# The Best book of Music Theory you have read?



## tokatila (Mar 29, 2017)

I have read a few now; and this is my absolute favorite so far. Never would have imagined how much useful information it contains. An absolute goldmine. It goes over form, mostly from sonata point of view, but there is very much applicable information about transitions, secondary themes, periods, sentences and so forth. And you will see from examples that the masters didn't follow the structure that rigidly either...


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## muk (Mar 29, 2017)

William Caplin is great. My choice would be this one at the moment:






It transformed the way how we understand the sonata form, and - consequently - how we analyze classical music.


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## JJP (Mar 29, 2017)

Well, if you want go down the rabbit hole, I have a few that may not be on your radar.

One of my favorites was Paul Berliner's Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. It's a weird mixture of ethnomusicology and theory. I read it in the early 90s when it was first published and I was astounded at the detail and insight found in that book. It's not for everyone as it's very long and assumes the reader can both read music and has a solid understanding of music theory, particularly as it relates to jazz improv. If you love jazz and improvisation, it's a real gem.

The other recent one was Elaine Gould's Behind Bars. This is simply the best reference on music notation that has been published in decades, perhaps ever. I particularly like that while she is astoundingly thorough and clearly attempting to standardize the tradition as it is today, she makes room for subtle differences in presentation of certain elements and style for different situations (i.e. publishing vs studio or live theater). It's a rare book that stands on the shoulders of its predecessors such as Ted Ross' and Gardner Read's books and truly sees farther because of it's elevated vantage point. It's one of the books I regularly reference to learn, refresh my memory, or simply get a different perspective on certain notation issues that I regularly see in my work.

One other book I pulled off my shelf recently was Mark Levine's The Jazz Piano Book. I had forgotten what a good survey of jazz piano technique this book was. It touches briefly on so many areas that to study in depth would take a lifetime. I'm not a pianist myself, but as a vibraphonist, I often think of myself as a four-fingered pianist so it translated well for me. For many people on this list, I bet it will open up a lot of new harmonic colors. However, this book also assumes a basic understanding of music theory. If readers don't understand intervals, chord tones and chord symbols like "Gmin7(-5)" much of this book will go over their heads.


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## tokatila (Mar 29, 2017)

muk said:


> William Caplin is great. My choice would be this one at the moment:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I actually have that on my bookshelf and have quickly glanced it but at that time it seemed too intimidating, maybe now after Caplin it's more accessible...


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## muk (Mar 29, 2017)

tokatila said:


> I actually have that on my bookshelf and have quickly glanced it but at that time it seemed too intimidating, maybe now after Caplin it's more accessible...



It's no easy but a very rewarding read. If the size is intimidating you could start with this article by James Hepokoski: 'The medial caesura and its role in the eighteenth-century sonata exposition'. It explains one of the core concepts of the book in a more accesible scope.


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## Paul T McGraw (Mar 29, 2017)

tokatila said:


> I have read a few now; and this is my absolute favorite so far. Never would have imagined how much useful information it contains. An absolute goldmine. It goes over form, mostly from sonata point of view, but there is very much applicable information about transitions, secondary themes, periods, sentences and so forth. And you will see from examples that the masters didn't follow the structure that rigidly either...




I agree completely. In my lifetime I have read far more books than I can remember. But this book is perhaps the best.


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## Eric George (Mar 29, 2017)

My favorite: http://tobyrush.com/theorypages/


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## Naoki Ohmori (Mar 29, 2017)

Mine is Harmony and Voice leading by Edward Aldwell, Carl Schachter and Allen Cadwallader.

This is one of the handful books that I was able to follow and finish reading though I was a dummy when it comes to music theory. lol

But the contents is quite deep. The book deepens my understanding every time I read the book. I have read the whole book more than 5 times so far.

The audio examples via the premium website are helpful too.

The hard cover edition is quite expensive but the e-book edition is a reasonable price.
: )
I recommend buying the book via the website, not via Amazon.

http://www.cengage.com/c/harmony-and-voice-leading-4e-aldwell


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## Puzzlefactory (Mar 30, 2017)

As a novice with no formal musical training, I like the "....For Computer Musicians" series of books.


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## mikeh-375 (Mar 30, 2017)

mine was The technique and spirit of fugue by George Oldroyd and Contrapuntal Technique in the 16thC by R.O.Morris - yes I had a sheltered childhood...:-(


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## Naoki Ohmori (Apr 1, 2017)

Btw, Happened to find a site providing supplemental texts & audio examples for the Harmony and Voice Leading. You gotta check this out if you have the book. 
Really helpful! 

http://www.sfcmtheory.com/harmony_supplements/harmony_supplements.html


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## Saxer (Apr 1, 2017)

More on the jazzy site: *Bill Dobbins - **Jazz Arranging and Composing: A Linear Approach*


Arranging lines from two horns to 5 horns (jazz horn section, not french horns!), counterpoint, rhythm section, different styles etc.


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## GtrString (Apr 1, 2017)

Thanks for the heads up, that book looks really nice! I love the use of analytical notation in the examples, makes it easy to follow for an untrained guitar hack like me. That is what has kept me from picking up more ressources on analyzing classical music. This seems very approachable.

Two of my best reads in music theory is:

Jai Josefs - Writing music for hit songs


And Ted Greene - Chord Chemistry


They deals with music theory from a songwriting (Jai) and a guitar players perspective (Ted), though. But I feel ready to pick up a great book on classical music now, as good as this looks.


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## wst3 (Apr 1, 2017)

There is (was?) a fantastic "classical theory" text that was part of the Aaron Shearer classical guitar series. Can't believe I can't find it on the web, but my feeble attempt this morning came up with references to it, a couple used copies from sellers I've never heard of, even Amazon let me down!

But if you can find a copy, and you are reasonably familiar with the fingerboard I think you will pick up scales, modes, and basic harmony quite quickly. The thing I like about it is that it does not depend on white and black keys, but it still treats theory as a general study... if that makes sense.


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## ed buller (Apr 1, 2017)

It's hard to pick one. But if i was doing this all over again i wished i'd read this first: By far the most complete and easiest to digest and written by a master:



Of Course that only covers Tonal Music Harmony.


e


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## Flaneurette (Apr 1, 2017)

Reading scores, playing different types of music (from Bach to Bathory) taught me more than any book. I do have a book that I like most: Harmony by Walter Piston. (revised and expanded by Mark DeVoto) Although, it is frowned upon by today's musicologists and otherwise theory purists who make it their life's purpose to fight over an appoggiatura, for composers it's an excellent book. It's great for it's short examples of various composers. Took me roughly 1 year to read the 600 pages, and two more years to fully understand it.  But's it's well worth owning a copy. It's also great for opening it up to a random page and see various examples.


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## DSmolken (Apr 14, 2017)

Schoenberg.


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## AdamAlake (Apr 14, 2017)

Forget books, get Mike Verta's classes.


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## muk (Apr 15, 2017)

Oh, another one came to mind:



A very important and highly influential book. If you ever were looking for an explanation why many of the pieces by the classical Trias (Haydn/Mozart/Beethoven) are masterpieces of art - what makes them masterpieces, that is - don't miss up on this book. It teaches so much about how to analyze music, and in a thoroughly legible and gripping style. It's much more accessible than the Hepokoski/Darcy I posted above. There are some notions that are slightly problematic (basically anything that Rosen writes about the music before Haydn), but that doesn't diminish the importance of the book. Best explanation about how the 'Hammerklavier-Sonata' is built I know of, and written in a comprehensible form. Rosen's explanations on Mozart's 'Jenamy-concerto' (formerly called 'Jeunehomme-concerto') are an eye opener as well. You'll listen differently to the concerto after having read this book. My highest recommendation for this book.


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