Elementary Harmony: Theory and Practice with CD (5th Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Yeah
Review: A good book, better than many others I have used, but as otherreviews describe, it contains many blaring errors. Its text is muchmore readable than other books I have used, though.

Rating:
Summary: Be VERY Careful before ordering this book
Review: My class used this book for the first time this year. It was a Music Theory class, and everyday, in almost every assignment, we found mistakes. The book itself is great, but the publisher's should have spent more time working out the mistakes. If you know what you're doing and you can easily catch the mistakes, then this book is great. But, if you are at the point where you KNOW if it's a mistake or not, you don't need this book to begin with.

Rating:
Summary: Conceptually solid, but many printing mistakes
Review: The fifth edition of Elementary Harmony is a still a good text that stresses fluency in theoretical fundamentals. It moves more slowly than some competing texts, which I consider a plus. It is a text that teaches mastery of theory, not merely a survey of theory. It is much more readable (less pedantic) than old editions of Ottman. This edition is riddled with printing errors. The publisher is aware of this, and I know from personal experience that they are taking more care in the new fifth edition of Advanced Harmony. Elementary Harmony is in need of a new printing, but the publisher is seeking input to improve the accuracy of any reprint. To summarize, the concepts and sequence of the text presentation are very good, especially for students needing thorough grounding in fundamentals. The excessive errors will confuse students, but a reprint of the edition can easily correct the errors.

Rating:
Summary: recommended
Review: This and its companion, the author's "Advanced Harmony", are probably the most practical English-language part-writing texts still available, though a bit plodding. (But consider that I am familiar only with an earlier edition.)

Also recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by JEFF BURNS.

Rating:
Summary: Students Beware
Review: This is a well-designed book, but is marred by an incredible number of mistakes. It's truly unbelievable. I realize that these exercises can be tricky, but the publishers ought to be ashamed that, after four editions, they have allowed mistakes to remain in nearly every assignment.

Why is it that the majority of first-semester music students can find so many mistakes, yet the professionals who put the material together can not see glaring errors that jump right off the page? This is the most unreliable text I have ever used. It's not unusual to find a mistake here and there in technical books, but I identified literally dozens in just the first half we covered in Theory 1 class.

If you are required to use this book for a class, then you don't have any choice--just be very careful. If you are studying on you own, without the benefit of others to help catch all the errors, then you will want another book.

Rating:
Summary: the most horrible theory book in the world
Review: this was the text book that was used in my college intro to harmony and tonal counterpoint. it was full of mistakes and was very difficult to follow. my professor even expressed his hatred of this horrible, horrible book, but yet my university feels inclined to continue using it. if you really want to learn voice leading and harmony, find another book.