Tonality And Design In Music Theory

Following the well-established tradition of comprehensive musicianship, this book presents lessons and assignments not only in basic tonal harmony, but also in fundamentals, concepts of melody, counterpoint, form, analysis, composition, written essays, and a survey of 20th and 21st century music. It emphasizes Western musical art, with ample material on the music of both men and women, differing styles, various cultures, and examples drawn from popular and ethnic sources. Distinctive features as well as commonalities and universals are identified in comparing works. For individuals who want to perform as studio musicians, enter the field of music education, follow an applied teaching career, or pursue graduate studies.

This is a step by step guide for music theory and analysis for the beginners. From basics of musical notation to the principles of tonality, all of the difficult subjects of music theory are explained in detail, with demonstrations. The student is prepared for analysis studies step by step. The exercises provided at the end of each chapter (and sometimes extra exercises in the middle of a chapter) are designed for the student to develop what she/he learned by reading and prepare herself/himself for the next challenge.Music theory is generally a scary subject for musicians. This is not true for a person who is capable of developing connections between different aspects of music theory and is able to practice them in a fluid way. That is because the practice holds the analytical secrets inside and the person who opens it is awarded. For most of the students, practicing scales or practicing chords of a scale is something just very very low profile work. The fingers memorize which key on the piano to be pressed in which order when the piano is chosen as the instrument for assistive training, but the brain does not want to develop connections between different aspects of the same theoretical practice such as playing a major scale first, let's say G major, and then playing a different one, let's say A-flat major. The result is a temporary learning of scale practicing, but a possible failure in music theory, since the rules which are just there to see are not exercised at the same time. We observed that a long-term learning is possible by practicing and examining what is practiced to make connections. We searched a way to show these connections in this book. Analysis is another problem in academic education of music. Students from different majors are excepted to make a standard level analysis of musical works from literature. The most difficult thing for those whose major is not composition or theory, who have a strong focus on the matter, is to recognize the chords in a given texture, to eliminate the unnecessary tones, and by this way, to identify the way chord progressions are held in the piece to explain the functionality of the elements used in music. That is the main goal of musical analysis and any level of failure, which also includes composition and theory majors sometimes, becomes a huge headache for both student and the teacher. This book suggests a path to quickly train the lower level students in a class in basics and then to train the medium level and upper level students (along with the trained lower levels) in a different manner than the conventional music theory training does so that even the higher levels will re-consider their knowledge on the facts which will allow them go in the details deeper, and even inspire the way think music and musical analysis. Analysis is expected to be a quiet easy skill that student uses in a fluent way.The book provides exercises at the end of every chapter. The study of these exercises should be sufficient for a basic level learning. The exercises usually cover more than one aspect of a goal in separate questions.Among the other powerful features of this book, we can mention the chapters on musical design. The music student usually learns only one dimension of identification of chords in music which lacks of concerning the textural differences. We find it essential to mention main textural differences and demonstrate how to approach them in order to make a good analysis at the beginner level. We think the basic music theory training should include such an unpronounced aspect of analysis. We also explain the effect of instrumental choice in the work and what to expect to see as well as how to approach different setups for analysis by demonstrations, including orchestral writing.

Drawing on decades of teaching experience and the collective wisdom of dozens of the most creative theorists in the country, Michael R. Rogers's diverse survey of music theory--one of the first to comprehensively survey and evaluate the teaching styles, techniques, and materials used in theory courses--is a unique reference and research tool for teachers, theorists, secondary and postsecondary students, and for private study. This revised edition of Teaching Approaches in Music Theory: An Overview of Pedagogical Philosophies features an extensive updated bibliography encompassing the years since the volume was first published in 1984. In a new preface to this edition, Rogers references advancements in the field over the past two decades, from the appearance of the first scholarly journal devoted entirely to aspects of music theory education to the emergence of electronic advances and devices that will provide a supporting, if not central, role in the teaching of music theory in the foreseeable future. With the updated information, the text continues to provide an excellent starting point for the study of music theory pedagogy. Rogers has organized the book very much like a sonata. Part one, "Background," delineates principal ideas and themes, acquaints readers with the author's views of contemporary musical theory, and includes an orientation to an eclectic range of philosophical thinking on the subject; part two, "Thinking and Listening," develops these ideas in the specific areas of mindtraining and analysis, including a chapter on ear training; and part three, "Achieving Teaching Success," recapitulates main points in alternate contexts and surroundings and discusses how they can be applied to teaching and the evaluation of design and curriculum. Teaching Approaches in Music Theory emphasizes thoughtful examination and critique of the underlying and often tacit assumptions behind textbooks, materials, and technologies. Consistently combining general methods with specific examples and both philosophical and practical reasoning, Rogers compares and contrasts pairs of concepts and teaching approaches, some mutually exclusive and some overlapping. The volume is enhanced by extensive suggested reading lists for each chapter.

This is a study in the analysis of tonal music. Focusing on the listener's experience, author Steven Rings employs transformational music theory to illuminate diverse aspects of tonal hearing - from the infusion of sounding pitches with familiar tonal qualities to sensations of directedness and attraction.

To the growing list of Pendragon Press publications devoted to the work of Heinrich Schenker, we wish to announce the addition of this much-needed bibliography. The author, a student of Allen Forte, has created a work useful to a wide range of researchers music theorists, musicologists, music librarians and teachers. The Guide is the largest Schenkerian reference work ever published. At nearly 600 pages, it contains 3600 entries (2200 principal, 1400 secondary) representing the work of 1475 authors. Fifteen broad groupings encompass seventy topical headings, many of which are divided and subdivided again, resulting in a total of 271 headings under which entries are collected.