Twentieth-Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice [Hardcover]

Vincent Persichetti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 1961 | ISBN-10: 0393095398 | ISBN-13: 978-0393095395 | Edition: New edition

One of the most important books on contemporary music in the twentieth century.

Here for the first time is an orderly presentation of the harmonic procedures to be found in music of the first half of the twentieth-century. The author examines the nature of intervals in various contexts, discusses the modes and other scales employed in modern music, describes the formation and uses of chords by thirds, by fourths, and by seconds, of added-note chords and polychords; he deals with different types of harmonic motion, with harmonic rhythm and dynamic sand ornamentation, with harmonic behavior in tonality, polytonality, atonality and serial composition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 287 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; New edition edition (February 17, 1961)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393095398
• ISBN-13: 978-0393095395
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for Composers and Contemporary Music Enthusiasts, January 26, 2003

By 

Matthew Henderson (Kent, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twentieth-Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice (Hardcover)

Vincent Persichetti's "Twentieth Century Harmony" is a very thorough look at ways to use harmony outside of a traditional tonal context. In other words, if you are a composer and don't know all you could about how to use harmony except in tonal progressions, or if you are a listener interested in understanding twentieth century concert music, this book is for you. The book deals with the harmonic series, modes, synthetic scales, different types of chords (added note, polychords, etc.) and very specifically with different characteristics of different intervals. Littered with examples of nearly every point, it is the best education on contemporary harmony available.
Persichetti, unlike too many composers, doesn't go out of his way to use as many words as possible. He also doesn't attempt to criticize styles of music not his own in this writing; he simply gives an objective, clear, well organized series of lessons in harmony. I am a senior music composition student now, but learning much from the pages of this book.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for serious composers, November 6, 2004

By 

Biff Hardwell (Issaquah, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twentieth-Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice (Hardcover)

This is one of the most inspirational composition books I have. Every chapter will expand your horizons with clear explanations of difficult material, concise examples, and inspiring exercises. I return to this year after year when I am getting jaded with what I'm writing.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear and informative, August 6, 2005

By 

Music Matt "mattintosh" (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twentieth-Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice (Hardcover)

Unquestionably one of the clearest, and most useful composition books I have ever read. This is something every composer should own. The book guides you through various aspects of modern composition and provides a TON of examples, as well as suggesting numerous pieces for further study. This book is worth double what it costs!