Advanced harmony; theory and practice

by Robert W. Ottman

Book Overview

"Advanced Harmony: Theory and Practice" presents a systematic study of the principles of harmonic composition as developed by the composers of the 17th to the 19th centuries. The text applies an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0130129550
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 1.31 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Advanced Harmony...

I'm a music major at Midwestern state university... I needed this book for theory III and ear training/sight seeing III... even though there is no image available this book is the right one... the information inside of it is invaluable

A solid and practical guide to the advanced topics of basic harmonic grammar

When I was in music school, we used Robert Ottman's Sight Singing book, and I still think the current edition is terrific. He also wrote texts on elementary harmony and this text on advanced harmony. This is an interesting and practical guide to the basics of harmony. The subtitle is "theory and practice" and that is right, but by theory it really means musical grammar and the emphasis in the book is really on practice. What have composers actually done, what to look for, and how to hear it. The text is concise, without long and labored explanations. However, for those who want detailed explanations of harmony, it might seem terse. The real emphasis in this text is on the rich selection of musical examples. A CD accompanies the text that plays the musical samples so the student can hear them (if you can't hear them by looking at them music or play them on your piano). So, the text is really for a practicing musician who wants to know the steps, say, to a "pivot chord" without an extended explication of the implications of such a thing. Ottman also deals with aspects of orchestration, figuration, and musical form. Again, his approach is always practical and does not delve into the topics in an extended way. He lets the student examine the musical samples to get the point of what the text says. I think this is the way musicians actually prefer learning about music, anyway. If they wanted to read lots of text they would have pursued a different profession, right? Sure, those of us who study music theory dig into things a bit differently, but it is the music analysis written in some form of notation we always find most compelling. This book begins with modulation and has chapters on diminished triads, seventh chords, secondary leading tone functions, modulation using diminished seventh chords, binary and ternary forms, extending part-writing to instrumental music, diatonic seventh chords, chromatic chords, augmented sixth chords and their uses, ninth - eleventh & thirteenth chords, special chords and progressions, harmony in the late 19th Century, Debussy and Impressionism, and post Debussy 20th Century music, and ends with a chapter on Serialism. Appendix A covers conventional procedures for part-writing. Appendix B provides information on orchestration (instrumental ranges and transpositions). There is also an index of compositions, and a subject index. This is a useful and practical book for the practicing musician wanting to become proficient with the (advanced) basics of harmonic grammar. Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI Ottman's Elementary Harmony: Elementary Harmony Theory and Practice Ottman's Sight Singing 7th edition: Music for Sight Singing (7th Edition)

Great for those new to music theory.

As aa former computer science professor who is trying to teach himself the fundamentals of music theory, I have found this book exceedingly easy to read and learn from. Along with his book on Elementary Harmony, I feel I have received a sound and very useful emersion into the world of music harmony.

recommended

This book and its companion, the author's "Elementary Harmony", though a bit plodding, are the most practical part-writing texts still available. (Consider, however, that I am familiar only with an earlier edition.) Also recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by JEFF BURNS.