Theory for Today's Musician w/ Musical Example CD-ROM

by Turek, Ralph

• ISBN13: 9780073197838
• ISBN10: 0073197831
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-03-28
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages

Summary

Years of classroom experience and a thoughtful reappraisal of the skills needed in today's musical world are reflected in Ralph Turek's new theory text. This unique project merges traditional topics such as part writing (pared and prioritized in light of current practice) and harmony (diatonic, chromatic, neotonal and atonal) with less traditional topics such as counterpoint and musical process, and with non-traditional topics such as popular-based song writing and harmonic principles in jazz and the blues.In a style that reads more like a novel than a textbook,Theory for Today's Musicianemploys precise and articulate prose seasoned with "a pinch of humor, a sprinkle of analogy, and a dash of vignette." It considers the classical, folk, popular, and jazz repertoires in equal measure, probing connections among them and offering fresh and unique perspectives. In support of his guiding principle that "If they're not reachable, they're not teachable," the author has scoured the classical literature in search of familiar examples not often included in theory texts and has chosen popular, jazz, TV, and film-score examples for their durability and interest. The single-volume text is packaged with a CD-ROM containing over 350 music examples; a student workbook, and a workbook CD-ROM are available for separate purchase.

Table of Contents

In Lieu of Fundamentals

Assorted Preliminaries

Matters of Pitch The staff; Clefs; The grand staff; Solmization; The hexachord system; Accidentals

Modes, Scales, and Evolution Church modes; Evolution of scales; Musica ficta

Metric Matters Meter; The dot; Early meter signatures; Hypermeter

Sound The harmonic series; The Legend of Pythagoras; Equal temperament Drills and Assignments

Intervals Perspective: Five Ways of Looking at an Interval

White-Key Intervals Numerical value and quality; Chromatic alteration

Intervals of the Major Scale

This and That about Intervals Enharmonic intervals; Inversion; Simple versus compound; Diatonic versus chromatic; Consonance versus dissonance Drills and Assignments

Diatonic Harmony

Basic Harmonic Structures

Triads Harmony and chord; The basic triads

Inversion Inversion and bass line; Determining inversion

Seventh Chords Classification; Diatonic seventh-chord types; Inverted seventh chords Drills and Assignments

Musical Shorthand: Lead Sheets and Figured Bass

Lead-Sheet Notation Lead-sheet and chord symbols; Expanded symbols; Passing tones

Figured Bass Notation The continuo; Figured bass rules Drills and Assignments

Harmonies of the Major and Minor Scales

The Diatonic Chords of a Key Diatonic triads in major; Diatonic triads in minor; Roman numeral symbols; Roman numerals versus lead sheet symbols; Showing inversion

Functional Tonality Chord stability; The circle of fifths; Harmonic function; Ground bass patterns; Major and minor compared

More on Seventh Chords Symbolizing seventh chords; Half-diminished versus fully-diminished seventh chord Drills and Assignments

Cadences/Harmonic Rhythm

Cadences Cadences and style; Standard cadences; Cadential variants; Summary of Standard Cadences

Harmonic Rhythm Common patterns; Harmonic syncopation; Metric shift Drills and Assignments

Melody

Melodic Pitch and Rhythm

Range, Interval Structure, and Gesture Range; Interval structure; Gesture

Repetition Motive; Exact repetition; Sequence

Melodic Tonality Scale and arpeggio; Large-scale events; Recognizing important pitches; Tonic-dominant axis Drills and Assignments

Embellishing Tones

Step-Step Combinations Passing tone; neighbor tone

Step-Leap Combinations Appoggiatura; incomplete neighbor; escape tone; changing tones

Step-Repetition Combinations Anticipation; suspension; retardation; Rearticulated suspensions; Suspensions over a change of bass; Chain suspension

Embellishing Tones and Style Multiple embellishing tones; Embellishing tones in jazz; Embellishing tones as motives; Pedal point; The embellishing chord tone Summary of Embellishing Tones Drills and Assignments

Melodic Form

The Phrase Some definitions; Phrase lengths; The cadence; Phrase relationships

Combining and Extending Phrases The period; The phrase group; The double period; Cadential elision; Phrase extension; Phrasing and style Drills and Assignments

Composing Melodies

Constructing a Melody from a Motive The initial melodic idea; The harmonic factor; Devising a harmonic plan

Composing a Melody to a Harmonic Pattern Drills and Assignments

Voice Leading

Melodic Principles of Part Writing/ Voicing and Connecting Chords Perspective: Why Four Parts?

Melodic Principle

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