Treatise on Musical Objects


Book Description

The Treatise on Musical Objects is regarded as Pierre Schaeffer’s most important work on music and its relationship with technology. Schaeffer expands his earlier research in musique concrète to suggest a methodology of working with sounds based on his experiences in radio broadcasting and the recording studio. Drawing on acoustics, physics, and physiology, but also on philosophy and the relationship between subject and object, Schaeffer’s essay summarizes his theoretical and practical work in music composition. Translators Christine North and John Dack present an important book in the history of ideas in Europe that will resonate far beyond electroacoustic music.




Music Theory for the Music Professional


Book Description

Written as a music theory text that not only addresses the important fundamental syntax of music in the classical sense but also relates this syntax to current practices and styles, this book should be particularly well-suited to musicians focusing on aspects of the music business and of popular culture.







Ancient Music Adapted to Modern Practice


Book Description

First published in Rome in 1555, Nicola Vicentino's treatise was one of the most influential music theory texts of the sixteenth century. This translation by Maria Rika Maniates is the first English-language edition of Vicentino's important work. Unlike most early theorists, Vicentino did not simply summarize the practice of his time. His aim was to change how composers wrote and how musicians thought about music. His best-known contribution is the adaptation of the ancient Greek chromatic and enharmonic genera to modern polyphonic practice. But he also expressed the avant-garde's position on the relation between music and the subject matter and feelings of a secular or sacred text. He challenged the view that part writing always had to conform to the rules of counterpoint, asserting that license was permissible in order to express the feelings of a verbal text. In this he anticipated the manifestos of Vincenzo Galilei and Claudio Monteverdi. Maniates' introduction discusses Vicentino's life and work, the sources of his ideas in earlier theoretical literature, and the contemporary humanists from whom he may have learned.




A Geometry of Music


Book Description

In this groundbreaking book, Tymoczko uses contemporary geometry to provide a new framework for thinking about music, one that emphasizes the commonalities among styles from Medieval polyphony to contemporary jazz.




Music Theory for the Bass Player


Book Description

Music Theory for the Bass Player is a comprehensive and immediately applicable guide to making you a well-grounded groover, informed bandmate and all-around more creative musician. Included with this book are 89 videos that are incorporated in this ebook. This is a workbook, so have your bass and a pen ready to fill out the engaging Test Your Understanding questions! Have you always wanted to learn music theory but felt it was too overwhelming a task? Perhaps all the books seem to be geared toward pianists or classical players? Do you know lots of songs, but don't know how the chords are put together or how they work with the melody? If so, this is the book for you! • Starting with intervals as music's basic building blocks, you will explore scales and their modes, chords and the basics of harmony. • Packed with fretboard diagrams, musical examples and exercises, more than 180 pages of vital information are peppered with mind-bending quizzes, effective mnemonics, and compelling learning approaches. • Extensive and detailed photo demonstrations show why relaxed posture and optimized fingering are vital for good tone, timing and chops. • You can even work your way through the book without being able to read music (reading music is of course a vital skill, yet, the author believes it should not be tackled at the same time as the study of music theory, as they are different skills with a different practicing requirement. Reading becomes much easier once theory is mastered and learning theory on the fretboard using diagrams and patterns as illustrations, music theory is very accessible, immediately usable and fun. This is the definitive resource for the enthusiastic bassist! p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica; min-height: 16.0px} This book and the 89 free videos stand on their own and form a thorough source for studying music theory for the bass player. If you'd like to take it a step further, the author also offers a corresponding 20 week course; this online course works with the materials in this book and practices music theory application in grooves, fills and solos. Information is on the author's blog.




Treatise on Harpsichord Tuning


Book Description

A translation of Jean Denis's Treatise on Harpsichord Tuning (1643/50), with notes and an introduction.




Theory and Practice of Piano Construction


Book Description

In 'Theory and Practice of Piano Construction', William Braid White takes readers on a journey through the evolution of the modern American pianoforte. While there have been many writers on the history and ancestry of the instrument, White's book provides an exposition of the correct principles of design in a form that possesses permanent value to the American manufacturer. The book analyzes each step in the making of a pianoforte, from the strings and resonance to the framing and mechanisms of percussion and touch. White's aim is to assist those who have already investigated, or who intend to investigate the whole problem, to a clearer and broader comprehension of a beautiful art.




The Traditional Indian Theory and Practice of Music and Dance


Book Description

These articles concern the role of the Sanskrit tradition in the performing arts in India. They consider the relations between theory and practice in music and dance with particular reference to the Sanskrit textual tradition of musicology.