Concise Introduction to Tonal Harmony

by L Poundie Burstein, Poundie Burstein, Joseph N. Straus

The music theory text that students read and understand. Authors Burstein and Straus combine decades of teaching experience with concise prose, carefully curated musical examples, and a robust, skill-sharpening media program to illuminate the essential concepts of music theory.

Genres: Music

432 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2016

Reviews

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book I would not consider the Bible for tonal harmony, as I feel it was missing some charts and other reference points that could’ve been made useful, but it definitely does it’s job.

I took an introduction to harmony course in first year, having already seen harmony before and done examinations on it, this whole course was review for me. For that reason, I relied on the textbook alone. For somebody that had seen harmony before, it did it’s job: highlight the key points. However, I hated how the workbook was seperate, and sometimes the explanations couldve been more concise. I’ve had other harmony textbooks with better explanations for an introductory module and worksheets included in the textbook, instead of needlessly making students have two heavy textbooks they need to carry.

As well, the online modules were repetitive and unnecessary. You could get to a certain point where they’ve ran out of questions to ask you, so you’re memorizing the answer to get through the module instead of understanding. Unimpressed with that portion.

[Lucy Axtelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not recommend this book for learning music theory. It doesn't provide in depth explanations and centers purely on a Western-tonal centric view of music theory. Anyone interested in more general music theory or pretty much anything besides European art music from the 1700s to 1900 this book is not for you. As a student of world music I found this textbook incredibly frustrating and Euro-centric. It's not really a general overview of music theory so much as the rules by which composers used to govern themselves. If that's your cup of tea then hey this is a great starter guide but if you're interested in any other type of music I would go with a different theory guide. One good thing about this textbook is that it had an accessible ebook which as a visually impaired person I very much appreciated, still not worth the $85 dollars but hey it's a textbook.

[Craig Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent text book for college Music Theory. This text focuses on Species Counterpoint and is very specific to college Music Theory. This is not really a beginner book. This comes with a workbook to work out Species Counterpoint problems. No Parallel Fifths. This is an excellent textbook

[Michael Melnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my preparation for Graduate Theory placement exams at The Frost School of Music in Miami. I got a 100% on the common practice portion of the exam so I believe this book did its job well.

[Hubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concisely written, understandable, with ample examples and useful exercises online accompanying the text. Assists students in their understanding of the material. Bravo!

[Brandon Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used for reviewing undergrad theory stuff for master’s degree placement test. Great resource and review.

[Mills College Library]

781.25 B9729 2015

[Unpil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has my highest recommendation as a primer to tonal music harmony. I would suggest following up this book with a more detailed treatise on tonal harmony such as Harmony and Voice Leading by Aldwell, Schachter, and Cadwallader.