The Musician's Guide to Theory and Analysis [Hardcover]

Jane Piper Clendinning (Author), Elizabeth West Marvin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393976521 | ISBN-13: 978-0393976526 | Publication Date: July 2004 | Edition: 1

The Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis covers the essential principles of diatonic and chromatic tonal harmony, systematically developing skills in part-writing, figured-bass realization, melody harmonization, counterpoint, stylistic composition and arranging, and music analysis, including contemporary music.

The much-anticipated Musician’s Guide series offers a comprehensive four-semester introduction to the skills of complete musicianship, seamlessly integrating theory and analysis, aural training, and performance in one pedagogical program.

The Musician’s Guide series is divided into two main components, each represented by a core text. While complete enough to be used alone, these dynamic texts are fully coordinated, sharing the same pedagogical approach and structure. Each book relies on a core repertoire of real music that is revisited throughout in a variety of theory- and performance-based contexts. These texts are complemented by a rich collection of learning resources.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jane Piper Clendinning is professor of music theory at the Florida State University College of Music. Professor Clendinning has published articles reflecting her interests in the history of theory, theory and analysis of twentieth-century music, computer pitch recognition, and computer applications in music theory. She teaches courses in eighteenth-century counterpoint, music since World War II, popular and world music analysis, music theory pedagogy, and accelerated undergraduate music theory. She has served as chair of the Advanced Placement Music Theory Test Development Committee, and as an AP reader, and is a regular consultant at AP Summer Workshops and Institutes.

Elizabeth West Marvin is professor of music theory and former dean of academic affairs at the Eastman School of Music. She has published in the areas of music cognition, music theory pedagogy, theory and analysis of atonal music, contour theory, history of theory, and analysis and performance. She teaches courses in music theory pedagogy, music cognition, and analytical techniques for performers. Her articles and reviews appear in numerous journals, including Music Perception, Music Theory Spectrum, Journal of Music Theory, Theory and Practice. She is a past president of the Society for Music Theory. She is currently a member of the Advanced Placement Music Theory Test Development Committee and serves as an AP reader.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 912 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (July 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393976521
• ISBN-13: 978-0393976526
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,913 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

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Five Star Winner for Self-Study, March 17, 2007

By 

Grace Lynn (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Musician's Guide to Theory and Analysis (Hardcover)

I bought this book after thoroughly researching music theory book possibilities here. I have been studying music theory in a class with the Benward book, but I did not do well as I wanted on a placement test for university transfer, and I do not easily understand Benward. When this book arrived, it did not take me long to know this is just what I am looking for to review music theory on my own. I opened to figured bass and there were easy to understand verbal and musical explanations right there that took a year for me to understand in theory class. Wish I had this book last year, I would have understood the key concepts in a day. I like also that there are many exercises I can do to test my knowledge, and answers are in the back. Verbal explanations are clear, in a friendly, conversational style, there are many musical examples, key concepts are clearly indicated in blue, and each chapter has an outline right at the beginning indicating what is to be covered. This book is very well organized, there's an appendix of key definitions in the back, and it is easy to locate topics by accessing the index and the table of contents. Nothing dry about this book. The authors make reference to examples in the accompanying anthology and CD set. I do not have this, as I have access to many of these examples at another site, but I might also buy this for convenience. I also bought the workbook, but, with the opportunity to do assignments and have answers in the back of the book, I don't think I really needed the workbook. The layout is very pleasing, popular as well as classical music is referenced for examples, although this is more about classical musical theory, and the authors have done an exemplary job.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Alright, July 9, 2008

By 

Cameron W. Malek - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Musician's Guide to Theory and Analysis (Hardcover)

The book is fairly comprehensive, but it is rife with mistakes, both in the literature and the workbook. The authors also make use of non-standard terms frequently. You can certainly learn a great deal from the book, but it's not without obvious drawbacks.

The Rutger's University faculty recently tested the book over a two year period and have discontinued its use due to student feedback and teacher opinion.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It works for me., June 7, 2011

By 

Lord of the High C's - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Musician's Guide to Theory and Analysis (Hardcover)

I was fortunate enough to attend a workshop on this and other textbooks last summer with Dr. Clendenning. Although it is not perfect, it is still basically a good book. The things that are attractive to me are the variety and number of musical examples- many pieces with which my students are already familiar, and lots of practice opportunities in the workbook.

Being a high school AP Music Theory teacher, I need material at the level of my students. It is a good book for us. As someone with a Master's degree in music, I would prefer something a little more in-depth. This book is not aimed at PhD's, and I am amused that some people find it so offensive. To me, giving something the lowest possible rating means that it is utterly useless. That is an unfair statement. It is a good book- effective for teaching HS students. In my opinion, it is not a phenomenal book, but you can do much worse, for certain.