that if you want to learn about Elgar, read a book on him.
Average customer rating:
- Unfortunate Revision
- review of Programmed Course in MusicTheory by J. Clough
- Great for homeschool moms with some music background.
- Still the best programmed music theory text
- A very good book
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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)
John Clough ,
Joyce Conley , and
Claire Boge
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
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Similar Items:
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Basic Harmonic Progressions: A Self-Instruction Program (Norton Programed Texts in Music Theory.)
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Harmonic Materials in Tonal Music: A Programed Course, Part II (9th Edition)
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Basic Materials In Music Theory: A Programed Course
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Harmony and Voice Leading
ASIN: 0393973697 |
Book Description
Following in the footsteps of its successful predecessor, this new edition introduces the basic tenets of music theory and partwriting skills. A new design features visually striking pedagogical aids, allowing students to progress through ever-more challenging exercises at their own pace or to dip into the text at any point to brush up on specific skills. The authors have retained the self-instructional format of the previous two editions, with tests at the end of each part, while adding new quizzes at the end of each set and a cumulative test for Parts One through Six. Numerous examples from the music literature-a new feature of this edition-reinforce the theoretical concepts covered in each set; an appended study anthology of ten complete pieces allows students to see how individual concepts are woven into the fabric of a composition. The companion CD, keyed to specific frames in each set, provides immediate aural reinforcement.
Customer Reviews:
Unfortunate Revision.......2007-02-28
The previous edition of this book was set up in such a manner that the pages on the left side of the book were upside down. You would work through the book one way and then flip it over to work through the other way. Since you use a little card to cover up the answers on one side of the page it made it very easy to work quickly and drill yourself without revealing the answers until you needed them.
This edition while retaining the division of the page between answers and questions puts the instructions and information on the full page and is printed 'normally'. It takes a great deal more effort than the last edition to situate the card over the answers and you are constantly forced to remove it to read the instructions. A quick glance is all that is needed to come to ruin questions for drills. Also you have to write along the middle hump of the book which was not necessary in the previous revision due to everything being on the right side of the right page.
I am disappointed that they changed such a useful book and made it so cumbersome and poorly thought out. I would recommend tracking down a used (but unmarked) copy of the last edition as none of the information has really changed inside the book.
review of Programmed Course in MusicTheory by J. Clough.......2005-08-03
The information is laid out in a nice step-wise way. Repititions make it easy to assimilate the material. I am confident that working my way through the material will help me understand the music that I enjoy playing.
Great for homeschool moms with some music background........2004-07-07
I have a degree in music performance and have used this book successfully many times with my fellow homeschool moms and their kids. In private lessons and in more formal group settings this book has been most helpful, even with those who have had no musical background at all. Children from age 10 to 18 have learned the lessons from *cover to cover* with weekly instruction over the course of a year with me.
Additionally, once the lessons were completed we moved into sight-singing and ear training books (also from the Norton editions) and early part-writing. I feel that this book is actually better organized than the texts used in the theory classes at my conservatory (it was published after I graduated). There are some typos in the text and I would prefer that the answers were not quite so readily accessible(you might feel differently though), but other than that, I highly recommend this text.
Still the best programmed music theory text.......2002-01-28
The latest edition of this book has lost much of the classical simplicity and directness that made the previous editions so successful. Ugly icons crowd the page, statements are watered down, but still the text is far clearer than the other popular programmed text by Harder & Steinke. A student considering entering a conservatory or music school would be well prepared having worked through this book.
I'm dissapointed to see Norton's changes, and the increase in price, but I still recommend this text--it still is the best self-instruction program out there.
A very good book.......2001-01-26
I bought this book to brush up on my theory before returning to school for a 2nd undergrad degree in music, and I think it's helpful for three reasons. First, I've made it through the first 4 parts with relative ease, but I've also picked up enough tidbits of information to make it really useful. (I always knew how to play a major triad but never thought of the fact that it's made up of two 3rds, a major under a minor, or that a minor chord is a minor under a major.) Second, it is forcing me to memorize things like key signatures for minor keys, which I used to figure out by thinking of the relative major key. (That takes enough extra time to make it awkward at an audition.) Finally, it is a workbook, so you are expected to write the answers right in the book. It helps me to remember when I have to take the time to write the answer down, rather than just thinking of it. I haven't complete the entire book yet, but I know I'm just getting into the things I don't know!
All in all it is helping me to combine my practical performance knowledge with the reasons "why". I'm sure that understanding will lead to better performances.
Book Description
Like many texts on musical analysis, FORMS IN TONAL MUSIC equips students to critically examine a wide range of compositions and forms. However, Green's text takes students a step further by enabling them to approach musical works unencumbered by preconceived notions of what characteristics the text should or should not have. Providing specific help on every aspect of musical analysis, this text uses many of the compositions found in Charles Burkhart's ANTHOLOGY FOR MUSICAL ANALYSIS, but it allows students the freedom to explore works that they already own.
Customer Reviews:
A fine text to help students develop skills in analysis of tonal music.......2005-11-20
This is not a book on form in the old sense of the term. That is, it is not a collection of terms for students to use as decals to stick on pieces as they learn them. Green aims to provide the student with skills that aid him or her to understand what the piece is about. What is that the piece says about itself? This is important because every piece, especially the masterworks, takes its own approach to form and for every rule provided, you can find many exceptions. The problem with the label approach is that music, thankfully, is not so standardized that you can say for a certainty how a given piece of a certain type is going to behave.
Yes, Green does use the standard terms, but only as a means of generalization. He is very good at pointing out the range of behaviors one might expect within a given form. He also provides historical notes that discuss how certain composers or historical periods used certain materials in their compositions.
Again, the goal here is to help students to develop a set of tools and intuitions so he or she can look at any (tonal) piece of music and be able to analyze what is going on within the piece. The labels only help the student if they allow the student to look more deeply and directly at the music. However, if the analysis stops with the application of a label the student will actually have been harmed. Remember, most labels are developed after a sufficient body of music has been written to codify a form. So, the living composers often wrote the music without the benefit of the terms we often use to describe their work.
While the book has many fine musical examples and recommended exercises, the teacher may wish to supplement them with examples of her own in order to provide supplementary examples of the principles discussed in the text. I believe the student gets a better idea of how music works through multiple and varied examples from the literature. The more well-chosen examples the student hears the better.
highly informative, but leaving a few gaps.......2005-03-10
This book is jam-packed with facts.
I have just two major criticisms:
--The explanations on binary forms is unnecessarily difficult to understand.
Just in case you're wondering, a binary form is closed, or sectional, if the first half ends on the tonic.
It is open, or continuous, if the first half ends on the dominant or any other chord.
It is rounded if the second part ends with a restatement of the first part.
It is simple if the second part does not end with such a restatement.
That is all in the wide world there is to it!
--The book gives detailed analyses of compositions after offering few or no musical examples. (I should have read Annie Burridge's review and purchased the Burkhart Anthology.)
I also see a few high points which are missed:
--There is no discussion of development themes. An outstanding example is Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony.
--There is no discussion of development canons. An outstanding example is Franck's Symphony in d minor.
--In the discussion on chorale preludes, he doesn't give the familiar example of "Wachet Auf."
--In the discussion on vocal chorales, he doesn't give the familiar example of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."
--In the discussion on baroque partitas, I would like to see the characteristic rhythms of each of the dance movements. The author probably considers this outside the scope of the book.
--He tells us that the recapitulation does not always treat all the themes in the exposition, but he gives us few examples. I have wondered why we never hear the lyrical theme in the recapitulation of the Dvorak cello concerto. This is such a well-known composition that I think it should be used as an example.
--I'm curious about how the Liszt piano concertos are constructed.
--I'm also curious about how the megalomanic symphonies by Mahler and Bruckner are constructed. It seems that the author was partial toward music of the baroque and classical eras, but nineteenth-century music is popular, like it or not.
--I would like more discussion about keyboard preludes. I have never been able to compose a good keyboard prelude.
--There is no discussion of standard liturgical texts for church vocal music. The author probably considered this outside the scope of the book, also.
Book bought for a class in school.......2002-04-15
This book, Form in Tonal Music, isn't the best of books for use in classes. I have found from using it that it give great examples, however, it doesn't explain definitions of words very well at all. If you are looking for a good book for examples to go with another book that you might be using on the same subject, then I would recomend it. However, if this book is going to be used without another guide, I don't recomend it.
What you must know before you buy this!.......2000-07-25
If you are using this book in a class then your teacher will guide you through it, BUT--if you are using this book to review music theory you must know a few things. 1) ALL the exercises in this book come out of the Burkhart Anthology, so you must purchase that as well. 2)There are no answers supplied for ANYof the exercises. 3) This book covers the analytical form of music (types of phrases, binary and ternary forms), it is assumed you are skilled in complex chord and harmonic analysis already. Overall, the book is fairly clear and well-organized and uses plenty of musical examples.
used this text in undergrad GREAT!.......1999-11-06
I used this text in my undergradaute study of music and find it to be useful even today. Greens' explanations along with exerpts and examples makes form in music an interesting facet. It is for those who are ready to dive into form and analysis head first. I would not recommend it to a beginner with little or no hard-core theory knowledge.
Book Description
Philosophy of music has flourished in the last thirty years, with great advances made in the understanding of the nature of music and its aesthetics. Peter Kivy has been at the centre of this flourishing, and now offers his personal introduction to philosophy of music, a clear and lively explanation of how he sees the most important and interesting philosophical issues relating to music. Anyone interested in music will find this a stimulating introduction to some fascinating questions and ideas.
Customer Reviews:
what are the alternatives?.......2007-08-20
If you want an introduction to the philosophy of music, this is the best book available. To some degree, that's because there are no real alternatives. The writing is clear and it really does give an overview of the issues that philosophers discuss, but that means it concentrates on "pure" music (instrumental music of the European classical tradition). The ONLY discussion of music with words is the chapter on opera. If you don't already know a lot about opera, you'll be lost following that chapter. Compared to most philosohers, Kivy has a very informal writing style.
Kivy.......2006-05-03
This book was used as a text in my philosophy of music class. The professor chose the text because she knew that we would be opposed to his views. He barely deals with vocal music at all, claiming that it is not "pure music" because it has text. When dealing with opera, he feels the "problem with opera" is the fact that it is not cyclical. He mentions that when opera was first introduced that emotions were thought to be cyclical, and opera to the best of it's ability tried to accomidate that. However, it the mid 18th century that was discovered not to be the case and it was realized that emotions are linear. Just because the history of music has cyclical background does not mean that with this discovery it should remain as such. Linear and cyclical writing are tools used by a composer to convey certain emotions or to help define an event. Overall I felt Kivy was too verbose. If I were not a music major, I would have found it hard to truly understand what he was talking about
Kivy's Introduction to a Philosophy of Music.......2005-01-31
Coming from the prospective of one with undergraduate degrees in both music and philosophy I was very eager to flip through this book. It certainly is an introduction: (1) Kivy assumes the reader to have little or no background in either music or philosophy, (2) Kivy aims for breadth rather then depth (not to say there isn't depth), and (3) the overall level of difficulty, in terms of comprehension, is fairly minimal. This is certainly a kind of book I would recommend to someone as a first reading...even one who has had much experience in each of the areas (philosophy and music) seperately. The book has suggestions for further reading for those so motivated. Not that I am sufficiently knowledgable for one to place much credence in the following, but I agreed with a majority of the arguments Kivy professed to be in-line with (where I felt the most disagreement was with extended formulist's argument that music contains no representation of emotions. Kivy considers some opposing arguments but it seems to me there is more to chew on. I have a feeling though that the distance between the two ideas could be brought closer together with a more detailed account of what emotions are).
Four stars instead of five for two reasons: (1) I would hesitate to give an introductory work in any field five stars and (2) there were certain stylistic aspects of the writing that put me off slightly (a small matter of taste and not by any means a substancial criticism).
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.
Book Description
An essential manual for getting the best sounds from electric guitars, amplifiers, effect pedals and digital processors! This book/CD pack features easy-to-follow instructions, with more than 75 photos, to teach the basics of guitar tones and effects. The accompanying CD provides audio examples. Readers will learn: anatomy of the electric guitar; controlling the electric guitar; getting a good clean tone; overdrive, distortion and fuzz; using equalizers; compressors and limiters; noise reduction; modulation effects; reverb and delay; special effects; multi-effect processors; getting a good tone through your PC; famous effected guitarists; and much more!
Customer Reviews:
quite a fun, but not stuff for a single book.......2007-05-14
I really enjoyed reading this book. It is worth, but contains only small amount of information. You may find the entire contents in the book could be written as a couple of chapters. However, the CD was absolutely useful.
Good introduction.......2007-05-07
this book is a nice introduction to effects pedals and their use for the guitar enthusiast who doesn't know the difference between a fuzz tone and a compression pedal.
home studio.......2007-03-20
The information was very helpful in setting up my pedal board. The CD with the audio of all the pedals was really helpful in shopping for new sounds. The diagram for the suggested setup was helpful also.
OK for newbies needs work for everyone else.......2006-06-29
First, an introduction to myself; I took some folk/classic guitar lessens around the age of 13. In high school, I learned the electric bass, but was not involved with any bands or musicians outside of school. After graduation, I rarely played either instrument until about a year ago. Now, I've renewed my interest in guitar and bass and I've been trying to educate myself more about guitars, amps, and effects--things I never really learned about in my younger days. Before purchasing this book, I started by brushing the dust off and reading my old copy of The Guitar Handbook by Ralph Denyer (A "must have" book)--a book I partially read in my youth, bought and read Guitar Effects Pedals: The Practical Handbook by Dave Hunter (Read this before you buy any effects pedals!), read a library copy of The Stompbox by Art Thompson (History of pedals with many photos), bought and read Getting Great Guitar Sounds 2nd ed. by Michael Ross (A fine book about tone).
I read this book as if I had not read anything else prior. The positives going for this book are that it is well organized and follows a logical progression starting with the guitar itself then amplifiers then effects and so on. The last four chapters, Building a Pedalboard, Multi-Effects Processors, Amplifier and Effect Modeling, Getting a Good Tone through Your PC, Stylistic Guitar Tones, and Famous Effected Guitarists are topics usually not discussed in the other books that I have read. The appendix titled Effected Guitar Music contains a list of effects with a selection of songs along with the artist that demonstrate the effect, something that I wish other books would do. The CD that comes with the book lets the reader hear an example of each effect from the effects chapters 3-12 and also samples from chapters 13-17. I think this book would be good for absolute beginners, but even I picked up a few new things.
The negatives: While this book is meant to be in the genre of an introduction and at 60 pages, is clearly not meant to be a handbook nor encyclopedia, it just barely passes as an introduction due to its very short descriptions and definitions. After reading chapters 13-17, I came away with more knowledge than before, but now wanting more information with no direction on where to go from here. The information you get from this book is analogous to going to a party and getting introduced to several new people then leaving the party coming away with knowing only their names and how they said the word hello. Getting Great Guitar Sounds 2nd ed. by Michael Ross, has 77 pages and does a better job covering most of the material that is presented in Introduction to Guitar Tone & Effects chapters 1-12. The CD contains approximately 13 min of examples. Though not expecting a fully loaded CD, I was expecting maybe 20-30 min of samples. One or two strums on the guitar to demonstrate an effect seems deficient given that effects produce different sounds whether you are strumming chords or playing arpeggios. The examples from the Style chapter were also short and limited. (Note: Getting Great Guitar Sounds does not come with a CD.) Finally, the back cover touts over 74 photos but almost all of them are either out of focus or are some fuzzy computerized representation.
Overal, If you start out knowing nothing about tone and effects, you will have gained some basic understanding by reading this book but you will have little practical knowledge. For more experienced players, I think this book could easily go from "pass on" to "must have" with a little rewriting, clearer photos, and more and better examples on the CD, while still keeping the number of pages between 60-80.
Guitar tone and effects.......2006-05-15
I got some very good ideas to improve the use of my effects. Explains good stuff.
Average customer rating:
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An Introduction To Music Therapy: Theory and Practice
William B Davis ,
Michael H Thaut , and
Kate E Gfeller
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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A Comprehensive Guide to Music Therapy: Theory, Clinical Practice, Research and Training
ASIN: 0697388603 |
Book Description
Available for the first time in paperback, this low-cost, high-quality guide to music therapy thought, research, and practice is the ideal text for a one semester overview and the perfect handbook for the practicing professional.
You'll find that Davis, Gfeller, and Thaut's detailed descriptions of the populations most likely to receive music therapy are strongly supported by background material and extensive references, helping students build a firm base from which to explore the range of current healing modalities.
Book Description
This book is designed to be the primary text for the first two years of college music theory. It covers all the basics of composition including harmony, melody, and musical form.
Customer Reviews:
Clear and to the point.......2004-05-15
My theory pedagogy class reviewed about a dozen theory textbooks and the general consensus was that the Benjamin and the Kostka/Payne books were the only two that were worth using.
The Benjamin book is the best book for serious teachers. It provides the most complete description of tonal music of any text, and is always accurate, efficient, and very clear. In the hands of a good teacher it is the ideal tool. For students who have already studied theory, it is the perfect reference guide.
However, it is not a good "self-programmed guide" for students who wish study music theory on their own. Neither is it a good book for inexperienced theory teachers. For both of these cases, I would recommend the Kostka/Payne book.
[Full Disclosure: I was a student of Dr. Benjamin at the Peabody Conservatory for several years, studying composition and music theory, where we used his books]
Not a good book for a Theory student........2000-09-21
I'm rather surprised at the positive reviews of this book. It is, in my opinion, the poorest excuse for a Theory book I have ever seen. It is nothing more than a skeletal outline. The language is extremely dense with new terms. For example, the paragraph describing V7-I chord resolution uses the terms "leading" and "tendency" tones, having never introduced them before.
I have an Engineering degree, and am studying for a degree in music composition. This book is more difficult to read, and more poorly written, than most of the books I used in engineering school.
The thought of using this book for three semesters is excruciating. The authors were clearly more interested in showing off their knowledge, instead of teaching it.
Can you tell I hate this book?
Everyone in the class is utterly baffled, and some have just stopped coming to class, thinking that they are not smart enough to get music theory. This book has broken the spirit of young musicians. Way to go.
Outstanding Text on Music Theory.......1998-09-05
This text is an outstanding book on music theory. Complete with exercises, concise examples and reference materials packed into the 282 pages of this text. While not the complete reference manual for theory, it is a great general tool/text for education in music theory and the fundamentals of music notation, musical structure and musical form. Fat paced book covers all the details, and includes a reference section which details and demonstrates the handling of many musical techniques and analysis in a concise, direct way.
Highly recommended!
Book Description
This far-ranging book shows how human memory influences the organization of music. The book is divided into two parts. The first part presents basic ideas about memory and perception from cognitive psychology and, to some extent, cognitive linguistics. Topics include auditory processing, perception, and recognition. The second part describes in detail how the concepts from the first part are exemplified in music. The presentation is based on three levels of musical experience: event fusion (the formation of single musical events from acoustical vibrations in the air, on a time scale too small to exhibit rhythm), melody and rhythm, and form. The focus in the latter is on the psychological conditions necessary for making large-scale--that is, formal--boundaries clear in music rather than on traditional musical forms. The book also discusses the idea that much of the language used to describe musical structures and processes is metaphorical. It encourages readers to consider the possibility that the process of musical composition can be "a metaphorical transformation of their own experience into sound."
The book also touches on unresolved debates about psychological musical universals, information theory, and the operation of neurons. It requires no formal musical training and contains a glossary and an appendix of listening examples.
Customer Reviews:
Too much scientific jargon for the average person.......2007-04-02
This book explores hearing and memory from a highly technological view point. It is difficult for the average person even with a college degree to follow and renders one bored after only a few pages of trying to follow the tiny details in the book.
impressive.......2006-11-16
not much to add to Sean Bennett's review, which is very cogent, but just wanted to second the high ranking--this is a book that deserves to be acknowledged and read.
An outstanding introduction to issues in music and memory........2001-06-28
Written textbook style, Snyder's Music and Memory surveys what was previously the largely disparate literature linking cognitive psychology, linguistics, music, neuroscience, and memory. Accessible to the beginner in this interdisciplinary field, Snyder takes effort to introduce musical concepts and terminology before moving to higher level analyses. However, the expert in this field will still find many interesting bits of information regarding current papers on music and memory in these introductory chapters. As the book progresses, the scale of the ideas becomes more grandiose, but Snyder manages to support his tenets about the brain and music well. The chapters are sometimes divided by topic (like rhythm, or syntactic hierarchy in music). This enormous undertaking succeeds admirably -- and even if you are not a cognitive musicologist, you will find many interesting bits of information about this book about why you remember that certain song you've heard on the radio or TV. A+++.
Book Description
Widely recognized as the definitive work in its field ever since its original publication in 1962, Serial Composition and Atonality remains an unsurpassed introduction to the technical features of what is probably the most revolutionary body of work since the beginnings of polyphony. In the analysis of specific compositions there is first and last of all a concern with the musical surface--an attempt to trace connections and distinctions there before offering any deeper-level constructions, and to offer none where their effects are not obvious on more immediate levels of musical experience. In this sixth edition of the book, George Perle employs the new and more consistent terminology for the identification of transpositional levels of twelve-tone sets that he first proposed in Twelve-Tone Tonality (1977).
Customer Reviews:
Most helpful introduction to the idea of serialization in non-tonal music.......2006-01-25
This book, in all its revisions, has been in print for more than thirty-five years. It has been found very useful by students and general readers who are already well versed in tonal music systems and want a primer on the basic ideas behind the serial composition methods that grew up and matured during the 20th Century. The book says that it is an introduction to the music of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. While most of the musical examples are drawn from their music, examples from other composers such as Bartok, Babbit, Stravinsky, and others are also included.
Perle lays out some of the basic issues of organization that grew out of atonality and how the idea of sets or rows was used to provide order. He shows various kinds of serial organization including sets fewer than twelve tones, hexachords, and the full twelve tone set. He also does a great job in demonstrating the different ways composers implemented this organization principle. It is important to realize that the information here is really just what it says: an introduction. Composers have come up with many other kinds of implementations of the idea of serialization and sets. It is vital to keep in mind that there is no ordained way of composing with twelve tones. There are some basic postulates in the Schoenberg method, but no composer has to be bound by them other than by choosing to compose music that way.
Perle also shows the reader how composers use these rows and combine them in ways that create effects that are not a part of any of the rows including constructions that look like major and minor triads. Yes, your ear will pick them up quite readily, but the way the "move" is not tonal. However, they provide interesting color and a way for the composer to draw the ear to certain aspects of the composition.
There are also many other technical matters of the "standard" method of serialization that are not included here. But who would expect an introduction to be comprehensive?
A survey of pantonal music.......2001-05-27
Perle's book is considered a classic in the theory world, and well so. It gives a thorough analysis of representative works of not only Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern, but also of Stravinsky, Bartok, and Babbitt. I was able to learn from it many of the tools of serial music and their application in specific pieces. The world of serial composition is actually much broader than I had hitherto realized.
As a composer, I found this book helpful, but I would recommend Charles Wuorinen's SIMPLE COMPOSITION in addition.
My main problem with this book is Perle's consistent use of the word "atonal." This furthers the myth that there is such thing as "atonal music." First of all, serialist work is more accurately "pantonal;" it encompasses all tonalities, and implies all tonalities. Furthermore, it is a misleading term, as there is no music that uses no tones (all sounds have some frequency, and therefore some tone).
This edition is an improvement over an older one. The older edition, which I read, contained a section in the chapter on simultaneity which I thought was absolutely ridiculous. This edition omits the section.
penetrating and accessible.......2000-01-09
As far as I can tell, George Perle's books are the only ones that really come to grips with atonality. Others are either 1) simplistic glosses, 2) pieces of propaganda, or 3) attempts to impress or intimidate the reader (so as to entrench their authors in academia). Having heard one of George Perle's piano sonatas on the radio the other day and once a string quartet of his in concert, I can testify that he is himself a first-rate composer, and isn't it better to read the works of one who has an artistic stake in his subject?
For a contrasting point of view, however, I refer you to--with certain reservations--"Milton Babbitt: Words About Music", edited by Stephen Dembski.
penetrating and accessible.......2000-01-05
As far as I can tell, George Perle's books are the only ones that really come to grips with atonality. Others are either 1) simplistic glosses, 2) pieces of propaganda, or 3) attempts to impress or intimidate the reader (so as to entrench their authors in academia). Having heard one of George Perle's piano sonatas on the radio the other day and once a string quartet of his in concert, I can testify that he is himself a first-rate composer, and isn't it better to read the works of one who has an artistic stake in his subject?
However, for a contrasting point of view, I also recommend--with reservations--"Milton Babbitt: Words about Music", edited by Stephen Dembski. Like George Perle, Milton Babbitt is a prominent serialist composer. As it happens, I'm not a particular fan of his music, and I think his analyses tend miss the substance of the music he analyzes, but he is an influential, articulate, and intelligent exponent worth hearing out.
Clear insight into a complex style........1997-12-23
Although I have not delved into an extensive study of books on this subject, Perle's "Serial Composition and Atonality" provides the reader with an easily approchable look into and often misunderstood art form. He covers the development of the Second Vienese Style from "free" atonality through more complex set structures using plenty of musical examples and "speaks" in a "normal" manner rather than trying to bog down the reader with a lot of complex technobabble (the subject is dry enough to begin with) that looses a person within the first sentence.
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