Modern Music Systems: A New Perspective On Music Scales, Clefs, And Chords [Paperback]

Joseph L. D'Agostino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2008

In the modern digital music realm, hundreds of wonderful tools are available to the modern musician. Consequently, music is now heard virtually everywhere, and it can easily be produced by almost anyone. In the field of good, old-fashioned music theory, however, innovations are few and far between. MODERN MUSIC SYSTEMS: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON MUSIC SCALES, CLEFS, AND CHORDS humbly introduces three new approaches that, given a chance, very well could stand the test of time. MODERN MUSIC SYSTEMS offers "The Scale Phrase System," a new way to construct, identify, and classify existing scales; "System C Clef Notation," a clef system that conveniently employs only one type of clef; and "System 2000 Chord Notation," a chord notation system that leaves virtually no room for the misunderstanding or misinterpretation of any given chord's elements. Typically, many are wary of something new. But there are those who will take the leap. We hope are one of them. We genuinely hope you find these new methods not only interesting but useful. From all of us here at Scalephrase Music, we thank you kindly for considering MODERN MUSIC SYSTEMS.

Product Details

• Paperback: 100 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (November 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440428662
• ISBN-13: 978-1440428661
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,253,464 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, December 11, 2008

By 

The Bass Man (Hershey, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Music Systems: A New Perspective On Music Scales, Clefs, And Chords (Paperback)

Modern Music Systems is most interesting. The three systems offered are all practical. There are gems to be found in this short book. I suspect that once these systems have received enough exposure, they will be incorporated into most musicians toolboxes.

The System C Clef System invites little review: either you like it or you don't. Personally, I like it.

The Scale Phrase System is the system I like best. The reasoning is that the author simply took the traditional "tetrachord" system, which has been around for ages, and revamped it. The simplicity is striking. New students will be relieved to know that they don't have to memorize all of the old traditional scale names.

System 2000 is really interesting. This system denies the user any excuses for presenting an ambiguous chord symbol. The only thing that might irritate professionals who currently use their own systems is that System 2000 doesn't allow the use of "sharp" or "flat" signs with modifiers. This might annoy some performers, but teachers will probably want to start new students off correctly from the beginning, so they might like the choice of modifier symbols that are allowed.

Overall, I recommend this fine work. I think these systems will be here for a long time.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars solution in search of a problem, October 7, 2010

By 

whomper "speedball" (virginia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Modern Music Systems: A New Perspective On Music Scales, Clefs, And Chords (Paperback)

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Totally misleading hype suckered me into buying this book. True rating negative 1 star.

This is *NOT* an easy way to learn anything.

The good news is that the book is small.

The bad news is that that makes it like a puzzle where you have to really dig to figure out what is going on unless you know so much already that yuo dont need this book.

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This is a solution in search of a problem.

JLD provides his own nonstandard unique way of doing music notation.

Like the guy who invented a new keyboard for a typewriter that was "better". No thanks.

I touch type just fine with the current one. Not going to learn a new system cause you claim it is better. What good is a theoretical speed increase when I am limited by the crappy computer keyboards. I could touch type at 3x the speed on an electric typewriter with a good keyboard. What good would 4x be if the keyboard slows me down.

I just dont have time to learn some new music notation that nobody else uses. Would not do anything useful for me. And it was not easy for me either to figure it out.

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If you know anything about music this book will not help you much , if at all.

If you don't know anything it will be like a grade school student in a PHD seminar. You will be lost and confused.

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If everybody already used his method it may or may not be easier. But if you learn this you will be all alone and not be able to read music as everybody else shows it.

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This book would be a fun read for a PHD professor of music. It might be used in a graduate seminar.

If you play for money (or even fun) this book will not help you at all.

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JLD knows his stuff. But reading this book was like reading the math texts in graduate school that had been translated from Russian. Way too condensed and terse. Everything was an exercise left up to the student to fill in all the missing steps.

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If you want to be impressed by his knowledge then read this book. If you want to learn something useful skip it.

If you want to know all the alternate names for the various modes/scales/whatever they are here.

The minor augmented carian has about a dozen listed. Whoop de doo. That was useful. I can now play music so much better. NOT!

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The book includes his new notation. Useless.

Also Phrases. Incomprehensible to me. Maybe if you were a music major. If he meant scales , which is what they look like, he did a poor job of explaining them.

Finally a new chord notation. If you dont know one then this might be good for personal use. Unless you have to understand the *standard* notations.

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This is not a useful learn it yourself guide.

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This book is to show off JLDs knowledge and discuss his solution in search of a problem using his new esoteric methods.

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If he had expanded the part on chords and really explained them then that might have been a useful pamphlet.

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This book looks self published.

It has some errors. EG table 15-1 is missing.

At least the label is missing if it means the material preceeding the reference. Not sure.

Extremely precise definitions are used but in places he seems confuse them himself; At least he confused me.

The layout is spartan as is typical with self published paperbacks.

The typology is unpleasant except for the music notation which was done very well. Too bad it is so confusing.

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Read this at the library if you must.

Not worth buying.

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music - Chords, clefs and scales made easy., February 1, 2009

By 

D. Beamer (Mechanicsburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Modern Music Systems: A New Perspective On Music Scales, Clefs, And Chords (Paperback)

Modern Music Systems makes the study and understanding of chords, scales and clefs so easy. I wish I would have had access to this book when I first began studying piano years ago. It's written in plain, concise language and is so logical that it will be appreciated by students and teachers of music. Anyone who is open-minded to new ideas will be blown-away by the author's approach to scales, chords and clefs.

Debbie Beamer, owner, Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop