 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Amy Tindall
Date: 2004-04-09 03:30
What are some books, CDs, etc... That will help learn music theory? I am fluent on my clarinet playing... but not music theory...! Not a good thing! Also I have been lately realizing that I need to start working on my singing skills... Are there any CDs that will help train my singing skills but most of all WORK? Thanks in advance!
Amy E. Tindall
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-04-09 04:05
Amy, my selection of a basic book is "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory." And really, you don't even have to be a complete idiot to use it. It can be bought for about twenty bux and is well worh it.
Others have suggested different books. A search on "theory book" (no quotes) will provide lots of information.
Singing? That's a whole 'nother area.
Regards,
John
ignorance is curable, but stupid is forever
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Author: laughhearty
Date: 2004-04-09 07:03
This book is indespensible.
I am working my way through it now:
Edly's Music Theory For Practical People by Ed Roseman
It's fun and entertaining and I've learned so much!!!!
Enjoy.
Alicia
"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my
chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great
and noble."
- Helen Keller, Author and Inspiration
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Author: Markus Wenninger
Date: 2004-04-09 09:31
The one and only a nowadays performer needs:
A. Schoenberg, Harmonielehre.
And after munching Your way through it, begin hitting people over the head with this brick as soon as somebody starts wailing "New Music´s so not harmonical..." etc pp...
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Author: Burt
Date: 2004-04-09 23:51
"Elementary Harmony" and "Advanced Harmony" by Robert W. Ottman (published by Prentice Hall - subsidiary of Viacom) is quite readable.
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2004-04-10 12:40
I'm not going to call it simple or readable, but at some point you'll have to confront the giant that is Walter Piston's Harmony book. My second semester ollege theory class uses Harmony in Context by Roig-Francoli, which is quite readable and has tons of examples, but is also very, very expensive and doesn't present the material in the most logical order. I get Piston next semester. These are both very classical-focused, though the Roig-Francoli sometimes has the occasional Beatles example or, inexplicably, a bit from "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-04-10 14:55
As was finally mentioned by Micaela, the Piston Harmony book is considered one of the traditional standard texts which most serious students eventually use.
Step 2 would of course be Piston's Counterpoint book.
Besides the Ottman books previously listed, Materials and Structure of Music by Christ, DeLone, Kliewer et al. (Prentice Hall) is another good one and is often used as a Freshman college text...GBK
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Author: Phat Cat
Date: 2004-04-10 15:22
According to on-line reviews, the currently available DeVoto revision of Piston’s Harmony significantly changes the tenor of the book, to the point of admitting in the introduction that Piston would not have approved of much of its additions and deletions. Can anyone here provide a comparison of the original with the revision?
On a separate note, has anyone used Robert Gauldin’s Harmonic Practice in Tonal Music? It introduces basic Schenker reductions.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2004-04-12 16:07
I'll put a strong second on Edly's 'Music Theory for Practical People.' One of the hardest things to teach a wind player is chord progressions, and Edly is the best verbalizer I've seen on this subject.
The Complete Idiot's Guide is good, but I found some hazy stuff in the area on ear training, and my search led me to the Edly book.
A good starting point for Theory is in Classical Music for Dummies. Ch.11, "The Dreaded Music Theory Chapter" is the best summary of theory I've ever seen and it's FUNNY on top of that. It will put you in the mood for more extended study.
BTW, the hardest thing about theory is the need to hear it in action. If you don't play piano or guitar, I'd suggest you get a cheap notation package like Noteworthy Composer so you can try out the examples in the book.
If you have no theory background, I'd hold off on the heavy books. Sometimes you can get into levels of detail where you can't see the forest for the trees. This is why the Dummies, Idiots and Edly books are so successful.
Allen Cole
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2004-04-12 20:20
What...nobody has mentioned Aldwell-Schachter???
;)
Katrina
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Author: Ed
Date: 2004-04-12 20:30
I also want to give a plug for Edly's book.
http://www.edly.com/mtfpp.html
It would be especially good for a novice or someone trying to learn it on their own. It is fun, painless and lots of good information is presented in a clear fashion.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-04-13 05:11
Do note that those who have spoken favorably of Piston's book have said: "I'm not going to call it simple or readable, but at some point you'll have to confront the giant that is Walter Piston's Harmony book," and "...the Piston Harmony book is considered one of the
traditional standard texts which most serious students eventually use." I think "at some point" and "eventually" are the key words here.
I would agree that the Piston book is a wonder. I would also stress that using it as a basic theory text would be tantamount to learning to read English solely through careful study and extensive memorization of _The Oxford English Dictionary_.
It's pretty much all there, but that does not mean it's easy.
Forgot to mention that I have not seen the Edly book, but all the good press tells me I must get one. Thanks to all who have said such encouraging things about it.
Regards,
Joh
Post Edited (2004-04-13 05:14)
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Author: allencole
Date: 2004-04-13 13:59
It's very easy to miss the 'at some point' or 'eventually' side of the book books. I can remember in high school studying for my ham radio license directly from the Radio Amateurs Handbook and thinking that I would have to know everything in the theory section in order to pass.
Luckily, I finally took a class and found out how much simpler it was to get started.
Allen Cole
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Author: Kevin
Date: 2004-04-13 16:37
Anthology for Musical Analysis by Charles Burkhart
Well, not quite a book about theory, but after studying a little theory, it helps to get an anthology book. This is an especially good one that I'm using in my lessons. It's full of works that show significance in terms of music theory, with examples of counterpoint in all spieces, figured bass, classical forms, atonal music, and more. Most importantly, the pieces are 'real' works (not examples, or pieces specifically writen for the purpose) by the masters.
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