Customer Reviews

Musical Structure and Design (Dover Books on Music)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent book on Classical form. It covers, in detail, open and closed forms including Da Capo Aria, Minuet & Trio, Episodical, Rondo, Sonata, Abridged Sonata, Sonata-Rondo, The Concerto, Variations, and Contrapuntal forms (Fugue and Canon). Most of these are covered in detail I haven't seen in other books (though the writing on canon is very thin--if you want a book on canon, I recommend The Technique of Canon by Hugo Norden.) MSAD is dry at times, though a better read than most books on the subject. There are analyses of 25 Classical and early Romantic era works by composers including Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, and others. If you're looking for modern forms, look to other books. But the wisdom here would serve any new composer seeking to learn about musical form. As a composer myself, I consider this my 'form bible.' Highly recommended! Invaluable.

Davie's little volume is a very concise and well-done book which serves as an excellent indroduction to this important aspect of music theory. I was very rusty on the subject, and needed a quick read to get me back up to speed. Davie's book succeeds very well, without a lot of extra detail and great technical difficulty. Davie peppers the text with lots of examples illustrating the different principles, and as a practicing composer himself, Davie knows whereof he speaks. Overall, an excellent little book to read and learn from. After reading this book, you'll have the background to tackle the weightier tomes on this subject, if you're so inclined.

My only complaint is the writing style is a little dry, and Davie is certainly not alone in this for technical books on music theory, so that's why the four stars in my rating. But I would give it four and a half stars if I could, since it really is a great little primer, and I haven't seen anything else that does as good a job in such a concise format.

For some reason form was one of those subjects that I was never taught in my music education. This book opened my eyes to the purpose of form in music as well as how to put it into practice. Highly recommended for all composers!