Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis

Rating:
Summary: After basic theory, what's next? Books like this.
Review: Where do you go when you know first year theory, and most books are too smart or too dumb?

Engaging Music does not suppose a large degree of knowledge on the part of its readers, though it does presume basic first year theory, which is what makes it great.

Ostensibly about analysis the book contains a wealth of ideas in many areas. A broad range of genres are covered include the common practice period (classical), modernist, jazz, and rock. Topics covered include phrase rhythm, hypermeter, Schenkerian analysis, twelve-tone theory, form, and musical ambiguity. My favorite essays: "Form in Rock Music" and "Introduction to Musical Ambiguity".