Theory of Harmony: 100TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Walter Frisch writes in the new foreword to Schoenberg's Theory of Harmony that it "should be required reading for everyone interested in Schoenberg, in the history of harmonic theory and practice, or in the Austro-German culture of the first decades of the twentieth century". It is hard to disagree with such a statement, but it also delineates clearly who such a book should be relevant for.I have to agree with the many writers who have already pointed out that this book, while not entirely unsuitable as a harmony textbook even today, is eclipsed by newer textbooks. I used Piston's Harmony book for learning purposes, but even that one is to be considered almost as old as Schoenberg's book these days; I don't know how the newer books are, but judging from the number of releases during the last decades there has probably been quite a bit of innovation even in such a field. The harmonic language described may not have changed much, but pedagogy definitely have. I therefore cannot wholeheartedly recommend this as a theory book for novices.What is left, then, is an enormous amount of philosophising about the nature of the rules of tonality, and how they came to rise. Schoenberg himself says that he is a composer, not a scholar, and many of his ideas do, indeed, seem to be taken out of thin air. His thoughts on parallelisms seems particularly pitiable today, but historical benevolence must be granted: In the hundred years since the release of this book an enormous amount of information regarding medieval and renaissance composition and performance practice has been uncovered, things Schoenberg could not have known. For a mere mortal it is of course consoling to see that even a giant like Schoenberg could be so wrong when he acted on his intuition. The book is therefore somewhat flawed when it comes to explaining the philosophy behind common practice harmony, which is the field where this book seems to get the most respect.In the end, the book's value comes from the fact that it is written by one of the pivotal composers in music history, and gives us a window into his thoughts. I realize that many reviewers state that the book had ignited their interest in harmony, or even composition, an interest previously dulled by more succinct and to-the-point textbooks. I can definitely sympathise with this view, as the book gives a lot more food for thought than your average harmony book does. On the other hand, it has always been my opinion that people who are easily bored by textbooks are so because they are unable to think of it's larger implications and possibilities. Unused is probably a better word that unable, because it certainly is possible to learn. And while one should not scoff at this book in that respect, there are many roads to Rome, after all, it is in a way dangerous due to the fact that Schoenberg's opinions may be taken as fact. Of course, it is a good and thought provoking read, but it must be read as a hundred year old book, that is, with the benefit of hindsight.In that respect I would have wanted (and sceptically hoped for) a new edition where we were explained, in linear notes, where Schoenberg goes wrong in his musings on the history of theory, and, to the degree it is possible, which contemporary sources (in the broadest sense of the term) made him do so. Alas, such a thing was not to come for the 100th anniversary, and one is therefore left wondering whether it will ever come. Frisch's foreword is interesting, but not exciting enough to warrant buying the new edition, and I can't find any noticeable differences in content between this edition and the earlier one from my university library, save the introduction by Frisch. So while the book is primarily for those interested in Schoenberg it could have been made more useful by a thorough questioning of Schoenberg's claims, but unfortunately it doesn't look like anything like it is in the horizon.I feel a bit bad about giving three stars, especially since the new binding, though paperback, is very nice, and the print is as good as anything out there. But the bottom line is that this book is useful, but for fewer people than one might presume. For the present day reader I find it first and foremost about Schoenberg, like Frisch.

This book is the Teach Yourself Person's music theory bible. No joke. If you take the time to study it properly and reread any sections that seem a bit hazy, it will take you a while to get through it, but your understanding of music and harmony will be incredibly profound. I would like to stress that this is NOT a simple book, with simple explanations for music voicing and harmonic instruction. On the contrary, there are very complex concepts and systems that he explains here that are fairly deep, and will require quite a bit of study and definitely some rereading. The book itself is written by a teacher, for teachers AND students. I have not completed this study yet for lack of free time, as I am taking it slow as to understand everything fully, but the more I study this, the more I want to continue studying it. The knowledge he presents builds on itself, and everything is explained in a logical and very thorough fashion. Also, it is not just theory he teaches. He aims to have the pupil well-versed in 4-part voice composition, chord progressions, modulation, transposing, etc, so you will be writing music, and you will be flying through pages and pages of it in your practice exercises.If you want a hardcore study, and want to come to understand things about sound and harmony you would never even guess at; if you want to learn to write music (and not just throw chords together because they sound great) with purpose; if you yearn to understand WHY that one song sounds so incredible, and to learn how to evoke emotions through similar progressions and melody, this is the book for you, and it is worth many times the amount of money requested here. However, if you want a quick study of harmony with easy-to-understand, simplified concepts, countless pictures of hands shaped to play chords, and large illustrated diagrams of the grand staff, you will not be satisfied.

This is a brilliant and fascinating book. It shouldn't be anyone's first "theory" textbook, nor could it be the only one, but it is the one that brought the study of "music theory" alive for me. It was exciting to find because it was the first book that put the study of harmony into the context of making music for me. I love the examples, and found the progression of material very logical and satisfying. Now he does go on at length on certain very philosophical topics, but if you take the time to read them, they are interesting, instructional, and often very witty. This is the book that made all the dry exercises come alive for me, and made things click. Suddenly I could start to see the connection between this formal study of "theory" and the great music that I had studied and played all my life. It's probably not for everyone, but if you know the rudiments of music theory and want to understand how all those chords are used to make music, I recommend it highly as I found it to be an important and very helpful tool.

UPDATE: he loves it. Studied music theory and this is his self-study continuing education.

For the past five years, I have listened to Glenn Gould's recordings of Schoenberg's piano music. I find it stunning; mind-blowing; possibly the most beautiful music I have ever heard.I decided to refresh my (somewhat rusty) theory chops, and this book fit the bill. If you were subjected to Music Theory in high school (as I was) and you fell in love with it, then you will be right at home with this tome.If, however, you ran screaming from the classroom, or simply sat with a "Huh?" look on your face while your teacher droned on about voice leading, passing tones, augmented fourths and the like, well, you still won't grok the enjoyment this book brings.Which is too bad, for Schoenberg has a sense of the absurd, and does not take himself too seriously. His presentation is free of objective clutter, and he makes what could be dry reading evocative.After reading Schoenberg, Piston et.al. seem thorough, but boring, even stiff. Study this book and find out why.

One of the best books of harmony I have come across.Schoenberg examines classical harmony based on his own views and experience as well as what has been thought to him. For me this book is what I needed, I like his way of thinking and his explanation of what he himself considers the theory of harmony. I think this is highly subjective. Yes almost all principles and rules are the same in every course and book concerning theory of classical harmony. However having read some and followed courses in 2 different schools with 2 different teachers I am sure that the approach, development and way of teaching is different depending on the teacher or writer.I wouldn't recommend this to beginners or people without any experience with the principles of harmony before reading this. The style of writing can also cause problems especially for the mid level english speakers ( like myself). Schoenberg also invents many terms and gives them different definitions than is collegues. For me personally this is a hard book to read but that's probably personal. There are a lot of books out there explaining the theory of harmony but this is my favorite, together with Peter Tchaikovsky's book of practical harmony. And these two books are books that I will keep reading and using as a reference.

Common are you kidding me? It's not a review I should write but a praise!Without going into all the details, this is to me much more than just a simple harmony book. It goes way deep into the meaning or art as well.Only a master such as Schoenberg could have written such a thing.Freaking brilliant! Highly recommended for serious musicians.

Might have bit off more than I can chew with this one. All in all a great book. Came on time. Looking forward to spending endless hours comprehending the material. Highly recommend.

Good read, hope you know something about music theory