Harmony and Voice Leading [Hardcover]

Edward Aldwell (Author), Carl Schachter (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0155062425 | ISBN-13: 978-0155062429 | Publication Date: August 13, 2002 | Edition: 3rd

A comprehensive volume spanning the entire theory course, HARMONY AND VOICE LEADING begins with coverage of basic concepts of theory and harmony, and moves into coverage of advanced dissonance and chromaticism. It emphasizes the linear aspects of music as much as the harmonic, and introduces large-scale progressions--linear and harmonic--at an early stage. The first three Units of the book are designed to be taught sequentially, but instructors have the flexibility to teach the latter units in any combination and order they choose.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Exercises are first rate."

"The Exercises are also extremely good. In many chapters there are more lengthy exercises than most instructors could possibly use, but it's nice to be able to choose the ones one likes best."

"I consider HARMONY AND VOICE LEADING to be without question the preeminent harmony book on the market today. ... It offers instruction on a high musical and intellectual level that does not condescend to students, but rather encourages growth in the subject that is both rapid and profound."

"(I use HARMONY AND VOICE LEADING because of) ... the marvelous organization of the material; the authors' impressive mastery of the material; the musicianly quality of the presentation, which conveys the necessary information very effectively...but never mechanically; the high quality of the exercises and excerpts for analysis, which are thought-provoking for the teacher as well as the student; and the extremely well-chosen musical examples."

"The concepts are approached from a musical standpoint as I mentioned earlier. In addition, the coverage is incredibly thorough and logically presented. My personal favorite is that the homework exercises are largely compositional in nature, as opposed to 'fill in the blank' harmonic exercises. I believe that through composition and melody harmonization students best learn harmony and voice leading principles. Most importantly, through composition, students will make the transition to counterpoint studies more easily."

About the Author

Edward Aldwell received his bachelor's and master's degrees from The Juilliard School where he studied piano with Adele Marcus. He studied theory and analysis privately with Carl Schachter and later with Ernst Oster. He has been a member of the Techniques of Music department at Mannes since 1969 and a member of the piano department since 1973. He has taught theory at The Curtis Institute of Music since 1971 and is currently Chairperson of the theory department. He has given recitals and master classes throughout the United States as well as in Israel, England and Germany, many of them devoted to the works of Bach. Recordings include both books of THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER, GOLDBERG VARIATIONS and FRENCH SUITES OF BACH, as well as works of Hindemith and Fauré.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Schirmer; 3rd edition (August 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0155062425
• ISBN-13: 978-0155062429
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.3 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very strong text teaching the foundations of tonal music, May 18, 2004

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harmony and Voice Leading (Hardcover)

When I was a student at the University of Michigan School of Music in the late seventies and early eighties, we used the then brand new first edition of this book. I thought it was quite good then, and I believe this third edition to be an even better book. It treats the subjects of tonal harmony and voice leading quite well. There have been some solid improvements in the way a few things are explained and some changes in the musical examples. However, it is still fundamentally the same sound course for undergraduate music theory it has been since 1978. However, it now comes in one volume instead of the two volumes of the first edition.

The text begins with a quick review of the basics of musical grammar, a brief introduction of the rudiments of musical notation, intervals, rhythm (and meter), chords, and four-part harmony. Part II talks about the powerful relationship between the tonic and dominant chords, chord progressions elaborating that relationship, and even the dominant as a key area (whether you call it tonicization or modulation is up to you). Part III discusses the implications of root position, first inversion, and second inversion chords in elaborating harmonies and in sequences. Part IV is actually about contrapuntal issues, but is framed in a discussion of melodic figuration. Part V introduces chromaticism, modal mixture, and extends the discussion on uses of seventh chords. Part VI extends the discussion of chromaticism and includes ninth and eleventh chords, Phrygian II (Neapolitan chords), augmented sixths, and more types of mixture. There is also important discussion of the implications all this has for voice leading and modulation to other key areas.

Some might wish that it contained some treatments of graphical (Schenkerian notation), and I am one of them, but that is a quibble compared to this book's many strengths. The counter argument is that until the students really have a handle on the basics of harmony and how voice leading is handled through the music of the early twentieth century, there really isn't a way for them to grasp the meaning of the larger structures Schenker's graphical notation was created to represent. I think that is a fair point, but still think there are some basics in notation that could be introduced early in the process when talking about the basic structure of melodies and supporting harmonies and candential formulas.

The explanations are clear and the musical examples apt. In fact, someone could actually work through this book on his own and grasp what is being presented. Of course, an instructor is helpful to check work and explain things that remain unclear in the student's mind, but that is really true for any book on any subject.

There are some wonderful materials to supplement this text. The most important are the two work books (WB I - ISBN 0-15-506226-3 / WB II - ISBN 0-15-506234-4. They are useful exercises that help the student learn the material by actively working through the application of the materials discussed.

Another resource that should not be overlooked is the two-CD set (ISBN 0-534-52216-5) that contains performances of the hundreds of musical examples in the textbook (not the workbooks). It can really help a student to listen to examples that are unclear. If a student can play them herself or hear them in his head, so much the better, but these discs can enrich reading through the textbook and making sure that you understand what is being presented to you.

Kudos to Professors Aldwell and Schachter for this wonderful text and supporting materials.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important text, but not for beginners, December 20, 2004

By 

jon_e (WI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harmony and Voice Leading (Hardcover)

One thing to understand about this book - it was not written with amazon.com beginners in mind. It is a college-level theory textbook, and is probably one of the few books that present basic theory concepts in a coherent, unified fashion. The "restrictions" some reviewers complain about, are actually part of a time-honored approach to teaching theory (think "species counterpoint"). To understand the book, a teacher needs to understand something of the ideas and approach of Heinrich Schenker (Schachter was one of Schenker's students). Unlike many theory books, which are into quick summaries and labels, this book is based on a deep understanding of how western tonal music works (at least from the Schenkerian perspective). Even basic concepts like scale degrees, intervals, and triads, are presented in such a way that important relationships among tones become evident. Chords are not merely chunks of notes that deserve a label, but are part of a larger, contrapuntal whole. Sticking with the early chapters, and especially getting a good grasp of the contrapuntal nature of even the most basic chords (insights gained into the similar "passing chord" functions of the V4/3 and viio6 chords, for example) are well worth the effort. Upon successful completion of the first 10 or 11 chapters, a student should have a new understanding of how tonal music works.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you always wanted to know about tonal harmony, October 13, 1999

By 

Olli Väisälä (Helsinki, Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harmony and Voice Leading (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

I first encountered this book when I already had done my master's thesis in music theory and considered myself as quite competent in the field of tonal harmony. Nevertheless, reading the book produced several experiences of finally apprehending clearly something that earlier had only been more or less vague practical knowledge. For this reason I enjoyed every section of the book, even though it starts from the very basics. Yet, its way of expression is so simple, even artless, that surely nobody will find it hard to follow. In fact, at first I was a little irritated by what seemed to me as somewhat patronizing style of the book - occasionally it seemed to me as being written for schoolchildren rather than adult students - but I soon learnt to ignore this stylistic feature (which seems typical of American textbooks in general). In any case, I think the book is simply the best ever written on tonal harmony, containing practically every harmonic usage of classical tonal music and integrating them to a grand overall view. This is a classic book in its field.