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Title: Theory of Harmony (California Library Reprint Series) by Arnold Schonberg ISBN: 0-520-04944-6 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 1983 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.94 (17 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: "Invariably wrong?"
Comment: I think not.
Schoenberg's theoretical approach is not the approach accepted as as standard in American music schools. He was an independent thinker. In this reviewer's opinion, Schoenberg was right.
I would not recommend this volume as a primary textbook for the study of tonal harmony; it is too rich and complex for that, and undoubtedly way beyond the reading level of most college undergraduates. Schoenberg's thought is subtle and elegant to a degree rarely found in books of this sort.
I would recommend this volume to anyone willing to dig more deeply into the subject than is done by most three chord pop musicians or Schenkerian purists, but it takes time and patience and an open mind as well as a firm command of complex sentence structure. Schoenberg does not provide the reductio ad absurdam desired by many.
This is one of the most important books ever written on the subject of music theory. It is essential reading for any serious student of early 20th century tonal music.
Rating: 3
Summary: fine in its way, but that way is eccentric
Comment: I suspect the prospective purchaser may be mislead by certain of these reviews.
1) I'm not sure what is meant by "his attempt to put written parameters on atonalism", but it is important to understand that Schoenberg's "Theory of Harmony" says nothing whatsoever about atonal music.
2) Does it "[show] that if [Schoenberg] had wished, he could have written popular pieces in the key of C major that would have been some of the finest music ever written"? It shows, I suppose, that Schoenberg had a solid grasp of traditional elementary harmony, but as far as I know this has never been in question. Before he wrote atonal serial music and before he wrote free atonal music, Schoenberg wrote a reasonable quantity of tonal music, so you don't have to speculate about what he could have composed "in the key of C major". Just listen. (It's a thickish sort of tonal music and not really my cup of tea.)
3) Whether or not you admire the author or his music, you would be very foolish to assign this to your undergraduate students or to try to teach yourself theory with it--and not just because a number of the author's speculative notions are dubious.
4) If you elect to read it you'll be in for quite a bit of haranguing. Brace yourself.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Masterpiece for every musician
Comment: This book is a must for a musician.
It is not a textbook. You need another standard one for this purpose. But it is essential as a companion, if you want to UNDERSTAND the reasons behind the rules. And you better read it in parallel with a standard textbook.
Schoenberg starts from the most ancient sources to the most modern and EXPLAINS everything! You are his pupil because this book was written for his real pupils. (And btw a 6th chord is a 6th chord for every classical harmony manual...).
I agree that sometimes some digressions may be questionable and some "rules" are introduced and then eliminated in a questionable way, but he is undoubtely an artist, and this book reflects it. The way he explains, for instance, the minor mode is unsurpassed.
You can't break harmony rules if you don't know what's behind them.
AMM
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Title: Structural Functions of Harmony by Arnold Sch-Onberg ISBN: 0393004783 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 June, 1969 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Style and Idea: Selected Writings of Arnold Schoenberg by Arnold Schoenberg ISBN: 0520052943 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1984 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Study of Counterpoint by J.J. Fux ISBN: 0393002772 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 June, 1965 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Treatise on Harmony by Jean Rameau ISBN: 0486224619 Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 December, 1984 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Poetics of Music in the Form of Six Lessons ISBN: 0674678567 Publisher: Harvard University Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 1974 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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