Fundamentals, Function, and Form: Theory and Analysis of Tonal Western Art Music

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Andre Mount , SUNY Potsdam

ISBN 13: 9781942341994

Publisher: Milne Open Textbooks

Language: English

Formats Available

Online
PDF

Conditions of Use

Attribution-NonCommercial
CC BY-NC

I. Fundamentals
- 1. Introduction to Rhythm and Meter
- 2. Beat Division
- 3. Simple Meters
- 4. Compound Meters
- 5. Pitch
- 6. Major Scales
- 7. Minor Scales
- 8. Major Keys and Key Signatures
- 9. Minor Keys and Key Signatures
- 10. The Circle of Fifths
II. Diatonic Polyphony and Functional Harmony
- 11. Intervals
- 12. Basic Two-Voice Interval Progressions
- 13. Triads
- 14. Three- and Four-Voice Progressions
- 15. Nonharmonic Tones
- 16. Minor Scale Variants
- 17. The vii° Chord
- 18. Seventh Chords
- 19. The Dominant Seventh Chord
- 20. Fully-diminished Seventh Chords
- 21. Figured Bass
- 22. Phrases, Cadences, and Harmonic Function
- 23. Auxiliary Sonorities
- 24. The Pre-Dominant Function
- 25. Diatonic Descending-fifth Sequences
- 26. Other Diatonic Sequences
III. Modulation and Chromatic Harmony
- 27. Applied Chords
- 28. Modulation
- 29. Mixture
- 30. Advanced Mixture
- 31. The Neapolitan Chord
- 32. Augmented Sixth Sonorities
- 33. Chromatic Pre-Dominants
- 34. Other Chromatic Harmonies
IV. Form
- 35. Sentences and Periods
- 36. Binary Form
- 37. Ternary and Rondo Forms
- 38. Sonata Form

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About the Book

Fundamentals, Function, and Form by Andre Mount—with editorial and pedagogical input from Lee Rothfarb—provides its readers with a comprehensive study of the theory and analysis of tonal Western art music. Mount begins by building a strong foundation in the understanding of rhythm, meter, and pitch as well as the notational conventions associated with each. From there, he guides the reader through an exploration of polyphony—the simultaneous sounding of multiple independent melodies—and an increasingly rich array of different sonorites that grow out of this practice. The book culminates with a discussion of musical form, engaging with artistic works in their entirety by considering the interaction of harmonic and thematic elements, but also such other musical dimensions as rhythm, meter, texture, and expression.

Along the way, Mount supplements the text with over eight hundred musical examples which, in the online version of the text, include embedded audio files for immediate aural reinforcement of theoretical concepts. Most of these examples are drawn from the literature, including nearly 200 excerpts by women and other underrepresented groups. The reader is also given the opportunity to check their understanding of the text with interactive exercises at every step of the way. Fundamentals, Function, and Form was written with the undergraduate music student in mind, but self-guided readers would also be rewarded with a deep understanding of this musical tradition.

About the Contributors

Author

Andre Mount holds a PhD in music theory from the University of California at Santa Barbara and is currently an associate professor of music theory at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. He has presented in North America at annual meetings of the American Musicological Society, the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (US Chapter), and the Society for American Music, as well as in Europe at the Keep It Simple, Make It Fast conference. His articles have been published in Music and the Moving Image, Journal of Musicology, and the Journal of the Society for American Music. He has also contributed to projects intended for general readership including The Encyclopedia of American Music and Culture and maintains an OER site for musicianship training at The Trained Ear.