Title: Harmony
Author: Walter Piston
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Inc, New York
Copyright: original copyright 1941. As reviewed. 1962 Third Edition
ISBN#: 393 09737 4
Genre: Music Theory
Library Location: reference
Author: Walter Piston
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Inc, New York
Copyright: original copyright 1941. As reviewed. 1962 Third Edition
ISBN#: 393 09737 4
Genre: Music Theory
Library Location: reference
· Summary: Walter Piston’s Harmony is legendary. He was renowned (though sometimes panned) as a composer and but greatly respected theorist. What he manages to accomplish in one book is quite great and he takes the student from the most rudimentary introduction to middle-advanced theoretic subjects. When it was originally written it likely could have been used as a self-study coarse but since music theory is no longer part of any school curriculum it would now need to be part of a class to have any regular use. It is full of examples, exercises, and questions. This book could be used as a text book.
· Personal Comments: This Book is a bit of a mixed bag. The author is a bit stuffy and sometimes the age of the book shows through. Walter Piston is not approachable and it is definitely hard to suggest this as a single source. As a music theorist I enjoy this book because of Walter Piston’s legendary refusal to accept secondary tonal levels and the contortions he went through to try to convince the reader that key changes are the better explanation. This might sound pedantic but in the world of music theory it is a big deal.
· Suggested Use in Classroom: I would never use this book as a text book. It is a bit too stuffy and un approachable (at least by more modern standards) but I would gladly use the examples, exercises, and question as part of any lesson.
· Personal Comments: This Book is a bit of a mixed bag. The author is a bit stuffy and sometimes the age of the book shows through. Walter Piston is not approachable and it is definitely hard to suggest this as a single source. As a music theorist I enjoy this book because of Walter Piston’s legendary refusal to accept secondary tonal levels and the contortions he went through to try to convince the reader that key changes are the better explanation. This might sound pedantic but in the world of music theory it is a big deal.
· Suggested Use in Classroom: I would never use this book as a text book. It is a bit too stuffy and un approachable (at least by more modern standards) but I would gladly use the examples, exercises, and question as part of any lesson.