Theory Essentials for Today's Musician (Textbook)
Theory Essentials for Today’s Musician offers a review of music theory that speaks directly and engagingly to modern students. Rooted in the tested pedagogy of Theory for Today’s Musician, the authors have distilled and reorganized the concepts from the thirty-three chapters of their original textbook into twenty-one succinct, modular chapters that move from the core elements of harmony to further topics in form and 20th-century music. A broad coverage of topics and musicals styles—including examples drawn from popular music—is organized into four key parts:
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- Basic Tools
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- Chromatic Harmony
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- Form and Analysis
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- The 20th Century and Beyond
Theory Essentials features clear and jargon-free (yet rigorous) explanations appropriate for students at all levels, ensuring comprehension of concepts that are often confusing or obscure. An accompanying workbook provides corresponding exercises, while a companion website presents streaming audio examples. This concise and reorganized all-in-one package—which can be covered in a single semester for a graduate review, or serve as the backbone for a briefer undergraduate survey—provides a comprehensive, flexible foundation in the vital concepts needed to analyze music.
PURCHASING OPTIONS
- Textbook and Workbook Package (Paperback): 9781138098756
- Textbook Only (Hardback): 9781138708815
- Textbook Only (Paperback): 9781138708822
- Textbook Only (eBook): 9781315201122
- Workbook Only (Paperback): 9781138098749
- Workbook Only (eBook): 9781315103839
Ralph Turek is a theorist, composer, author, jazz pianist, Professor Emeritus at The University of Akron, and a veteran of thirty-five years of teaching in the music theory classroom. He is the co-author of Theory for Today’s Musician.
Daniel McCarthy is a familiar name in contemporary American music. As a composer, he has received distinguished faculty research/creativity awards at Indiana State University and The University of Akron, where he is Chair of the Composition and Theory Section in the School of Music. He is the co-author of Theory for Today’s Musician.