The 2nd Edition Theory Book provides instruction, reinforcement, and creative applications of basic theory concepts. Students will enjoy note-naming with StoryRhymes, explore improvisation, and engage with eye-training and ear-training activities ¯ all within a fun-filled context tied thematically to the Level 1 Lesson Book pieces. Read more

These easy-to-read, progressive exercises by Joanne Martin develop a student's reading skills one stage at a time, with many repetitions at each stage. I Can Read Music is designed as a first note-reading book for students of string instruments who have learned to play using an aural approach such as the Suzuki Method(R), or for traditionally taught students who need extra note reading practice. Its presentation of new ideas is clear enough that it can be used daily at home by quite young children and their parents, with the teacher checking progress every week or two. Read more

A Comprehensive Method Book for Year One and Beyond. Composed by Jeff Scott and Scott Rush. Habits of a Successful Musician. Music Education. 56 pages. GIA Publications #10164. Published by GIA Publications (GI.G-10164). Read more

An updated new edition of Ted Gioia's universally acclaimed history of jazz, with a wealth of new insight on this music's past, present, and future.Ted Gioia's The History of Jazz has been universally hailed as the most comprehensive and accessible history of the genre of all time. Acclaimed by jazz critics and fans alike, this magnificent work is now available in an up-to-date third edition that covers the latest developments in the jazz world and revisits virtually every aspect of the music. Gioia's story of jazz brilliantly portrays the most legendary jazz players, the breakthrough styles, and the scenes in which they evolved. From Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club, Miles Davis's legendary 1955 performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, and Ornette Coleman's experiments with atonality to current innovators such as Kamasi Washington and Esperanza Spalding, Gioia takes readers on a sweeping journey through the history of jazz. As he traces the music through the swamp lands of the Mississippi Delta, the red light district of New Orleans, the rent parties of Harlem, the speakeasies of Chicago, and other key locales of jazz history, Gioia also makes the social contexts in which the music was born come alive. This new edition finally brings the often overlooked women who shaped the genre into the spotlight and traces the recent developments that have led to an upswing of jazz in contemporary mainstream culture. As it chronicles jazz from its beginnings and most iconic figures to its latest dialogues with popular music, the developments of the digital age, and new commercial successes, Gioia's History of Jazz reasserts its status as the most authoritative survey of this fascinating music. Read more

The latest edition of the landmark text Teaching Music to Students with Differences and Disabilities: A Label-Free Approach--designed for music education faculty, in-service music administrators, in-service music teachers, and preservice music teachers--offers a comprehensive manual and reference guide that introduces those in the field of music education to best practices when teaching music to students with differences and disabilities. Acclaimed pedagogues and clinicians Alice Hammel and Ryan Hourigan addresses a variety of topics such as research-based strategies for methods courses, practical approaches for in-service music educators, and professional development grounded in research, special education law, and best practice. Like previous editions, a core focus this book is that a student with differences and disabilities is an individual who deserves a music education that is free of labels. This philosophical premise of a label-free approach is centered in the preservation of the individual personhood of each student. Through this approach, music educators will be able to gain and advocate for support, understand their rights and responsibilities, and offer an affective and effective music education for students with and without disabilities. This includes learning strategies for effective collaboration with special educators, teacher educators, and classroom teachers. The authors also include curriculum development ideas, lesson plan strategies, observation strategies (methods classroom), and practical ideas (methods classroom). Read more

The essence of the most celebrated book on counterpoint, Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum. The most celebrated book on counterpoint is Fux's great theoretical work Gradus ad Parnassum. Since its appearance in 1725, it has been used by and has directly influenced the work of many of the greatest composers. J.S. Bach held it in high esteem, Leopold Mozart trained his famous son from its pages, Haydn worked out every lesson with meticulous care, and Beethoven condensed it into an abstract for ready reference. An impressive list of nineteenth-century composers subscribed to its second edition, and in more recent times Paul Hindemith said, "Perhaps the craft of composition would really have fallen into decline if Fux's Gradus had not set up a standard." Originally written in Latin, Steps to Parnassus was translated into the principal European languages, but the only English version was a free paraphrase published in 1886. The present translation by Alfred Mann is therefore the first faithful rendering in English from the original Latin and presents the essence of Fux's teachings. For its distinction as a classic and its undiminished usefulness for the modern student it is a privilege to offer this fine translation in the Norton Library. Read more

Explore the rich terrain of American popular music with the most complete introduction of its kind. With the sixth edition of the bestselling text American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, Starr and Waterman help students hear more in the music around them with a cultural and social history of popular music. Read more

Music Theory and Composition: A Practical Approachpresents a pragmatic, accessible approach to music theory through an emphasis on melody and counterpoint. This focus explains the “why” of musical construction more clearly than the traditional approach of beginning with chords. By starting with a single melodic line and gradually adding voices in counterpoint, the book drills part-writing while simultaneously explaining functionality, first with scale degrees and then with harmony. The text has students learn musical techniques and progressively build on their functions and importance to create their own compositions. With short, digestible chapters, Music Theory and Composition clearly presents otherwise complicated ideas not as strict rules, but as artistic ideals, encouraging the interactive creation of new compositions as a tool for learning. The textbook is versatile and easily customizable, suitingDifferent skill levels with species counterpoint providing a framework for the beginner while providing an interesting challenge for more experienced studentsDifferent curricular schedules with complete exercises in two, three, and four voices, allowing for an optional skip from two voices to fourDifferent pedagogical approaches with species exercises encouraging students to consider harmonic choices and figured bass ensuring functional progressionsInstructor Resources:Instructor’s Manual: The Instructor’s Manual includes sample syllabi and student handoutsTest Bank: The test bank includes sample tests and answer keys in MS Word format.Student Resources: Companion Website with Downloadable Workbook Sections: http://textbooks.rowman.com/stoneAdditional Features:complete curriculum for first-year theory coursesover 500 musical examples drawn from Common Practice Era compositions as well as more contemporary and popular piecesfocus on active composition throughout the text and workbook sectionslarge pop music section to expand student’s application of theoryconversational tone to encourage student engagementDesigned for first-year college music theory courses, but accessible enough for the interested lay reader or high school student, the text offers a true balance of counterpoint and harmony.​ Read more

Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments is a classic of musical literature in the true sense of the word. The many ramifications of Bach's comprehensive essay have been neatly explained and annotated in a manner that makes the Essay a valuable reference work and an interesting venture in musical literature and history. The translator, William J. Mitchell, brought to his task a long standing familiarity with C. P. E. Bach. Read more

Emphasizing real music and music-making, The Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis gives students the hands-on tools they need to learn how music works. Theoretically current and pedagogically innovative, the Musician’s Guide series uses the phrase model approach to show students how music works in context. With a focus on real music literature that students know and play, it shows how music theory relates directly to practice and performance. The Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis includes all topics essential to first- and second-year theory for music majors, from fundamentals to post-tonal theory and analysis. Read more

Ideal for introductory music education, philosophy and psychology of music education, and music education methods courses, Teaching for Musical Understanding explains current research-based theories of how students learn in order to show prospective and practicing music teachers how to teach effectively. Author Jackie Wiggins draws on her twenty-two years of experience teaching K-12 music and twenty years of teaching in higher education to demonstrate how theory applies to music education. The text is deeply grounded in the work of social constructivist theorists and researchers in both education and music education.The third edition takes a cultural psychology perspective, giving more attention to sociocultural influences and to the roles of learner agency in learning process. It includes in-depth examples of assessment practices in music classrooms, stories "from the trenches," and more extensive use of endnotes and citations. Read more

Beginning with music fundamentals, The Complete Musician covers all the topics necessary for a thorough understanding of undergraduate music theory by focusing on music in context. Rather than rote learning of concepts and memorizing terms, The Complete Musician emphasizes how theory informs the work of performers. Composers respond not only to their instincts, experiences, and training in every work they write; they also follow certain ideals and models when appropriate, and modify them to fit their own personal vision. Theory is not a "theoretical" activity; it is a living one that responds to how music is composed and performed. Understanding how theory intersects with composition and performance is key to seeing its relevance to students' wider musical lives. The Complete Musician makes this connection. Read more

One of the most important books on contemporary music in the twentieth century. Here for the first time is an orderly presentation of the harmonic procedures to be found in music of the first half of the twentieth-century. The author examines the nature of intervals in various contexts, discusses the modes and other scales employed in modern music, describes the formation and uses of chords by thirds, by fourths, and by seconds, of added-note chords and polychords; he deals with different types of harmonic motion, with harmonic rhythm and dynamic sand ornamentation, with harmonic behavior in tonality, polytonality, atonality and serial composition. Read more

Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education: From Understanding to Application, Second Edition,presents teaching methods that are responsive to how different culturally specific knowledge bases impact learning. It offers a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students’ cultural references in all aspects of learning. Designed as a resource for teachers of undergraduate and graduate music education courses, the book provides examples in the context of music education, with theories presented in Part I and a review of teaching applications in Part II. Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education is an effort to answer the question: How can I teach music to my students in a way that is culturally responsive? This book serves several purposes, by:Providing practical examples of transferring theory into practice in music education.Illustrating culturally responsive pedagogy within the classroom.Demonstrating the connection of culturally responsive teaching to the school and larger community.This Second Edition has been updated and revised to incorporate recent research on teaching music from a culturally responsive lens, new data on demographics, and scholarship on calls for change in the music curriculum. It also incorporates an array of new perspectives from music educators, administrators, and pre-service teachers―drawn from different geographic regions―while addressing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 social justice protests. Read more

The two workbooks that accompany The Complete Musician: An Integrated Approach to Theory, Analysis, and Listening, Fourth Edition, feature an organization designed specifically for flexibility: Workbook 1: Writing and Analysis, is dedicated exclusively to written and analytical activities; Workbook 2: Skills and Musicianship, focuses on singing, dictation, keyboard, and improvisation.Both workbooks have been reorganized to reflect the new text organization. Additionally, over 200 new exercises have been written to cover twentieth-century music (chapters 30 through 32 in the main text). Additional space has been added to many exercises to allow for students to easily complete their work in each volume. All musical examples are available in streaming format on the Companion Website for The Complete Musician. Visit www.oup.com/us/laitz. Read more

The two workbooks that accompany The Complete Musician: An Integrated Approach to Theory, Analysis, and Listening, Fourth Edition, feature an organization designed specifically for flexibility: Workbook 1: Writing and Analysis, is dedicated exclusively to written and analytical activities; Workbook 2: Skills and Musicianship, focuses on singing, dictation, keyboard, and improvisation.Both workbooks have been reorganized to reflect the new text organization. Additionally, over 200 new exercises have been written to cover twentieth-century music (Chapters 30 through 32 in the main text). Additional space has been added to many exercises to allow for students to easily complete their work in each volume. All musical examples are available in streaming format on the Companion Website for The Complete Musician. Visit www.oup.com/us/laitz. Read more

Teaching Strings in Today’s Classroom: A Guide for Group Instruction assists music education students, in-service teachers, and performers to realize their goals of becoming effective string educators. It introduces readers to the school orchestra environment, presents the foundational concepts needed to teach strings, and provides opportunities for the reader to apply this information. The author describes how becoming an effective string teacher requires three things of equal importance: content knowledge, performance skills, and opportunities to apply the content knowledge and performance skills in a teaching situation. In two parts, the text addresses the unique context that is teaching strings, a practice with its own objectives and related teaching strategies. Part I (Foundations of Teaching and Learning String Instruments) first presents an overview of the string teaching environment, encouraging the reader to consider how context impacts teaching, followed by practical discussions of instrument sizing and position, chapters on the development of each hand, and instruction for best practices concerning tone production, articulation, and bowing guidelines. Part II (Understanding Fingerings) provides clear guidance for understanding basic finger patterns, positions, and the creation of logical fingerings. String fingerings are abstract and thus difficult to negotiate without years of playing experience―these chapters (and their corresponding interactive online tutorials) distill the content knowledge required to understand string fingerings in a way that non-string players can understand and use. Teaching Strings in Today’s Classroom contains pedagogical information, performance activities, and an online virtual teaching environment with twelve interactive tutorials, three for each of the four string instruments.ACCOMPANYING VIDEOS CAN BE ACCESSED VIA THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE: www.teachingstrings.online Read more

The classic survey of the field, retooled for a new generation of students. Now published by Norton, Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory has been thoroughly updated to reflect the latest developments in the field, with additional coverage of transformational theory and voice leading. The Fourth Edition helps students identify key theoretical points and guides them through the process of analysis, while also offering new recently composed musical examples―all at an exceptional value. Read more

This is the first book to discuss in detail how rap music is put together musically. Whereas a great deal of popular music scholarship dismisses music analysis as irrelevant or of limited value, the present book argues that it can be crucial to cultural theory. It is unique for bringing together perspectives from music theory, musicology, cultural studies, critical theory, and communications. It is also the first scholarly book to discuss rap music in Holland, and the rap of Cree Natives in Canada, in addition to such mainstream artists as Ice Cube. Read more

Roots of the Classical identifies and traces to their source the patterns that make Western classical music unique, setting out the fundamental laws of melody and harmony, and sketching the development of tonality between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. The author then focuses on the years 1770-1910, treating the Western music of this period - folk, popular, and classical - as a single, organically developing, interconnected unit in which the popular idiom was constantly feeding into 'serious' music, showing how the same patterns underlay music of all kinds. Read more