Books about theory

[greatusername]

Hey, I was wondering if any of you guys know about a great theory book? I have bases in music theory (reading music,intervals an inversions,basic major and minor scales,etc.) but I'm searching for a book that could help me with more advanced theory (let's say intermediate level theory). Thanks

P.S.: sorry for the outragous number of time I repeat "theory"

 

[wespaul]

 

[Ericjutsu]

Harmony by Walter Piston

 

[Mr. Big Noodles]

Both of the above books are good, but it would be helpful to know what you're going for and how you think advancing your background in music theory will help you accomplish that goal. The most useful thing for you right now is probably going to be learning how to harmonize the major and minor scales, and analyze chords by Roman numerals. There are plenty of places where you can learn that. musictheory.net is one of them. The other books mentioned in this thread do that too. I like to recommend Wyatt & Schroeder - Pocket Music Theory because it reads quickly and will make you conversant with most rock music at a basic level. Just know that you won't be discussing transformational analysis any time soon. (Although Laura Felicity Mason's thesis on Neo-Riemannian theory can get you started on that particular route, if you'd like.)

 

[greatusername]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions , I want to read about theory just to learn something really. Shure, it can help for composition, but it's mostly because my two favorite things to do are music and reading so I figured out reading about music would be great.

 

[CircuitalPlacidity]

I'd recommend the Piston book as well as the complete collection of Schoenberg books. A note though, If you grab the Schoenberg books you should probably be very adept at reading in many different clefs and also pretty good at transposition.

 

[CircuitalPlacidity]

I can also toss you this. Good online resource but a bit short. Feeling for Harmony Home

 

[ncfiala]

I have Kostka and Payne and it's pretty good. If you decide to go with something else I would recommend staying away from stuff written by guitarists. I also have some books on atonal theory, set theory, and neo-Riemannian theory if you need any suggestions but you probably won't get to that for awhile.

 

[Given To Fly]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions , I want to read about theory just to learn something really. Shure, it can help for composition, but it's mostly because my two favorite things to do are music and reading so I figured out reading about music would be great.

This is not a theory book but its worth reading: The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross

 

[gnoll]

I don't have any good books to recommend unfortunately, but this thread made me think of something.

I started trying to read a book on harmony a while back, but I got really sick of it because all the examples were from REALLY OLD music that I had no interest in, and I struggled to see any useful (to me, that is) applications of the things taught.

So, I'm wondering, these books in this thread, are they more connected to modern day music? If not, are there any such books? (that are good, that is) Because I could see myself possibly reading more about music theory if I could find material that wasn't so stuck in the past.

 

[greatusername]

I'm trying to decide if i'll go with walter piston's harmony book or pocket music theory of wyatt and shroeder. I'll probably end up buying both,but where should I start?

 

[Mr. Big Noodles]

I'm trying to decide if i'll go with walter piston's harmony book or pocket music theory of wyatt and shroeder. I'll probably end up buying both,but where should I start?

I'd go with pocket music theory first, because it's easier to tackle. The information is a little lighter, but if you understand everything in that little book then it'll hold you over for a while. Piston is a whole other ball game, and really applies to common practice music with no mind toward rock or jazz. With Piston, make sure to go with the fourth (my preferred) or fifth edition.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions , I want to read about theory just to learn something really. Shure, it can help for composition, but it's mostly because my two favorite things to do are music and reading so I figured out reading about music would be great.

Interesting. I'll try to throw some interesting prose your way. You might like Kofi Agawu's scholarship:

MTO 2.4: Agawu, Analyzing Music Under the New Musicological Regime

Music as Discourse

Agawu is a musicologist as well as a theorist (Schenkerian, but he doesn't hesitate to call out some of Schenker's assumptions. He uses a nifty analytical method on the music of Bach in one of the chapters of Music as Discourse that I feel can be applied to other musics.), and he deals with a wide range of repertoire, so he has a refreshing perspective. West African music and Romantic repertoire are what he is known for mostly, but he has his fingers in a lot of pies. Here he is talking about African and Western minimalism:

I'd recommend the Piston book as well as the complete collection of Schoenberg books. A note though, If you grab the Schoenberg books you should probably be very adept at reading in many different clefs and also pretty good at transposition.

Heads up: the Schoenberg books, while awesome, are very idiosyncratic. Structural Functions of Harmony blew my mind, and while there is a whole branch of Schoenbergian theory, you're not likely to encounter Schoenberg's language just anywhere. greatusername (great use name, by the way), you might actually like Schoenberg's books since they are heavy on musical philosophy as well as theory. Mind you, they're dense and you've already got a lot on your plate.

I don't have any good books to recommend unfortunately, but this thread made me think of something.

I started trying to read a book on harmony a while back, but I got really sick of it because all the examples were from REALLY OLD music that I had no interest in, and I struggled to see any useful (to me, that is) applications of the things taught.

So, I'm wondering, these books in this thread, are they more connected to modern day music? If not, are there any such books? (that are good, that is) Because I could see myself possibly reading more about music theory if I could find material that wasn't so stuck in the past.

I would check out Understanding Rock: Essays in Musical Analysis, edited by John Covach and Graeme Boone. It mostly concerns music of the 1960s and 70s, but it is well worth the read. Here is the first essay, on Yes' Close To The Edge. Covach discusses the influence of classical music on 60s and 70s progressive rock, but he also gives the non-classical elements their due. I really like his analysis. He assumes that you kind of know what's up (compound AABA form, terms like 'fugato', standard harmonic analysis), but I can see this as an entry point into music theory for somebody who diligently traces the theory back.



I'd like to find some good reading on metal, but unfortunately there is not much written on anything post-1980. My current research will hopefully go some way into filling this gap.

 

[CapnForsaggio]

I recommend you buy one and read it.

Then buy a different one and read that too.

Theory is not very "linear" - and by that I mean that different folks grasp different concepts in different ways, often after "learning" them multiple times from multiple sources.

I teach the concept of "scalar modes" to guitarist and piano players in a fundamentally different way. Each musician 'thinks' in terms of the instruments they already know, and the skills they already possess.

I also suggest that YOU create a notebook with diagrams and notes that mean something to YOU. It will serve you much better than 5 different books each with a page of diagrams you like....

Just my $0.02

Good luck.

FYI, my journey went something like this for guitar:
Pentatonics
Major/Minor Scales (and some others like Harmonic Minor)
CAGED shapes (5 positions, applications of modes)
3NPS modes (7 positions, economy picking)
Sweeping/String skipping/advanced picking
Circle of Fourths (modulation and composition)
Learning to play the drums (hehehe)

 

[greatusername]

Haha,thanks and I think you're right. I just purchased the pocket theory book because you have to start somewhere right? Should receive it the 31st ��

 

[Mr. Big Noodles]

Sounds like a good choice. You can get jiggy with the other tomes once you have your feet on the ground.

 

[greatusername]

Ok so I receaved the book monday and started to read it right away. I'm now trying to understand modes and seriously, it confuses me. Is there any one here that knows a video or whatever to help me to understand? Thanks

 

[Winspear]

Ok so I receaved the book monday and started to read it right away. I'm now trying to understand modes and seriously, it confuses me. Is there any one here that knows a video or whatever to help me to understand? Thanks

Forget notes/music for a second and read this simply as a collection of alphabet letters:
ABCDEFG-ABCDEFG-ABCDEFG....

Now this:
BCDEFGA-BCDEFGA-BCDEFGA....

Now this:
CDEFGAB-CDEFGAB-CDEFGAB....

Simple enough right? Those are modes. A fixed sequence, started at a different point.

The C major scale CDEFGABC is a fixed collection of gaps being 2-2-1-2-2-2-1 between the notes. If you take that collection and start it one later you get 2-1-2-2-2-1-2, or DEFGABCD, D Dorian, the first mode of C major.
You could also say C major is the 7th mode of D Dorian.

 

[CapnForsaggio]

Ok so I receaved the book monday and started to read it right away. I'm now trying to understand modes and seriously, it confuses me. Is there any one here that knows a video or whatever to help me to understand? Thanks

Here is the key you are looking for:

'When you understand why C Major and A minor are the "same notes" - you have begun to unlock modes'

I use these as an example, because they are all "white keys" on the piano.

Also, I offer this anecdote from history:

Modal music predates the use of "keys" - In dark age monasteries, monks were the keepers, composers, and performers of music. Instruments were often cost-prohibitive in such times.

As a reference, the monks would use their prayer bell as the "root note" of their compositions. This meant that ALL of their compositions had the SAME root note.

How did they accomplish musical variety in such circumstances?
Answer: They moved the INTERVALS that were between the scale steps. By moving the major scale intervals (there are 7 intervals between the octaves) one at a time to the bell's root note, they accomplished 7 unique interval sets (modes), the first of which is Ionian (major) and the 6th of which is Aeolian (minor).

Arguably, ALL of the 7 modes are useful in some unique way, conveying different amounts of tension and 'happy' or 'dreadful' emotion. Western music has a definitive preference for either the First or Sixth mode, but there is value in all of the others. We are just not as familiar, as we now utilize key modulation more often than modal modulation in popular music.

Good luck!

 

[greatusername]

Thanks, that helped me a lot to understand. Ok I'll just give an exemple and you tell me if I'm right ok? E Dorian would be E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D?

 

[CapnForsaggio]

That's a BINGO!