BIBLIO is the largest independent book marketplace in the world, with over 100 million books.

Skip to content

Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs
Stock photo: cover may vary

Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs Hardback - 2012 - 1st Edition

by E. Eugene Helm

Add to wish list

Reader reviews for Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs

From the publisher

Where did the major scale come from? Why does most traditional non-Western music not share Western principles of harmony? What does the inner structure of a canon have to do with religious belief? Why, in historical terms, is J.S. Bach's music regarded as a perfect combination of melody and harmony? Why do clocks in church towers strike dominant-tonic-dominant-tonic? What do cathedrals have to do with monochords? How can the harmonic series be demonstrated with a rope tied to a doorknob, and how can it be heard by standing next to an electric fan? Why are the free ocean waves in Debussy's La Mer, the turbulent river waves in Smetana's Moldau, and the fountain ripples in Ravel's Jeux d'Eau pushed at times into four-bar phrases? Why is the metric system inherently unsuitable for organizing music and poetry? In what way does Plato's Timaeus resemble the prelude to Wagner's Das Rheingold? Just how does Beethoven's work perfectly illustrate fully functional tonality, and why were long-range works based on this type of tonality impossible before the introduction of equal temperament? In this new century, what promising materials are available to composers in the wake of harmonic experimentation and, some would argue, exhaustion?

The answers to these seemingly complicated questions are not the sole province of music professors or orchestra conductors. In fact, as E. Eugene Helm demonstrates, they can just as easily be explained to amateurs, and their answers are important if we are to understand how Western music works. The full range of Western music is explored through 21 concise chapters on such topics as melody, harmony, counterpoint, texture, melody types, improvisation, music notation, free imitation, canon and fugue, vibration and its relation to harmony, tonality, and the place of music in architecture and astronomy. Intended for amateurs and professionals, concert-goers and conductors, Helm offers in down-to-earth language an explanation of the foundations of our Western music heritage, deepening our understanding and the listening experience of it for all.

Details

  • Title Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs
  • Author E. Eugene Helm
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition number 1st
  • Edition 1
  • Pages 210
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Scarecrow Press
  • Publication date 2012-12-06
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Dust Cover, Illustrated, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780810886391 / 0810886391
  • Weight 0.95 lbs (0.43 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 in (23.11 x 15.24 x 1.78 cm)
  • Category Music/Songbooks
  • Library of Congress subjects Music theory, Music - History and criticism
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2012030922
  • Dewey Decimal Code 780.1

About the author

E. Eugene Helm is professor emeritus in the school of music, University of Maryland, College Park. He is founder of its ethnomusicology program and co-founder and coordinating editor of The Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Edition (Oxford University Press, 1982-1990). He is author of various other works on C.P.E. Bach.

More Copies for Sale

Melody, Harmony, Tonality A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs
Stock photo: cover may vary

Melody, Harmony, Tonality A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs

by E. Eugene Helm,

  • New
  • Hardback
  • first
Condition
New
Edition
1st
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780810886391 / 0810886391
Quantity available
1
Seller
Item price
A$96.82
A$28.90 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
ScarecroPress, 2012. 1st. Hardcover. New/New.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$96.82
A$28.90 Delivery to USA
Melody, Harmony, Tonality : A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs

Melody, Harmony, Tonality : A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs

by E. Eugene Helm

  • New
  • Hardback
Condition
New
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780810886391 / 0810886391
Quantity available
444
Seller
Item price
A$217.91
A$15.30 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Hardcover. New. New Book; Fast Shipping from UK; Not signed; Not First Edition; The full range of Western music is explored through 21 concise chapters on such topics as melody, harmony, counterpoint, texture, melody types, improvisation, music notation, free imitation, canon and fugue, vibration and its relation t
Add to wish list
Item price
A$217.91
A$15.30 Delivery to USA
Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs
Stock photo: cover may vary

Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs

by E. Eugene Helm

  • New
  • Hardback
Condition
New
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780810886391 / 0810886391
Quantity available
10
Seller
Item price
A$223.27
A$19.05 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Hardback. New. Intended for amateurs and professionals, concert-goers and conductors, Helm offers in down-to-earth language an explanation of the foundations of our Western music heritage, deepening our understanding and the listening experience of it for all.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$223.27
A$19.05 Delivery to USA
Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs
Stock photo: cover may vary

Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs

by Helm, E. Eugene

  • Used
  • Hardback
  • first
Condition
Used
Edition
1
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780810886391 / 0810886391
Quantity available
1
Seller
Item price
A$225.00
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Scarecrow Press, 2012-12-06. 1. hardcover. Used: Good. 6.28x0.84x9.28. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$225.00
Free Delivery to USA
Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs
Stock photo: cover may vary

Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs

by Helm, E. Eugene

  • New
  • Hardback
  • first
Condition
New
Edition
1
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780810886391 / 0810886391
Quantity available
6
Seller
Item price
A$225.00
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Scarecrow Press, 2012-12-06. 1. hardcover. New. 6.28x0.84x9.28. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$225.00
Free Delivery to USA
Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs
Stock photo: cover may vary

Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs

by Helm, E. Eugene

  • New
  • Hardback
Condition
New
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780810886391 / 0810886391
Quantity available
2
Seller
Item price
A$323.49
A$28.72 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Scarecrow Pr, 2012. Hardcover. New. 1st edition. 198 pages. 9.50x6.00x1.00 inches.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$323.49
A$28.72 Delivery to USA
Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs
Stock photo: cover may vary

Melody, Harmony, Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs

by Helm, E. Eugene

  • Used
  • Good
  • Hardback
Condition
Good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780810886391 / 0810886391
Quantity available
1
Seller
Item price
A$256.40
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
hardcover. Good. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. May be an ex-library book.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$256.40
Free Delivery to USA