Harmony and Composition: Basics to Intermediate

Harmony and Composition is a beginner-to-intermediate level music textbook for readers as early as the ninth grade and through college and beyond. This book provides a solid background in musicianship by maintaining the highest standards while combining traditions of the past with a reflection of contemporary trends in music. Music theory is taught entirely from the keyboard, enabling the readers to learn the elements of harmony while reading, playing, and hearing all that they study. Samples and solutions to exercises include excerpts by renowned composers alongside high quality student examples, inviting the reader into the study of musical composition on a personal level by demonstrating numerous possibilities when following rules and guidelines of others for centuries before them and to this day in varying contexts. Features that make this approach different include: An extensive coverage of keyboard skills, enabling students to play and hear the music they study and compose at all stages of learning. An easy-to-understand breakdown of basic elements, which other music theory texts often do not include and which aid significantly with the learning of advanced material. All concepts are taught with easy-to-follow illustrations. Exercises occur as elements are explained, rather than grouped at the end of chapters. In-class drills are separate from homework exercises, ensuring that concepts are practiced with an instructor before the students take home their work. Weeklong review chapters interspersed throughout the text continuously reinforce previously learned material. Music from diverse styles is used to demonstrate musical elements. Well-written student examples demonstrate possible solutions to selected drills and exercises alongside mainstream composers, encouraging readers through examples of the best of what students can aspire to at every level. Finally, this is a contemporary harmony and composition textbook and workbook. Not only will it give you a solid background in classical music, but it also pertains to the more contemporary sounds of jazz-pop. In this book, you will see diverse styles become one world.

About the Author :
Deborah Jamini earned her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Queens College and her Bachelor of Music degree from the Mannes College of Music. She has numerous years of teaching experience and an extensive performance background as a pianist and singer. She has been teaching theory and harmony at the Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division since 1985. Classes include beginner through college level, with the majority of students between the ages of fourteen and nineteen. Her unique approach has developed over nearly two decades of teaching experience, and has enabled many of her students to gain college theory credits without taking either AP music classes or other related classes. Features of her approach include extensive keyboard studies and the incorporation of jazz and other contemporary extensions of classical music theory. A former student of six years, Peter Cincotti, is now a college student at Columbia University while maintaining a rigorous performance schedule as a jazz pianist and singer. Peter has told Deborah that he might not have become a musician had he been forced to study classical music exclusively in his formal training, which often tends to be the case. There is a need for change in music study, and a move with the times is a significant part of this approach. Future endeavors include a sequel volume that builds on the elements presented in this text, and a DVD supplement to this text as a practice is to help the non-pianists with their keyboard skills. Deborah Jamini lives in New York City.