Structural Functions in Music [Hardcover]

Wallace Berry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1976

A brilliant investigation into musical structure and experience through a systematic exploration of tonality, melody, harmony, texture and rhythm, and their important interpretations. These are illuminated in penetrating analyses of musical works ranging from early madrigals and Gregorian chants through Bach, Beethoven and Brahms to Ravel, Bartók and Berg. Index. Prefaces. Introduction.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; First Edition first Printing edition (March 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0138539030
• ISBN-13: 978-0138539030
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,540,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Structural Functions in Music....But Not Grammer, September 5, 2003

By 

Dan Patterson (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Structural Functions in Music (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

Very informative. Berry explores deep into the chore of musical functioning. An extremely useful resource for students and professionals alike. However, grammatically, Berry's unending use of extremely long run-on sentences, unnecessary wordiness and excessive punctuation take more than their toll on a reader. The structure of every last sentence in this book is so complicated that it is often difficult to understand what idea Berry is attempting to convey. There are at least four commas and often 1 or more colons and or semi colons in almost every single sentence. A good tool, but difficult beyond necessity to the point of hindrance.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A 'must have' book for musicians, composers and students., May 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Structural Functions in Music (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

Structural Functions in Music is an excellent source of ideas for any composer, performer, or student. Though not entirely an 'easy read', it is full of useful information. It covers several fundimental areas of music, and provides a very scientific and in depth look. As a composer, and a music lover in general, I have found a great deal of inspiration from this book. Though a bit dense for the average reader, I consider it a 'must have'.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dense, technical, informative, July 23, 2008

By 

classicalgeek "raising geekiness to an art form!" (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Structural Functions in Music (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

As you might tell by the title, this is not a book for the music novice. But for the reader with a good grasp of theory, this book is a blessing in furthering the understanding of what happens at the deeper levels of music. True, Berry's sentences are long and involved, but worth wading through to get at the content. If you love music theory, you simply must have this book--it's an unbelievable amount of information packed into one small space. It completely changed my understanding of music theory and the way I think about music theory. Not a summer read, by any means, but buying this book was definitely a no-brainer!