CONTEMPORARY MUSIC THEORY LEVEL THREE - AUTHOR'S FOREWORD and TABLE OF CONTENTS
For your information we have included below the Author's Foreword and Table of Contents from the Contemporary Music Theory Level Three Book.
This web page contains excerpts from the Contemporary Music Theory Level Three Book ©2001 Mark Harrison. All rights reserved.
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC THEORY LEVEL THREE - AUTHOR'S FOREWORD
Welcome to Contemporary Music Theory Level 3. I have personally taught these concepts to hundreds of students in Harmony classes held at the former Grove School of Music, and this book is the third in a series used in many schools across the U.S.A. and around the world. This book contains hundreds of music examples and exercises, which are available recorded on a set of compact discs - please see pages vi - vii for further information.
During the years I was teaching Harmony and Theory at the Grove School to students from all over the world, I had the best possible opportunity to determine what the theory needs of the contemporary musician were, and what the best method was to communicate these concepts! This process has led to the creation of our Contemporary Music Theory book series - the most thorough music theory courses available for the pop and jazz musician!
If you really want to understand how chords are spelled (including all upper extensions and alterations) and how the harmony is then 'voiced' in pop & jazz styles (using what we call the 'contemporary shape concept'), this Level Three course is the finest method available! Following on from our Level One and Two courses, in here we derive and explain the chord tones, extensions, and scale sources, for all major, minor, dominant and diminished chords. In particular the altered chords & scales used in jazz styles are presented in a clear and easy-to-understand manner!
However, it is not enough to simply know these chords and scales - the contemporary musician then needs to apply this knowledge to an instrument or in their composing/arranging, in a stylistically appropriate manner - this is achieved by using the 'contemporary shape concept' detailed in this book! We use this to create voicings for every type of chord, as well as to harmonize melodies and to create the polychord combinations which are at the heart of jazz styles. This book therefore contains vital information for all instrumentalists (especially those interested in improvisation), as well as composers, arrangers and songwriters.
To get the best out of the material in this Level Three book, you need to have some familiarity with music notation, major scales, intervals, triads and four-part chords (as presented in detail in our Level One book and reviewed in Chapter One of this book) as well as five-part chords, II-V-I style progressions and substitutions, harmonic analysis and voiceleading (as presented in detail in our Level Two book and reviewed in Chapter Two of this book). See page vi for more information on our Contemporary Music Theory Levels 1 and 2 books.
Today's pop and jazz styles are very 'ear-oriented' - in other words they tend to follow a set of rules and expectations that an 'educated ear' will understand. You may have already seen or used our Contemporary Eartraining courses (see page vii), which were a fundamental component of the musicianship program at the Grove School. For music theory instruction to be of value to the contemporary musician, the concepts must be presented in a way that is consistent with how the ear works - this is the whole philosophy behind our Contemporary Music Theory courses. For students wishing to strengthen their overall musicianship, the combination of our Eartraining and Music Theory methods represents the most efficient and 'targeted' contemporary music program now available!
Each chapter in this book (except for the review Chapters One and Two) is divided into three main sections:
Textbook, containing a complete explanation for each subject area, with numerous music examples demonstrating the theory concepts
Workbook Questions, containing written exercises for each subject area
Workbook Answers, containing answers for all of the written exercises.
This book is ideally suited for self-study, one-on-one music tutoring, and group classes.
At the Grove School of Music we would typically cover this material in a ten-week class 'quarter', although the material can of course be adapted for use within different course lengths (i.e. a different number of weeks), at the discretion of the teacher or educational institution. There are hundreds of written exercises throughout the book, all with answers provided - a perfect way to consolidate your understanding of how today's music really works!
At the back of the book, I have provided appendices listing the note 'stacks' and scale sources for major, minor, dominant and diminished chords in all keys. These are followed by a complete glossary of terms used in the book, for your reference and convenience.
Don't forget - all the music examples in this book are available on CDs - see pages vi - vii for info & how to order!
Good luck with your study of Contemporary Music Theory - and I hope it opens many doors for you as a musician!!
MARK HARRISON
Harrison Music Education Systems
Los Angeles, California
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC THEORY LEVEL THREE - TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Chapter One: | Review of Contemporary Music Theory Level One | Page 1 |
| Chapter Two: | Review of Contemporary Music Theory Level Two | Page 19 |
| Chapter Three: | The 'Contemporary Shape Concept' | Page 37 |
| Chapter Four: | Major chords | Page 75 |
| Chapter Five: | Minor 7th chords | Page 103 |
| Chapter Six: | Minor 7th (with flatted 5th) chords | Page 127 |
| Chapter Seven: | Minor 6th & minor major 7th chords | Page 151 |
| Chapter Eight: | Unaltered dominant 7th chords | Page 175 |
| Chapter Nine: | Dominant 7th (with flatted 5th/sharped 11th) chords | Page 199 |
| Chapter Ten: | Dominant 7th (with flatted/sharped 9th) chords | Page 231 |
| Chapter Eleven: | Dominant 7th (with sharped 5th/flatted 13th) chords | Page 259 |
| Chapter Twelve: | Diminished 7th chords | Page 295 |
| Appendix One: | Chord 'stacks' for all major, minor, dominant and diminished chords | Page 319 |
| Appendix Two: | Scale sources for all major, minor, dominant and diminished chords | Page 329 |
| Glossary: | Glossary of terms used in this book | Page 347 |
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