Since its original publication in 1930, Henry Cowell's New Musical Resources has become recognized as one of the few seminal technical studies to be written by a twentieth-century composer. In 1971, Virgil Thomson hailed it as "a classic." For this new edition, David Nicholls has provided an explanatory essay and annotations to Cowell's text. The essay traces the sources for the book and attempts to place Cowell's theories in the broader context of musical modernism.
FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more |
| ||||||||||||||||||
 Sell Back Your Copy for $7.93
Whether you buy it used on Amazon for $29.00 or somewhere else, you can sell it back through our Book Trade-In Program at the current price of $7.93.
Used Price$29.00
Trade-in Price$7.93
Price after
Trade-in$21.07 |
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Since its publication in 1930, this text has become recognized as one of the few seminal technical studies to be written by a twentieth-century composer. In 1971, Virgil Thomson hailed it as "a classic". This new edition provides an explanatory essay and annotations to Cowell's text.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
-----------,
This review is from: New Musical Resources (Hardcover)
While these resources aren't new anymore, I have used some of his ideas as springboards for some of my own compositions. The section on rhythm as well as the section on Tone Combinations were particularly interesting. These are some ideas that I wish would influence music outside of the classical realm more. Too many kids are stuck in a bland world of 4/4 rhythm, and tonal theory learned from half a**ed guitar lessons.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Important book for composers and others interested in new music,
By
This review is from: New Musical Resources (Paperback)
This book is important in its own rights AND as a source for the John Cage-oriented composer and an origin to the more famous theory texts by Karlheinz Stockhausen (who never mentioned this influence, as far as I know!). It's amazing how advanced a vision the young Cowell had - he began writing the texts in 1916 at the age of 17! Maybe Stockhausen used the theories artistically more satisfying and Cage became more famous, but read the book anyway and - by the way - listen to Cowells music!
5.0 out of 5 stars
True and Natural Trailblazer in Music,
By
This review is from: New Musical Resources (Paperback)
Cowell was a friend of Charles Ives. Both were naturals, instinctual innovators. This book is dated somewhat, but I still give it five stars for its forward vision. Rhythmically Cowell was as important in his ideas as Stravinsky I believe. You'll find all the rhythmic and metrical invention that we see daily in the works of Carter, for instance. There is nothing like it. I highly recommend this for composers.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
The reason for reviewing certain scientific and historical aspects of music is not to bring out new facts, but to present these facts in a new light, and to seize and emphasize certain salient ideas which there will be occasion to apply, and which are necessary to the understanding of what follows; for while the musical public may be familiar with the idea that our musical materials have undergone a change from simple to more complex during musical history, it is apt to be a general and rather vague notion, rather than one about which many particular facts are known; and comparatively few know how closely the history of harmony has followed the series of natural overtones. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
original sounding body, musical relativity, metrical ratio, sixteen vibrations, undertone series, overtone relationships, musical resources, sliding tones, musical metre, tempo scale, overtone series, cluster chords, dissonant counterpoint, unaccented notes, higher overtones, vibration speed, moving clusters, related tones, lowest tone, consonant harmony, fundamental tone, ninth chords, metrical units, tonal harmony, whole note New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The reason for reviewing certain scientific and historical aspects of music is not to bring out new facts, but to present these facts in a new light, and to seize and emphasize certain salient ideas which there will be occasion to apply, and which are necessary to the understanding of what follows; for while the musical public may be familiar with the idea that our musical materials have undergone a change from simple to more complex during musical history, it is apt to be a general and rather vague notion, rather than one about which many particular facts are known; and comparatively few know how closely the history of harmony has followed the series of natural overtones. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
original sounding body, musical relativity, metrical ratio, sixteen vibrations, undertone series, overtone relationships, musical resources, sliding tones, musical metre, tempo scale, overtone series, cluster chords, dissonant counterpoint, unaccented notes, higher overtones, vibration speed, moving clusters, related tones, lowest tone, consonant harmony, fundamental tone, ninth chords, metrical units, tonal harmony, whole note New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 7
books:
See all 7 books this book cites
55
books
cite this book:
See all 55 books citing this book
- New Grove Dictionary by Sadie in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Modern Harmony: Its Explanation and Application by Arthur Eaglefield Hull in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The music of Henry Cowell: A descriptive catalog (I.S.A.M. monographs) by William Lichtenwanger in Back Matter
- Dictionary Of Music And Musicians (9 Volumes)) (Music Book Index) by Sir George Grove in Back Matter
- The New Harvard Dictionary of Music (Harvard University Press Reference Library) by Don Michael Randel in Back Matter
See all 7 books this book cites
- Whole World of Music: A Henry Cowell Symposium (Contemporary Music Studies) by David Nicholls on 17 pages
- American Experimental Music 1890-1940 by David Nicholls on 17 pages
- Henry Cowell, Bohemian (Music in American Life) by Michael Dustin Hicks on 13 pages
- A Question of Balance: Charles Seeger's Philosophy of Music by Taylor Aitken Greer on 8 pages
- The Music of Conlon Nancarrow (Music in the Twentieth Century) by Kyle Gann on 7 pages
See all 55 books citing this book
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
