Form in Tonal Music: An Introduction to Analysis, Second Edition

This book is jam-packed with facts.I have just two major criticisms:--The explanations on binary forms is unnecessarily difficult to understand.Just in case you're wondering, a binary form is closed, or sectional, if the first half ends on the tonic.It is open, or continuous, if the first half ends on the dominant or any other chord.It is rounded if the second part ends with a restatement of the first part.It is simple if the second part does not end with such a restatement.That is all in the wide world there is to it!--The book gives detailed analyses of compositions after offering few or no musical examples. (I should have read Annie Burridge's review and purchased the Burkhart Anthology.)I also see a few high points which are missed:--There is no discussion of development themes. An outstanding example is Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony.--There is no discussion of development canons. An outstanding example is Franck's Symphony in d minor.--In the discussion on chorale preludes, he doesn't give the familiar example of "Wachet Auf."--In the discussion on vocal chorales, he doesn't give the familiar example of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."--In the discussion on baroque partitas, I would like to see the characteristic rhythms of each of the dance movements. The author probably considers this outside the scope of the book.--He tells us that the recapitulation does not always treat all the themes in the exposition, but he gives us few examples. I have wondered why we never hear the lyrical theme in the recapitulation of the Dvorak cello concerto. This is such a well-known composition that I think it should be used as an example.--I'm curious about how the Liszt piano concertos are constructed.--I'm also curious about how the megalomanic symphonies by Mahler and Bruckner are constructed. It seems that the author was partial toward music of the baroque and classical eras, but nineteenth-century music is popular, like it or not.--I would like more discussion about keyboard preludes. I have never been able to compose a good keyboard prelude.--There is no discussion of standard liturgical texts for church vocal music. The author probably considered this outside the scope of the book, also.

Many exercises are given to the student. Relies on Burkhart's text.

I have taught Form and Analysis for almost thirty years, and I don't know of another text available that more thoroughly covers the detailed approach to the intricacies of understanding TONAL music from Gregorian Chant to the present. This book requires an understanding of music theory and a good background in classical music. It requires the Burkhardt Anthology of Music to use for the assignments in each of the chapters. My book is thread bare at this point, but it has served me and all of my college students well for decades. No updated editions every year, either! Every time I teach from it, I learn something new!

This book is very wordy and often it took me reading the chapter two or three times to really understand it; however, the first three or four chapters are simpler and more straight forward. The information is good and the exercises in the back of each chapter provide great excerpts for analysis to use for further study. When I looked at these suggested excerpts and analyzed them myself, I could put into practice the procedures discussed in the text. The book is fairly easy to navigate through and has plenty of room in the margins for extra notes.

I was really impressed with this book. I needed it for a class, and I was glad I purchased it here. It came in a vacuum sealed package that helped to keep the book safe during shipping. Overall, a great purchase.

No negatives ~ This is info I desperately needed!! I'm glad I purchased it, and was able to get a good used second edition.

Great text for discovering various styles/forms of tonal writing. A must have resource. I refer to it quite often and highly recommend it.

A definitive book on musical form.