looking for a 20th century harmony book

Hi.

I want to read something about 20th century harmony. There a probably a lot books written about. Any advice on whats good and what is not?

this might be an other new thing for YC, book reviews. Guide people in advising what to read. literature lists, etc...

whoops. POsted in the wrong category; can some mod move this to the "advice and technique" section?

Stefan Kostka - Materials and Techniques of 20th Century Music

http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Techniques-Twentieth-Century-Music-2nd/dp

/0139240772/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255437845&sr=1-1

Get it, read it, etc etc. Oh, also...

Joseph Straus - Introduction to Post Tonal Theory

Amazon.com: Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory (3rd Edition) (9780131898905): Joseph N. Straus: Books

kremlin, thanks for your reaction. I've put them on my whishlist, and am certain to buy one.

I found that there are some PDF's on the Internet, with theory books. I read for example the chapter on quartal harmony from Schoenberg's Theory of Harmony, which I really liked. These books are probably a bit outdated (Piston, Hindemith, Schoenberg, Messiaen, and others). I guess they are in Public Domain now. Should I start with buying a new book, are start with these oldies?

Let me add a general note:

These books are not that old and the age of a book cannot tell you much about its quality - judging literature based on this can be misleading. You may find that from seemingly old books you could learn things that others don't explain that well. Schoenberg's books are very good.

As for those by Messiaen, Hindemith: It depends on which books you are talking about. If you are talking about the books in which the composers describe their own theories and compositional techniques, then it's definitely good to consider the book written by the composer himself.

these are the PDFs of Hindemith and Messiaen I found:

Oliver Messiaen - Mode de valeurs et d'intensites.pdf

Oliver Messiaen - The Technique of My Musical Language Vol 1.pdf

Oliver Messiaen - The Technique of My Musical Language Vol 2.pdf

Hindemith Paul_Elementary Training for Musicians.pdf

Hindemith Paul_The Craft of Musical Composition.pdf

Piston Walter_Counterpoint (1970).pdf

Piston Walter_Harmony (1959).pdf

Piston Walter_Orchestration (1969).pdf

I know that Messiaen is writing about his own musical language. Looking at the titles by Hindemith they seem to be more general. Any advise on the quality and outdatedness of Piston?

I really don't like Piston's approach overall, to be honest. But well they're helpful if have absolutely nothing else.

Judging by the date on the Piston, it's an early edition -- and thus doesn't really get into 20th c. It's still a good book in its own right though.

Persichetti harmony

Walter Gieseler harmony

Persichetti harmony

Walter Gieseler harmony

Is the Gieseler book available in English as well?

I have the Persichetti book but haven't gotten too far into it yet so I can't say much about how good it is. I've only read good reviews of it and I believe it covers ideas spanning the first half of the 20th century.

The Persichetti book is good. Sometimes a little confusing, but with lots of good examples and very practical tips for using particular techniques. Less theoretical than most books. Or at least, it doesn't contain only the theoretical side.

Is the Gieseler book available in English as well?

I have the Persichetti book but haven't gotten too far into it yet so I can't say much about how good it is. I've only read good reviews of it and I believe it covers ideas spanning the first half of the 20th century.

I believe it isn't. Walter Gieseler has also written an instrumentation and composition book, both pertaining to the 20th century which I believe are very interesting. If you know German, they are a good buy...

I really don't like Piston's approach overall, to be honest. But well they're helpful if have absolutely nothing else.

You are not alone, I second that. I think Piston's approach tends to be over-elaborated, more philosophical than it should (and less technical than it should, IMO), which makes it somewhat vague and boring at times.

I second the Straus Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory book. The Persichetti book is the only decent English text I know of devoted specifically to 20th century harmony. Aside from the Straus, I highly recommend Inside the Score by Rayburn Wright. It deals with forms and harmony as they relate to jazz, but it could certainly open up your eyes to new ways of thinking about composition. If you're rusty on your jazz vocabulary you could also read The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine or Jazz Theory by Andrew Jaffe (which is a more difficult and harder to find, but worthwhile, read).

An important addendum to any composer's library is Nicholas Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns," which contains an exhaustive catalog of sets, chords, cells, embellished cells, octave divisions, twelve-tone arrangements, geometric music... it's a tremendous text and everyone who aspires to be a composer should have it, as well as anyone who wants to pursue virtuosity in performing 20th/21st century music.

Here it is on Amazon. It's on sale, too!

If you want to branch into commercial scoring as well, Henry Mancini's "Sounds and Scores" is an absolute requirement as well.

Thank you all for advising books! I have a complete library to buy now ;)