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Practice of Harmony, 7th edition

Published by Pearson (February 23, 2017) © 2018

  • Peter Spencer Florida State University
  • Barbara Bennett

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For courses in Music Theory
A text/workbook combination that gives students the tools to understand harmonic structures With an emphasis on learning by doing, The Practice of Harmony, Seventh Edition takes students from music fundamentals through harmony in common practice to some of the more important harmonic procedures of the 20th century. Its approach is “additive” — enabling students to use what was learned in one chapter to understand material in the next — to minimize rote memorization, since students repeatedly use the concepts throughout the semester. The text begins with an overview of music fundamentals; the middle addresses the use of harmony in common practice; and the concluding section offers a basic glimpse of the harmonic practices of the 20th century. The authors intentionally avoid elaborate descriptions of their conceptual framework and refrain from specifying instructional methods, thereby allowing instructors a wide spectrum of teaching approaches in the classroom.
NOTE: This ISBN is for a Pearson Books a la Carte edition: a convenient, three-hole-punched, loose-leaf text. In addition to the flexibility offered by this format, Books a la Carte editions offer students great value, as they cost significantly less than a bound textbook.
Improve critical thinking
  • Students learn that harmony may be understood as a continuum rather than a series of unrelated elements, thus eliminating the necessity to memorize collections of minutiae. Instructors can elaborate on theoretical concepts instead of developing “shopping lists” of items to memorize.
  • Compositional and analytical guides and exercises prompt students to think critically about musical selections.
  • NEW! Multiple excerpts from music literature are now included in each chapter of the Harmony in Common Practice sections.
    • Each example contains title, composer and measure numbers, allowing students more in-depth study and analysis.
    • A list of additional excerpts for study has also been provided.

Engage students
  • Topics are covered in a logical and economical manner.
  • The text/workbook presentation encourages active learning in a digestible format:
    • Each chapter covers one concept.
    • Each concept is given a concise definition with corresponding explanations and musical examples.
    • Each chapter contains a variety of exercises, testing the students’ abilities to tailor the concepts to fit different perspectives.
  • Comprehension of governing principles is emphasized, rather than memorization of rules.
  • Analysis appendix includes a guided analysis example.
  • UPDATED! Contemporary pitch designations, using middle C=C4, are now reflected throughout the text.

Encourage an understanding of music
  • Straightforward musical examples are highlighted as necessary in every chapter and clarified through the use of a Note format. This provides students with immediate understanding of what the particular musical example is emphasizing and what harmonic principle the example reveals.
  • NEW! Additional new exercises are now incorporated throughout the entire text, ranging from preliminary through advanced.
  • EXPANDED! A greatly expanded appendix now provides answers to many of the exercises in chapters 7 to 24.
  • EXPANDED! The calligraphy appendix has been broadened, with more tips and details on proper musical notation.
Improve critical thinking
  • Multiple excerpts from music literature are now included in each chapter of the Harmony in Common Practice sections.
    • Each example contains title, composer and measure numbers, allowing students more in-depth study and analysis.
    • A list of additional excerpts for study has also been provided.
Engage students
  • UPDATED! Contemporary pitch designations, using middle C=C4, are now reflected throughout the text.
Encourage an understanding of music
  • Additional new exercises are now incorporated throughout the entire text, ranging from preliminary through advanced.
  • EXPANDED! A greatly expanded appendix now provides answers to many of the exercises in chapters 7 to 24.
  • EXPANDED! The calligraphy appendix has been broadened, with more tips and details on proper musical notation.
1. Clefs and Basic Pitch Notation
2. Scales
3. Key Signatures and Scale Degrees
4. Intervals
5. Triads
6. The Notation of Rhythm
7. Four-Part Vocal Writing
8. Primary Triads in Root Position
9. Primary Triads in First Inversion
10. Primary Triads in Second Inversion
11. Secondary Triads
12. The Harmonization of Melodies I
13. Nonchord Tones I
14. Nonchord Tones II
15. Diatonic Seventh Chords
16. The Harmonization of Melodies II
17. Writing for the Piano
18. Secondary Dominants
19. Secondary Diminished Seventh Chords
20. Augmented Sixth Chords
21. Borrowed Chords
22. The Neapolitan
23. Common Chord Modulation
24. Abrupt and Enharmonic Modulation
25. Ninth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Chords
26. Chord Symbols
27. Modal Harmony
28. Nonfunctional Harmony
29. Artificial Scales
30. Nontertian Harmony
31. Harmonic Procedures in Twelve-Tone Serialism
Composer, theorist, and jazz pianist Peter Spencer retired as a Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Florida State University. He was born in Wales, educated in England at Winchester College, Oxford and London Universities, and in the United States at West Virginia University where his terminal degree was the Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition. At FSU he served as Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition; as Director of the Certificate Programs for Pedagogy in Music Theory and Computers in Music; and was instrumental in developing the Center for Music Research. Besides his textbooks The Practice of Harmony, The Study of Form in Music, and Music Theory for Non-Music Majors, he has written instructional materials for the development of aural skills, including a comprehensive computer-based program in melodic and harmonic dictation.
Pianist and composer Barbara A. Bennett comes from a long line of southern musicians dating back to early twentieth-century traveling tent musicians along the eastern seaboard. She holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Georgia and a doctorate in composition from the Florida State University. She recently retired from the University of California, Riverside, where she taught music theory, composition, and women in music to many generations of music students. Her expertise in the classroom was recognized with an Outstanding Teaching Award. Besides teaching, composing, and performing, her career included serving on national and regional boards of The College Music Society and the National Association of Composers, USA.
The co-authors have a professional acquaintance that dates back to the early 1980s. While teaching undergraduate theory at FSU, Bennett was among the graduate assistants that Spencer supervised. They grew to share a pedagogical approach, and that common bond continued into their editing duties on The Practice of Harmony. They remain close friends and colleagues.

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