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I just got Harmony by Walter Piston and it is by far the best book on music theory I have ever encountered. Just two days after reading it so much of what i do and the chords I've been using have made so much more sense and I just want to share my musical joy with this community since it really tied up a lot of loose ends I had from my music theory classes in school.

Anyone else have music literature recommendations?

I'm looking at Composing Music by William Russo. It's good stuff.

canadianc4rruut
I just got Harmony by Walter Piston and it is by far the best book on music theory I have ever encountered. Just two days after reading it so much of what i do and the chords I've been using have made so much more sense and I just want to share my musical joy with this community since it really tied up a lot of loose ends I had from my music theory classes in school.

Anyone else have music literature recommendations?

Heh, just browsing old threads looking to see if I can find any advice on how to make a spider-type shockmount, and I came across this post!

I want to second Walter Piston's Harmony, it was one of the standard set textbooks for my Harmony course when I studied music at university, but it reads as easily as any self-education book can.

The author's musical compositions are, well, I don't like them very much, but this harmony book is superb. It's well laid out, easy to understand, and the early chapters are especially accessible and useful for the musician with no formal education. Even if you don't read music notation this book can help you learn.

In my experience finding a set text for a university course which is as readable as a book chosen for self education is really unusual, but in my opinion this one really does the job.

I also like The Musician's Guide to Acoustics by Murray Campbell and Clive Greated, and Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics by Arthur H. Benade. I spotted the latter in my violinmaker's workshop, he keeps it as a reference. I think that's as good a commendation as any.

Ok, back to browsing for making a spider shockmount tips.

after reading these recomendations, I went to Ebay and found a copy for sale. Thanks. I'm awaiting the arrival of my copy - staring at the mailbox, just waiting, waiting, waiting.

You should check out Hindemith's Elemental Training for Musicians. It will make you an ear trained god.