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Harmony: Fifth Edition | 
 enlarge | Authors: Walter Piston, Mark Devoto
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Category: Book
List Price: $64.10
Buy New: $40.00
You Save: $24.10 (38%)
New (13) Used (14) from $23.04
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 205948
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 5
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 592
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 7.4 x 1.4
ISBN: 0393954803
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.3
EAN: 9780393954807
ASIN: 0393954803
Publication Date: March 19, 1987
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 Very clear explanations and examples, the best of its kind... May 5, 2007
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is volume is basically a text on traditional harmony that is riddled with examples taken from classic music. It is well-organized, very readable and in my opinion the best of its kind.
While this book is indeed a textbook, it is a very readable one and engages the reader while systematically presenting important concepts. I looked at many books before buying this one and I have been using it for years.
If you are not looking for this much depth and instead are focused on practical concepts for modern music, I recommend Harmony and Theory: A Comprehensive Source for All Musicians (Essential Concepts (Musicians Institute).). This is a very concise and well-written book that covers a lot of territory in a small space.
 Good But.......... December 12, 2006
1 out of 13 found this review helpful
This is a solid text for learning the basics of functional harmony. However, it really needs to be updated. For example most all of the modern music world uses I ii iii IV V vi Viio in Major but Piston just uses I II II IV V VI VII which makes absolutely no since at all!
Do you know a better one? Tell us ! November 1, 2006
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
For so many people music is pure magick. Here is a book that uplifts beginner- and intermediate-knowledge to higher knowledge. After each of the 32 chapters there are exercises to measure your understanding of the things teached. Dont steal my copy !
Great introduction to Harmony May 21, 2006
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
When I first learned Harmony in the ninth grade, I was taught on an aged and practically antique fourth edition of Piston's Harmony. The first thing I noticed is that the fifth reworked some of the chapters and the order they are in. For example Chapter 10 in the 4th edition was Cadences, but the 5th it is the six-four chord.
After many years away from practice and learning harmony, I came across it again and was tempted. Should I buy it? Would it be changed after all those years?
I am glad to say that it's like an old friend came by. Despite some of the chapters are different in order, the structure remains the same. Piston uses a lot of musical examples to show what he is trying to teach. He starts out with very easy concepts (positions of notes in a chord and intervals). It is assumed that the reader can read music and knows the difference between a whole note and a quarter note, etc.)
The concept of inversions is covered quite thoroughly, giving the reader time to ingest and start to feel comfortable with first inversion, he gets into the second. Finally, in the section on dominants, he gets into third. In between there are chapters on harmonization of a melody, cadences (the old ii-V-I, etc.), triads, modulation, seventh chords, textures, Neapolitan sixths, etc.
One of the greatest strengths of this book is the musical examples that it is drawn from. Once you start getting into triads, etc. you start seeing output from actual composers (usually keyboard reductions) for teaching the works with a piano or keyboard.
If you are a reader interested in learning the craft and the technique of composition, Piston's book will not steer you wrong. It is good to welcome back an old friend.
Still a gem! I think. Part I of Review December 25, 2005
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
I received the book today and decided that I would go through the reviews again. I was always taught that if you read the Preface of a book, you get a general idea of the book's purpose. Obviously, your reviewers giving low ratings, never read the preface or introduction to the book. This is especially directed to those who are professionals. Listen to what the 14 year-old wrote. Perhaps this textbook is not intended for students requiring a lot of tutoring, or individuals not wanting a scholarly approach to musical theory. I will finish reading the book and follow-up with Part II of this review. At this time, it is still the bible of musical theory -- bar none! It is a scholarly and historical approach to the history of music theory. Please keep this in mind before writing a bad review.
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