Practical Manual of Harmony [Sheet music]

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Author), Nicholas Hopkins (Author), editor (Author), Joseph Achron (Author), translator (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote this book for his harmony students at the Imperial Chapel in St. Petersburg because of his dissatisfaction with other harmony methods of the time. His methodology in this book favors the establishment of a comprehensive foundation in tonal harmony (making it ideal as a pedagogic tool), over an exhaustive analysis of harmonic tendencies in Western music. The new edition of the Practical Manual of Harmony, re-issued more than one hundred years after its first printing, preserves the original content of the 1885 edition, yet adopts a new layout and design to better enhance its organization. The book was a success in music programs at the end of the nineteenth century. Its content will produce equal success in the music programs of today and beyond.

Product Details

• Sheet music: 133 pages
• Publisher: Carl Fischer, LLC (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082585699X
• ISBN-13: 978-0825856990
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #561,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, brilliant !!!, April 13, 2011

By 

D.A. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Practical Manual of Harmony (Sheet music)

I'm not surprised at all to see such interesting book written by Mr. Korsakov.
Who has the talent to create a master piece such as "Scheherazade" has
definitely the capacity of teaching the secrets of the music harmony.

The book has 128 pages which teaches you more than many book with several
hundred pages !!

Very interesting points in this book.

- For each exercise in the book, there is a model answer (I mean a similar
answer for a similar problem). So even if you don't have the direct
answer to the exercises you can know that what you're doing is well or not.
That being said, in the case where you're a beginner, it may be helpful
to check your answers for some of the primary exercises (harmonizing
chords with 4 sounds) with a teacher.

- Excellent organisation, I have several harmony books (some of them with
more than 800 pages !) but they often have the same problem: lack of
organisation. You read these books, but you have the impression that
you're memorizing some rules like poems. But Mr. Korsakov teaches you
in a way where you learn the rules by applying them.

The book has only 128 pages. It is very intensive course that requires a
very good concentration and in particular a regular revision of what
you've already read in precedent pages as you continue reading the next
chapter of the book.

For me it is a very valuable resource for learning harmony. I'm very happy
to have bought it and I highly recommend it :)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really "Practical", April 28, 2008

By 

A. Leme (Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Practical Manual of Harmony (Sheet music)

The best word to describe this book is "Practical", gives direct and clear orientations on harmony. The best sections are about modulation and melody lines, but covers all harmony matters.
I give 4 stars, because only "Harmony" from Schoenberg deserves 5 stars in this matter. Schoenberg is much more philosophical. But this Korsakov book is very useful, it's a handbook for daily reference.

6 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harmonizing a Melody, April 11, 2007

By 

John S. Ripandelli "Rip" (Fla, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Practical Manual of Harmony (Sheet music)

I like this book very much. It is a clearer exposition than most books

on Harmony. What I still can't locate is what leads a pianist to play

a particular Chord under a certain Melody note? Is it "Ear" or "Method?"

If "Method" how does it work?