Elementary Training for Musicians


Book Description

Originally published in the 1940s, Paul Hindemith's remarkable textbooks are still the outstanding works of their kind. In contrast to many musical textbooks written by academic musicians, these were produced by a man who could play every instrument of the orchestra, could compose a satisfying piece for almost every kind of ensemble, and who was one of the most stimulating teachers of his day. It is therefore not surprising that nearly forty years later these books should remain essential reading for the student and the professional musician.




What to Listen For in Music


Book Description

Now in trade paperback: “The definitive guide to musical enjoyment” (Forum). In this fascinating analysis of how to listen to both contemporary and classical music analytically, eminent American composer Aaron Copland offers provocative suggestions that will bring readers a deeper appreciation of the most viscerally rewarding of all art forms.







Books for All


Book Description




Applied Music Fundamentals


Book Description

Applied Music Fundamentals: Writing, Singing, and Listening provides an engaging and interactive introduction to the fundamentals of music theory. A wealth of skills-based exercises and memorization strategies-both in the text and online-build mastery and fluency through varied repetition and offer students the opportunity to apply musical abilities and concepts. Through familiar examples and by placing the analysis and creation of music in a real-world context, Applied Music Fundamentals moves readers beyond mere rote memorization toward a thorough and more intuitive understanding of the key concepts that music theory students must know. Distinctive features * Keyboard, Singing, and Hearing Exercises reinforce the crucial connection between sound and notation * "Informed Listening" examples challenge students to analyze repertoire by ear in order to foster real-time musical understanding * Short, portable "Drills to Go" help to reinforce skills and content outside of the classroom * "Composition" exercises and "Challenge" examples give students the opportunity to think beyond the foundations introduced in each chapter and apply their acquired musical skills in a creative and personal way · Marginal icons direct students to interactive musical examples on the book's website (www.oup.com/us/root), underscoring how listening helps them understand musical concepts Instructors: Help your students practice and master basic music theory skills with Oxford's online Music Theory Skill Builder. Specially priced packages are available for this text. Contact your Oxford University Press representative for more information.




Music as an Art


Book Description

Music as an Art begins by examining music through a philosophical lens, engaging in discussions about tonality, music and the moral life, music and cognitive science and German idealism, as well as recalling the author's struggle to encourage his students to distinguish the qualities of good music. Scruton then explains – via erudite chapters on Schubert, Britten, Rameau, opera and film – how we can develop greater judgement in music, recognising both good taste and bad, establishing musical values, as well as musical pleasures. As Scruton argues in this book, in earlier times, our musical culture had secure foundations in the church, the concert hall and the home; in the ceremonies and celebrations of ordinary life, religion and manners. Yet we no longer live in that world. Fewer people now play instruments and music is, for many, a form of largely solitary enjoyment. As he shows in Music as an Art, we live at a critical time for classical music, and this book is an important contribution to the debate, of which we stand in need, concerning the place of music in Western civilization.




Mendelssohn's Musical Education


Book Description

This book is a study and critical edition of Mendelssohn's composition exercise book from his early period of study with Carl Friedrich Zelter (1819-1821). The workbook illustrates in considerable detail the young musician's struggle to master the rules of part writing and principles of counterpoint. Much of Zelter's systematic teaching method is grounded in the eighteenth-century theoretical tradition of Berlin; not surprisingly, the exercises bear the stamp of the music of J. S. Bach, which heavily influenced such Berlin musicians as C. P. E. Bach, C. F. C. Fasch, Marpurg, Kirnberger, Zelter and Mendelssohn. There is little doubt that the historicist attitude of the mature Mendelssohn - as seen in his efforts to revive the works of Bach and Handel and in his propensity toward strict contrapuntal techniques in his own music - was conditioned by these studies with Zelter. The publication of the workbook sheds new light on the early development of one ofthe most important nineteenth-century composers who, though affected by the new wave of romanticism that swept over Europe, never lost his respect for the past. No less important, the manuscript includes several previously unpublished pieces which rank among Mendelssohn's earliest compositions.