Music Theory Exploring Musical Structure

Music Theory: Exploring Musical Structure is a robust, comprehensive introduction to music theory and the structure of music. Beginning with the simplest elements of music, the author walks the reader through all of the important topics in a comprehensive course in music theory. The book contains hundreds of examples from famous musical pieces, chapter quizzes, and other tools that are designed to help the reader learn and understand the major concepts in music theory.

Exploring Musical Structure is a unique music theory book because it also has an accompanying website for the user to hear hundreds of sound files from the book! This book introduces musical intervals and how they are structured to form scales and chords. You will be introduced to keys and be shown how to change keys in smooth and interesting ways. If you play an instrument that plays chords, like a guitar or piano, this book will help you expand your knowledge of harmony so that you will have a very interesting array of harmonies that you can use, and the content will show you exactly where and how to use them. Would you like to learn how to harmonize a tune? This book shows you how to do this in traditional tonal style. You will be introduced to writing for different instruments. The book also introduces jazz harmonies and takes a peek into modern styles of composition. Musical structure is studied on several levels, from the structure of a single phrase to the form for an entire composition. Need to start at the beginning? That's okay! The approach used in this book begins with foundational principles and concepts and then builds the rest of the content "brick-by-brick" in a logical and natural manner. The information in this book will also help prepare for later coursework or studies in such subjects as orchestration, counterpoint, arranging and composing. Traveling through musical structure is a highly rewarding and fascinating journey. Enjoy the adventure as you explore musical structure!

In recent decades, increased specialization has sharply separated music theory from historical musicology. Music Theory and the Exploration of the Past brings together a group of essays—written by theorists and musicologists—that seek to bridge this gap. This collection shows that music theory can join forces with historical musicology to produce a more humanistic form of musical scholarship. In nineteen essays dealing with musical theories from the twelfth to the twentieth century, two recurring themes emerge. One is the need to understand the historical circumstances of the writing and reception of theory, a humanistic approach that gives theory a place within social and intellectual history. The other is the advantages of applying contemporaneous theory to the music of a given period, thus linking theory to the history of musical styles and structures. The periods given principal attention in these essays are the Renaissance, the years around 1800, and the twentieth century. Abundantly illustrated with musical examples, Music Theory and the Exploration of the Past offers models of new practical applications of theory to the analysis of music. At the same time, it raises the broader question of how historical knowledge can deepen the understanding of an art and of systematic writings about that art.

Exploring Musical Spaces is a comprehensive synthesis of mathematical techniques in music theory, written with the aim of making these techniques accessible to music scholars without extensive prior training in mathematics. The book adopts a visual orientation, introducing from the outset a number of simple geometric models--the first examples of the musical spaces of the book's title--depicting relationships among musical entities of various kinds such as notes, chords, scales, or rhythmic values. These spaces take many forms and become a unifying thread in initiating readers into several areas of active recent scholarship, including transformation theory, neo-Riemannian theory, geometric music theory, diatonic theory, and scale theory. Concepts and techniques from mathematical set theory, graph theory, group theory, geometry, and topology are introduced as needed to address musical questions. Musical examples ranging from Bach to the late twentieth century keep the underlying musical motivations close at hand. The book includes hundreds of figures to aid in visualizing the structure of the spaces, as well as exercises offering readers hands-on practice with a diverse assortment of concepts and techniques.

Tune in to how music really works Whether you’re a student, a performer, or simply a fan, this book makes music theory easy, providing you with a friendly guide to the concepts, artistry, and technical mastery that underlie the production of great music. You’ll quickly become fluent in the fundamentals of knocking out beats, reading scores, and anticipating where a piece should go, giving you a deeper perspective on the works of others — and bringing an extra dimension to your own. Tracking to a typical college-level course, Music Theory For Dummies breaks difficult concepts down to manageable chunks and takes into account every aspect of musical production and appreciation — from the fundamentals of notes and scales to the complexities of expression and instrument tone color. It also examines the latest teaching techniques — all the more important as the study of music, now shown to provide cognitive and learning benefits for both children and adults, becomes more prevalent at all levels. Master major and minor scales, intervals, pitches, and clefs Understand basic notation, time signals, tempo, dynamics, and navigation Employ melodies, chords, progressions, and phrases to form music Compose harmonies and accompanying melodies for voice and instruments Wherever you want to go musically — as a writer or performer, or just as someone who wants to enjoy music to its fullest — this approachable guide gives you everything you need to hear!

The presented here manual tells of the structural designs of musical composition, not of the styles or species of music. The author gives a thorough explanation of each design or form, from the smallest to the largest, and such comparison serves to demonstrate the principle of natural evolution in the operation of which the entire system originates.

Introduces the fundamental principles of Schenkerian analysis within the context of the music itself.

A brilliant investigation into musical structure through a systematic exploration of tonality, melody, harmony, texture, and rhythm. Discusses early madrigals and Gregorian chants through Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms to Ravel, Bartok, and Berg."