2nd Edition

Revisiting Music Theory Basic Principles

By Alfred Blatter Copyright 2017
    426 Pages
    by Routledge

    426 Pages
    by Routledge

    Revisiting Music Theory: Basic Principles, Second Edition, surveys the basics of music theory and explains the terms used in harmonic and formal analysis in a clear and concise manner. Students will find Revisiting Music Theory to be an essential resource for review or reference, while instructors of introductory theory courses will find in these pages a solid foundation for cultivating musical thinking. Musicians of all kinds—amateur and professional alike—will find great value in augmenting and informing their knowledge of the art of music theory.

    The text covers the basic principles of music theory, including:
    • Musical notation
    • Key signatures and scales
    • Intervals, chords, and progressions
    • Melodic and harmonic analysis
    • Counterpoint and voice leading techniques
    • Musical forms and structures

    This second edition has been revised and reorganized to promote learning. Each section now includes an all-new selection of exercises, allowing readers to practice key skills and improve understanding.

    For students, instructors, and practicing musicians, Revisiting Music Theory offers an indispensable guide to the foundations of musical analysis.

    Preface

    Acknowledgments

    Notes on the Use of This Book

    Part 1. Notation: The Symbols of Music

      1. The Components of Sound and Music

      2. The Notation of Pitch

      3. The Notation of Duration

      4. The Organization of Time

      5. Movement, Language, and Musical Rhythms

      6. The Notation of Loudness and Style

      7. The Notation of Tone Quality

      8. Conducting Music

      Part 2. Melody: Note Following Note

        1. Intervals

        2. The Modes

        3. The Major Scale

        4. Key Signatures for Major Scales

        5. The Minor Scales

        60 Other Minor Scales

        7. Key Signatures for Minor Keys

        8. Scale Degrees

        9. The Melodic Structure

        10. Expanded Melodic Sources

        Part 3. Harmony: Note(s) with Note(s)

          1. Intervals

          2. Triads

          3. The Inversion of Triads

          4. Triads within Key

          5. Seventh Chords

          6. Harmonic Progressions

          7. Harmonic Rhythm

          8. Cadences

          9. Secondary Dominants

          10. More Chords on the Secondary Level

          11. Other Chords

          Part 4. Melodies in Harmony

            1. Part Writing

            2. Creating the Harmonic Structure

            3. Non-Harmonic Tones

            4. Analyzing Later Styles

            5. Nineteenth-Century Analysis

            Part 5. Texture, Structures, Techniques, and Form

              1. The Textures of Music

              2. Fundamental Structures

              3. Melodic Manipulation

              4. Form

              Part 6. Appendices

              Appendix I. Systems for Identifying Pitch

              Appendix II. The Harmonic Series

              Appendix III. Tuning and Temperament

              Appendix IV. The Circle of Fifths

              Appendix V. Transposition

              Appendix VI. All Major Scales in Four Clefs

              Appendix VII. All Minor Scales in Four Clefs

              Appendix VIII. Inversions of All Triads on All Pitches in Two Clefs

              Appendix IX. Inversions of All Common Seventh Chords on All Pitches in Two Clefs

              Appendix X. Primary Chords in All Major and Minor Keys in Two Clefs

              Appendix XI. Chord Symbols Used in Lead Sheet and Fake Book Notation in Two Clefs

              Biography

              Alfred Blatter joined the faculty for Musical Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in 1989 and is Professor Emeritus at Drexel University.