Contemporary Music Theory - Level Two: A Complete Harmony and Theory Method for the Pop and Jazz Musician [Paperback]

Mark Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

The Music Theory series is designed from the ground-up to explain the terminology and musical structures needed for modern applications. Level One is an introductory course which covers music notation, key signatures, basic scales, intervals, modes, diatonic relationships and 3-and 4-part chords. Level Two is an intermediate-level course covering larger chord forms, "definitive" chords in major and minor keys, substitutions, analysis of key centers in tunes, "upper structure" chords, voiceleading, and pentatonic and blues scale applications, a complete glossary of terms, and hundreds of written theory exercises with answers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0793598826
• ISBN-13: 978-0793598823
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #326,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Harrison is a professional keyboardist, composer/arranger, and music educator/author based in Los Angeles. He has worked with top musicians such as Jay Graydon (Steely Dan), John Molo (Bruce Hornsby band), Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets), and numerous others. Mark currently performs with his own contemporary jazz band (the Mark Harrison Quintet) as well as with the Steely Dan tribute band Doctor Wu. His TV music credits include Saturday Night Live, The Montel Williams Show, American Justice, Celebrity Profiles, America's Most Wanted, True Hollywood Stories, the British documentary program Panorama, and many others.

Mark taught at the renowned Grove School of Music for six years, instructing hundreds of musicians from all around the world. He currently runs a busy private teaching studio, catering to the needs of professional and aspiring musicians alike. His students include Grammy-winners, hit songwriters, members of the Boston Pops and L.A. Philharmonic orchestras, and first-call touring musicians with major acts.

Mark's music instruction books are used by thousands of musicians in over twenty countries, and are recommended by the Berklee College of Music for all their new students. He has also written Master Class articles for Keyboard and How To Jam magazines, covering a variety of different keyboard styles and topics. For further information on Mark's musical activities, education products, and on-line lessons, please visit www.harrisonmusic.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contemporary Music Theory Level 2 - Mark Harrison, November 22, 1999

By 

"jazzpianist" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Contemporary Music Theory - Level Two: A Complete Harmony and Theory Method for the Pop and Jazz Musician (Paperback)

Mark continues from Contemporary Music Theory Level 1 to take you through chapters on 'II-V-1' progressions, 5-part chords, substitutions, harmonic analysis, voiceleading, 'upper structure' chords, and pentatonic & blues scale applications in this Level 2 continuation. Again, like the Level 1 book, Contemporary Music Theory Level 2 has very detailed explanations and exercises to test what you've learnt. An excellent series of books by Mark Harrison.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music Theory Without the Classes, March 24, 2010

By 

Deanna S. Neeley "Teachaway" (Ogden, Ut USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Contemporary Music Theory - Level Two: A Complete Harmony and Theory Method for the Pop and Jazz Musician (Paperback)

I've played music for years, and now that I'm retired, I wanted to understand more about what I was playing. I picked up Mark Harrison's Contemporary Music Theory Book level 2 and made my way through it. I was stunned to find that I had been instructed incorrectly on several points. That was one reason I purchased the book. I wanted to clean up some confusion I had with theory. Now I've just finished the level 3 book. Mark Harrison's books are structured with achievable learning steps. His lessons are followed up with exercises after the chapter to reinforce concepts taught in the chapter. The answers follow the exercises. This is greatly appreciated because it gives the reader immediately feedback. The reader can check the answers, and if there was an error made, the reader can go back and correct any misunderstanding before moving on. If you want to learn more about music structure and harmony, these books are an excellent source without having to go through music theory classes. The lessons are clearly written out and understandable. These books provide the reader with skills so they can not only understand the movement and progressions of chords, but be able to substitute chords in any key for harmonies they may want. Mark Harrison is an expert. This is the best set of theory books that I've ever seen.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take notes., April 18, 2011

By 

Braden E. Bost (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Contemporary Music Theory - Level Two: A Complete Harmony and Theory Method for the Pop and Jazz Musician (Paperback)

Mark Harrison's Contemporary Music Theory series/course is excellent for the musician who wants a better understanding of theory but doesn't want to, or can't, spend months or years in school or dealing with other kinds of courses and wading through all the classical theory. He's not worried about teaching counterpoint or a Sonata or what Rondos are. 90% of his focus is on understanding chords. In volume 1, he teaches you how to make them. Here, in volume 2, he spends most of his time on how to organize them into progressions, and understand them when they are in progressions. The chapters in volume 2 are a LOT longer and contain tons more information than they did in volume 1. You will need to take notes if you didn't already need to before.

This book covers such concepts as
- 9th and 11th chords (and to a smaller degree, 13th chords)
- Analyzing jazz standards with momentary key changes
- Understanding chord-over-root, or "upper structure," or "slash" chords in depth
- Applying the pentatonic and blues scales to chords in a standard
- other stuff that I don't feel like writing out

There's a wealth of good information here for the person who's willing to put the time in--and that said, what really makes Contemporary Music Theory hit it home is the workbook questions. They're brilliant. You take a few hours out of your day, read and take notes on the chapter, and then put the new concepts to work right away. He puts the answers not at the back of the book, but immediately after you finish them in the chapter. It's all designed for you to be able to make steady progress through the whole book, start to finish.

I'm rather disappointed in myself after finishing this book with 90% right on the workbook questions, giving me 92% for the total course so far. I've never been so distraught over an A-.