Bought a harmony book!

Well not just harmony – Jane Piper Clendinning & Elizabeth West Marvin’s The Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis to be precise. (And not just a book either – a book, 3 CDs plus anthology of scores.) It’s sort of a jaunt from ‘this is a treble clef’ through harmony, counterpoint, rhythm, form and so on all the way through to ‘this is total serialism and how to write it’. So it’s not like a traditional harmony text, like the dreaded Aldwell & Schachter I had at uni and kept on my shelf for years (now in a box in storage, although I nearly brought it with me – decided to bring Adler on Orchestration instead, which was a sensible move) in the hopes that the data inside it would somehow seep into me like damp without my having to actually open it. I like the look of this new one because it’s not just endless chords, it’s looking at all the elements of musical theory, putting them into context with one another and with recordings and scores of real music. All in all, it feels more composery and less dry. It’s structured as a series of graded lessons, which I’m hoping will make it easier for me to create and stick to a programme of self-guided learning. And best of all, it’s the first step to overcoming a fear I’ve had since first-year uni. The day I understand about Neapolitan 6ths will be the day I conquer that fear entirely. Bring it on!

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