# Which book should I read next?



## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

I have three choices:
_Classical Form_ by William Caplin
_Structural Hearing_ by Felix Salzer
_Fundamentals of Musical Composition_ by Arnold Schoenberg

These are the books I've already read:
_Harmony_ and _Counterpoint_ by Walter Piston
_Counterpoint for Beginners_ by C.H. Kitson
_Structural Functions of Harmony_ by Arnold Schoenberg

I have a fairly decent grasp on harmony and counterpoint, and must now move on to form. Each of the three books I can choose from seem to have parts that I'd end up skipping over because I already know them. The question is, which is more relevant for composition?


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

The Schoenberg

Edit: Never heard of the Zemlinsky below, but ill tell you why the Schoenberg is the one to get out of the three you listed.
Its pretty simple really.. you want something that is relevant to composition? Well this book lays out all the elements that make up a piece of music and described how as a composer you can use these to write music.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

*Buy it used*

The Zemlinsky!

http://www.amazon.com/Zemlinsky-Ant...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296940971&sr=1-1

Used for 5$ something.

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

*p.s.*

Zemlinsky was Schönberg's brother in law.

Martin


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## Machiavel (Apr 12, 2010)

You should definetely read How not to get Ban! Might be of good use as you do speak your mind!

Fun aside, I also agree with the Zemlinsky! You should enjoy this book.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

I got banned once...LOL

Martin


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

emiellucifuge said:


> The Schoenberg
> 
> Edit: Never heard of the Zemlinsky below, but ill tell you why the Schoenberg is the one to get out of the three you listed.
> Its pretty simple really.. you want something that is relevant to composition? Well this book lays out all the elements that make up a piece of music and described how as a composer you can use these to write music.


The Schoenberg book seems to be the obvious choice, doesn't it? After looking through a bit of each book, the Salzer book seems to be less about form than I had hoped, and more about stuff I've already gone over, but from Schenker and Salzer's perspective. While the Schoenberg book is obviously geared toward composers, the Caplin book appears to be more theoretical. For the purposes of composition, Schoenberg's book would probably be most beneficial. However, I may still wish to come back to Caplin's book at some time.

I'm going to ignore the Zemlinsky post entirely; for one, it wasn't on my list; for two, I'm not particularly interested in the biography of a composer or the analysis of his works right now. Maybe some other time I'll read biographies of various composers.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

*Good for you*



> I'm going to ignore the Zemlinsky post entirely; for one, it wasn't on my list; for two, I'm not particularly interested in the biography of a composer or the analysis of his works right now. Maybe some other time I'll read biographies of various composers.


Chose Philippa Gregory instead...Have you read The other Boleyn girl's SAGA it is awesome. Schönberg, listen to his music! I read a book about him when I was 17...and it was medium...

Martin


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Chose Philippa Gregory instead...Have you read The other Boleyn girl's SAGA it is awesome. Schönberg, listen to his music! I read a book about him when I was 17...and it was medium...
> 
> Martin


Hmm... Historical fiction, sibling rivalry, courtly love, aggressive politics; I might actually enjoy reading that. Thank you for the suggestion, perhaps I'll read it when I'm finished with Les Mis and The Wheel of Time.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

*Yeah!*



> Hmm... Historical fiction, sibling rivalry, courtly love, aggressive politics; I might actually enjoy reading that. Thank you for the suggestion, perhaps I'll read it when I'm finished with Les Mis and The Wheel of Time.


These books are awesome and well written.

Yeah!


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

Kopachris said:


> I have three choices:
> _Classical Form_ by William Caplin
> _Structural Hearing_ by Felix Salzer
> _Fundamentals of Musical Composition_ by Arnold Schoenberg


I've read the Schoenberg. I found it worthless for my musical style and pretty unmemorable. Judging by the title, the Caplin also sounds useless. Therefore, by a scientific process of elimination, I'd choose the Salzer. Actually reading the synopsis, it seems irrelevant too. Your mileage may vary, obviously.

To provide some useful input, I'll recommend R. Murray Schafer's _The Tuning of the World_ and Jacques Attali _Noise_. For a more technical text, try Cowell's New Musical Resources or Partch's Genesis of a Music.


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

Argus said:


> I've read the Schoenberg. I found it worthless for my musical style and pretty unmemorable. Judging by the title, the Caplin also sounds useless. Therefore, by a scientific process of elimination, I'd choose the Salzer. Actually reading the synopsis, it seems irrelevant too. Your mileage may vary, obviously.
> 
> To provide some useful input, I'll recommend R. Murray Schafer's _The Tuning of the World_ and Jacques Attali _Noise_. For a more technical text, try Cowell's New Musical Resources or Partch's Genesis of a Music.


For your musical style, those might be good. For mine, I must disagree. Thanks anyway. :tiphat:


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## Charon (Sep 8, 2008)

I've read Piston's book too. I found it very informative, although it did seem a bit disorganized.

I have Caplin's book. I read the first chapter or two and decided to stop reading it because I wanted to learn in other areas. It's a very specific book on form, focusing on about 30 years of writing from 1780 to 1810. From what I got from my acquaintance with the book, he was attempting to formulate a new theory of form for the music in this period with this book.

I'd recommend the Schoenberg, based alone from what I've heard people say about it.


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