Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory

Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory by Joseph N. Straus. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780136866923.

A primer--rather than a survey--this book offers exceptionally clear, simple explanations of basic theoretical concepts for the post-tonal music of the twentieth century. Emphasizing hands-on contact with the music--through playing, singing, listening, and analyzing--it provides six chapters on theory, each illustrated with musical examples and fully worked-out analyses, all drawn largely from the "classical" pre-war repertoire by Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartok, Berg, and Webern. Considers three principal kinds of post-tonal music--free atonal music, twelve-tone music, and centric music. Makes extensive use of transformational graphs and networks to present analytical information; and includes a variety of exercises in theory, analysis, musicianship and ear-training, and composition. For anyone interested in Twentieth-Century Music Techniques and Post-Tonal Theory and Analysis.