Rating: 
Summary: A great book.
Review: I've been studying music theory for (too) many years and out of all the books on this subject I would say that this is the most user friendly for the beginning student. It's easy to understand; it has a FABULOUS format and its cheaper then most textbooks out there. The authors defiantly understand that the reader will most likely be a BEGINNER and so it is written that way.
It starts with the basics of pitch (it even explains how the keyboard is sometimes used as a TOOL for those who don't study keyboard). It also clearly states how scales are used/studied, what scales are more popular then others and why, and what can be done with scales. How chords are constructed, where they come from, why they are the way they are, the different ways to make a chord. Trust me, it's all here.
I suppose I should just say that format is the key with this book. Pretty much the difference between a good textbook on theory and a bad one is just that: format. If things are in order and explained systematically, anything can be taught/learned.
Rating: 
Summary: Academic but not useful
Review: I've been using this text at two colleges in Southern California. Almost across the board, students have trouble understanding the text. Granted it is not as bad as the latest Piston/DeVoto "Harmony" abomination, but that's a different topic. I'll be switching to Robert Gauldin's wonderful harmony text "Harmonic Practice in Tonal Music" as soon I get the go ahead from my dept chairs.
Rating:
Summary: Much improved but still has a ways to go
Review: I've used this book for my first-year theory class for nine years, through three editions. I haven't found any better but that doesn't mean I think it's perfect. I agree with some of the other commentaries about the errors and the poor choice of musical examples. Students of mine have frequently complained about this. In addition, the book is very keyboard-centric and thus creates difficulties for people who don't play the piano and who aren't used to reading keyboard score. One can argue, of course, that keyboard facility is a skill any serious musician ought to have (being a pianist myself, I agree in principle), but still, there ARE good musicians who are not pianists who will struggle unnecessarily with this material.Other, specific things I would change about the book: 1) The chapters on part-writing emphasize too heavily the minutiae of voice-leading and thus obscure the point that we're talking about the relative motion of complete melodic lines. More exercises involving only two parts, to give students a thorough grounding in the basics (i.e., no parallel fifths and octaves), would really help. 2) Although including discussions and examples from popular music is a good idea, the section that tries to explain the concept of "suspension" in pop chord symbols is skimpy and confusing. 3) I find the whole explanation of harmonic progression, based on the circle-of-fifths progression, unconvincing. Piston's looser cataloging for me better fits the reality of tonal music.
Rating:
Summary: It's quality stuff.
Review: It's ridiculous to say that this book is hard to understand; I use this book for my high school theory class and I can understand it. It's true that it is a little dry and has some errors, but overall it's really helped me learn theory.
Rating:
Summary: the errors edition
Review: Kostka and Payne did a great job with their theory, although there are some disputes. The problem with this edition is the vast amounts of errors in it's pages. Because of the rush to publish it, even elementary students can point out the errors in both textbook and workbook.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding and thorough guide to music theory.
Review: Music theory is kind of like math. Some people are good at theory, but hate studying it; some have a complete theory block and can't understand even the fundamentals. And some, like me, love it, are good at it, and enjoy it for its own sake. For those who are interested in this vast and sometimes intimidating subject, Kostka's "Tonal Harmony" is a superb, well written, extremely thorough, and largely lucid guide. This is the text I used in both college theory classes and in the independent study I did with a University of Oregon doctoral student, and in both cases I found it very useful. To get much out of it, one really should have some background in theory, but with at least a modest understanding of the subject, this book is one that can be used alone by the self-motivated musician. Everything from four-part writing and figured bass to secondary functions and French augmented sixth chords is covered here. In fact, unless you are getting a Ph.D. in music theory, there's a lot here you'd never need to know. Kostka and his co-writer include many exercises at the end of each chapter, and there are a couple of chapters on post-tonal theory at the end of the book. There will never be a perfect guide to music theory, since it's such a complex subject. There will also never be a perfect guide to physics. That doesn't mean this book can't be of use to you. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding and thorough guide to music theory.
Review: Music theory is kind of like math. Some people are good at theory, but hate studying it; some have a complete theory block and can't understand even the fundamentals. And some, like me, love it, are good at it, and enjoy it for its own sake. For those who are interested in this vast and sometimes intimidating subject, Kostka's "Tonal Harmony" is a superb, well written, extremely thorough, and largely lucid guide. This is the text I used in both college theory classes and in the independent study I did with a University of Oregon doctoral student, and in both cases I found it very useful. To get much out of it, one really should have some background in theory, but with at least a modest understanding of the subject, this book is one that can be used alone by the self-motivated musician. Everything from four-part writing and figured bass to secondary functions and French augmented sixth chords is covered here. In fact, unless you are getting a Ph.D. in music theory, there's a lot here you'd never need to know. Kostka and his co-writer include many exercises at the end of each chapter, and there are a couple of chapters on post-tonal theory at the end of the book. There will never be a perfect guide to music theory, since it's such a complex subject. There will also never be a perfect guide to physics. That doesn't mean this book can't be of use to you. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Could Be Better
Review: The mistakes limit this publication from being good. Also, the book's language makes simple things, such as harmonic progressiona and non-chord tones, seem much harder to construct and understand than they actually are.
Rating: 
Summary: Not helpful to a serious musician
Review: This book represents everything that is wrong in music theory education. This book approaches music as an abstract entity even though it provides many examples and exercises. It tries to compartmentalize different aspects of music, like harmony, melody, rhythm and form. I don't think it's the authors' fault entirely.
This is a book on tonal harmony. It has become the standard textbook for music theory in the United States. This is extremely misguided since it will give the student an extremely incomplete understanding of how music works. For example, counterpoint is not taught in this book. Counterpoint has been considered essential for the serious musician for the past 500 years. All the different aspects of music mentioned above are wholly intertwined. Any approach that seperates them misses the point.
This book also puts too much emphasis on harmony as a vertical phenomenon. Most people experience music as a horizontal phenonmenon and I haave found that approaches to music theory that treats music as such has had much more success. This goes back to why counterpoint is so essential in music theory. Learning harmony through an approach that pays attention to how melody, rhythm, and counterpoint affect harmony is the most honest and least troublesome way of learning how music works.
This may explain why many have had trouble with this book(I had for 5 years). You'll know how to name things such as chords and form after completing this book, but it won't help you understand how a piece works. It focuses more on nomenclature than on syntax and function.
There are a slew of books that will give the music student a more complete picture of theory. Most importantly, these more integrated methods will give better tools to understand the music they may be performing and/or studying. These books include Leo Kraft's Gradus, Aldwell and Schachter's Harmony and Voice Leading, Horton and Ritchey's Harmony Through Melody, Siegmeiter's Harmony and Melody, and to a lesser extent Forte's Tonal Harmony in Concept and Practice.
I am an active conductor and I feel I have a much stronger grasp of music after having been taught a more honest and comprehensive way of studying music and this was only after years of deprogramming what I had learned through the Kostka and Payne. I am still struggling with this issue. If you're serious about music, DO NOT GET THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Good college review
Review: Used this book at Kent State.Well organized with exellent work book. Happily goes into some modern technique. Good exercises.
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