Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm, and Meter (Third Edition) [Paperback]

Claire Boge (Author), John Clough (Author), Joyce Conley (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393973697 | ISBN-13: 978-0393973693 | Publication Date: July 17, 1999 | Edition: 3rd

As in previous editions, the Third Edition of Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm, and Meter introduces the basics of music theory and part writing accessibly and engagingly.

The authors have retained the text’s self-instructional organization, with tests at the end of each part, while adding new quizzes at the end of each set and a cumulative test for Parts One through Six. A new design features visually striking pedagogical aids, allowing students to progress through exercises at their own pace or to dip into the text at any point to brush up on specific skills. The Third Edition also includes numerous new examples from the music literature to reinforce theoretical concepts covered in each set, as well as an appended study anthology of ten complete pieces that allows students to see how individual concepts are woven into the fabric of a composition. The companion CD, keyed to specific frames in each set, provides enormously useful aural reinforcement.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Claire Boge is Associate Professor of music theory at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She has been recognized for her teaching excellence by the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities and is currently a member of the editorial board of the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching. Professor Boge is active in the Society for Music Theory, most recently serving as editor of the society’s newsletter.

John Clough is Slee Professor of Music Theory at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has published in a variety of journals, most notably on the use of mathematics in music. His article "Maximally Even Sets" won the Society for Music Theory Outstanding Publication Award in 1991. Professor Clough also served as editor of the journal Music Theory Spectrum.

Joyce Conley holds Ph.D.s in musicology and clinical psychology and has established careers in both fields. She is especially keen on studying the relationship between music and psychology when it comes to learning musical skills. Her pedagogical insights informed the second edition of Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm and Meter and its companion volume Basic Harmonic Progressions, both coauthored with John Clough.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 3rd edition (July 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393973697
• ISBN-13: 978-0393973693
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars a mess, November 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm, and Meter (Third Edition) (Paperback)

I can't understand why publishers can't leave well enough alone. I loved the first edition of this book. I found each successive edition more expensive and less useful. But this is finally the end; I can no longer require my students to purchase it or even recommend that they use it. In its current form it is bloated with unnecessary information, poorly organized, and, from a scholarly point of view, very much suspect. I am disappointed, frustrated, and upset.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good book, January 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm, and Meter (Third Edition) (Paperback)

I bought this book to brush up on my theory before returning to school for a 2nd undergrad degree in music, and I think it's helpful for three reasons. First, I've made it through the first 4 parts with relative ease, but I've also picked up enough tidbits of information to make it really useful. (I always knew how to play a major triad but never thought of the fact that it's made up of two 3rds, a major under a minor, or that a minor chord is a minor under a major.) Second, it is forcing me to memorize things like key signatures for minor keys, which I used to figure out by thinking of the relative major key. (That takes enough extra time to make it awkward at an audition.) Finally, it is a workbook, so you are expected to write the answers right in the book. It helps me to remember when I have to take the time to write the answer down, rather than just thinking of it. I haven't complete the entire book yet, but I know I'm just getting into the things I don't know!

All in all it is helping me to combine my practical performance knowledge with the reasons "why". I'm sure that understanding will lead to better performances.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still the best programmed music theory text, January 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm, and Meter (Third Edition) (Paperback)

The latest edition of this book has lost much of the classical simplicity and directness that made the previous editions so successful. Ugly icons crowd the page, statements are watered down, but still the text is far clearer than the other popular programmed text by Harder & Steinke. A student considering entering a conservatory or music school would be well prepared having worked through this book.

I'm dissapointed to see Norton's changes, and the increase in price, but I still recommend this text--it still is the best self-instruction program out there.