The Music Theory Handbook [Paperback]

Marjorie Merryman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0155026623 | ISBN-13: 978-0155026629 | Edition: 1

This concise handbook offers comprehensive coverage of main topics in music theory. Instructors can elaborate on the material as appropriate to their course, while students can learn and review technical information without having to digest lengthy analyses and explanations. Unbiased and flexible, this book can be used as a primary or reference text. Topics include species and tonal counterpoint, instrumental ranges and transpositions, and a glossary of forms. Each major section ends with suggestions for analysis and further reading.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Schirmer; 1 edition (September 16, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0155026623
• ISBN-13: 978-0155026629
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #412,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource!, November 5, 2006

By 

Kenneth R. Stultz II "Tuba Khan" (Lavalette, WV USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Music Theory Handbook (Paperback)

As a formally trained musician with a Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in music (and currently a candidate for a Doctoral Degree), I have had more than my fair share of Music Theory courses.

This text is a wonderfully crafted work. It is thorough and to the point. It was extremely easy to follow and understand. I wish it had been available to me when I started college those many years ago!

For the music student entering college, or even the serious high school student, this text would make a fine resource to add to your collection.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful Intro, March 12, 2000

By 

Stephan Stuecklin "thduggie" (Basel, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Music Theory Handbook (Paperback)

Ms Merryman gives a concise, clear, and yet broad intro to music theory of the common practice period (i.e. no atonal works, no Gregorian chant). Illustrated by examples and underscored with keyboard exercises that help to hear what she's writing about, this book explained many things I intuitively understood with a refreshing clarity. Then, for those who want to dig deeper, there are helpful references at the end of each chapter. I read it as a borrowed book from a library - now I'm buying it.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for its intended audience, May 6, 2007

By 

Orion (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Music Theory Handbook (Paperback)

Ms. Merryman's book is a perfect, and perfectly clear, synthesis of the fundamentals that one learned (or should have learned) in undergraduate music theory. This book was never designed to serve as a primary theory textbook; no book this brief could be successful in that endeavor. Therefore, one who has no technical musical background will likely find its compact explanations a bit confusing.

Instead, this book was designed as a refresher for people's memory of concepts that they at one time or another had under their belts, but that may have faded. Nonetheless, one should not think that the book's brevity results in any skimming over the subject matter. Quite the opposite is the case, and it is impressive that Ms. Merryman can pack so much into such a short space, all the while explaining the fundamental issues in the most straight forward manner.

Music students entering graduate programs more often than not find that the school requires them to take some kind of remedial theory course. This requirement is not an insult to the undergraduate school, but rather a reflection of a reality--many fundamental and necessary concepts may have eluded the undergraduate. Were every music student to take the summer between undergraduate and graduate studies to absorb Ms. Merryman's compact book, fewer students--and schools--would be disappointed come September. Her book should be on every musician's shelf or, better yet, desk.