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LouieTaylorCompose said:
I'm a composer from England and wanted to show everyone a great new pamphlet my friend JJay Bertume, a great composer, made. JJay truly is a master of his craft and knows all the ins of outs of music theory.
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Whenever I hear the words "great composer" and "master of his craft," certain names come to mind. Names such as Palestrina, Telemann, J.S. Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Wagner, Fauré, Grieg, Bruckner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Mahler, Strauss, Rimsky-Korsakov, Elgar, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Ives, Messiaen, Respighi, Sibelius, Vaughn-Williams, Shostakovich, etc.

Now I get to add another one to the list!

But for anyone who doesn't already know how thematic development works, here are some links to free coverage of this already thoroughly covered subject, plus an excellent book you can purchase on Amazon that examines the leitmotif aspect of thematic development as it crosses over from the Romantic period to film scoring. So, for serious-minded composers—in addition to score study of course—here is truly all there is to know about the subject, and nearly all of it, free:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thematic_transformation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permutation_(music)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modulation_(music)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inversion_(music)#Melodies

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrograde_(music)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmentation_(music)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragmentation_(music)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variation_(music)

http://jkornfeld.net/motive_development_1.pdf

http://jkornfeld.net/motive_development_2.pdf

https://gottrypercussion.com/wp-con...ory_MotivicDevelopmentHandoutandWorksheet.pdf

________________________________________

Excellent purchase for composers:

Understanding the Leitmotif: From Wagner to Hollywood Film Music

by Matthew Bribitzer-Stull

________________________________________

In addition to all of the above, there is:

• development by texture
• development by re-harmonization
• development by orchestration
• development by canon
 
Last edited:
I’m missing something. Where is the actual reading list?

Or does one simply scroll thru the replies to gather the reading suggestions?
 
Mike. said:
I’m missing something. Where is the actual reading list?

Or does one simply scroll thru the replies to gather the reading suggestions?
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When i started this thread, in 2007, i was hosting the list from my site.
I am no longer able to do so (i don't even know where the file is...) so unfortunately, the list is no longer available.
 
marc.hman said:
It's back! https://www.tumblr.com/blog/music-theory-books

I updated it with some recommendations from the thread. A good and very amusing list. There is everything in there, from beginner to expert to "of historical interest only".
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I get a login prompt when I click on that link. I guess one has to be a member of Tumblr first?
 
Here's a few personal favorites from my library:

Harmony
Theory of Harmony - Schoenberg
Structural Functions of Harmony - Schoenberg
Twentieth-Century Harmony - Persichetti

Counterpoint
Counterpoint - Jeppesen
The Study of Counterpoint - Mann/Fux
The Study of Fugue - Mann
Preliminary Exercises in Counterpoint - Schoenberg

Orchestration
The Study of Orchestration - Adler
Principles of Orchestration - Rimsky-Korsakov

... Ravel considered writing a book about how not to orchestrate ... Imagine that ...

Form/Style
Fundamentals of Music Composition - Schoenberg
Style and Idea - Schoenberg
Sonata Forms - Rosen
The Classical Style - Rosen
The Romantic Generation - Rosen

Music Notation
Behind Bars - Gould

Misc.
Lutoslawski and His Music - Stucky
The Music of Lutoslawski - Rae
Beethoven's Sketches - Miles
The Unanswered Question - Bernstein

... Last but not least, scores, scores, and more scores.
 
James Perone (a music professor at Mount Union College, according to book blub) published several guides in the mid-1990s which provide the bibliography only - a huge, huge list of books published on:

- orchestration,
- harmony and
- form .

The books listed were written in English, French, German, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Italian and other languages, many never translated into English. No idea if it has ever been updated (I do have a couple of older books on orchestration that are not listed here for some reason), but in any case the list on orchestration is simply gigantic, spanning 1772 to 1994.
 
Charles Rosen, 'The Classical Style'. Fantastic analyses, and explains what art music is all about. Helped me understand much of the deeper meaning of music and art. Nicely written too, so it is a pleasure to read.
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I totally agree: I will also add "Sonata Forms" by the same author: a must to understand the problem of the form in music.
 
I would also suggest:

"What to Listen for in Music"
by Aaron Copland

a series of subtle observations under an apparent surface of the obvious.
 
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