Copyright r04t Revised edition, copyright 1948, by W. W. Norton & Gow Inc First published by Victor Gollance Ld, 1950 Reissued Apel, 1959) ‘Musical Illustrations drawn by MARIO GARMOSINO Lows snp auvoowe (PRINTERS) ETD CONTENTS CTION SCALES AND INTERVALS ee 22 HARMONIC PROGRESSION TONALITY AND MODALITY HARMONIC RHYTHM THE HARMONIC STRUCTURE OF THE PHRASE HARMONIZATION OF A GIVEN PART ‘MODULATION CHORDS OF THE SIXTH-THE FIGURED BASS NONHARMONIC TONES THE SIX-FOUR CHORD ‘CADENCES: THE DOMINANT SEVENTH CHORD SECONDARY DOMINANTS IRREGULAR RESOLUTIONS THE DIMINISHED SEVENTH CHORD THE INCOMPLETE MAJOR NINTH ‘THE COMPLETE DOMINANT NINTH ‘THE SEQUENCE, NONDOMINANT HARMONY—SEVENTH CHORDS: NINTH, ELEVENTH, AND THIRTEENTH CHORDS THE RAISED SUPERTONIC AND SUBMEDIANT, 150 212 225 239 255BY THE SAME AUTHOR: COUNTERPOINT 444 most admirable book” —Eric Blom (Observer) “A study of music in which every example comes from a fine score land sends the reader to it. No wonder it has been hailed by those atho wish that such a book had been available in our young days. May it be widely read’ —The Music Teacher ORCHESTRATION “1 can say without the slightest doubt that the main part of the book is very fine indeed and far and away better than anything T hhave seen before” —Sir Adrian Boult ‘sPigst rate—all it says has such practical value and it isn't cluttered up with a lot of archaic information. I particularly Tike the wide range of illustrations” —Edric Cundell A valuable addition to the library of works on this subject. The author rightly insists that scoring is an art of creative imagina- San and that his examples are not intended for imitation but vather to encourage the student to develop what originality he has Taihis own way, when once he has taken a firm grasp of fundamental principles "—Dr. Gordon Jacob “My only reget is that this brilliant and stimulating book was not vnitien in my own student days, for it would have saved wading Through many volumes twice the size and not neatly s0 illuminating. ‘The suchor has a rare gift for clear exposition... Tyro or Expert, composer, conductor, arranger or student, should all find {he book invaluable, and the amateur music-lover with sufficient ability to read the examples would also find ita fascinating study sith rich results to offer in enlarging his musical horizon” — Liverpool Post “A wonderful and truly workmanlike job . . . a book which is so valuable as to be indispensable to every student of the subject Fhe presentation has the directness and the clarity of the (rue teacher" —The Music Teacher ‘fey practical value to the student fg very high. Professor Piston’s bock’is the first real exposition of twentieth-century orchestral technique. “A most valuable book”—Humphrey Searle (B.B.C. Music Magazine) HARMONY by WALTER PISTON LONDON VICTOR GOLLANCZ LTD 1959vi CONTENTS 23. THE NEAPOLITAN SIXTH 24. AUGMENTED SIXTH CHORDS 25. OTHER CHROMATIC CHORDS CONCLUSION SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES INDEX 265 278 293 305 307 Bat INTRODUCTION ue first important step in the study of harmony is that of rifying the purpose of such study. Much confusion ex- ists today as to why we study musical theory and what ld expect to learn from it. In the present writer’s teaching rience this confusion of outlook furnishes the commonest and ‘serious obstacle to progress in all branches of’ musical theory. are those who consider that studies in harmony, counter- and fugue are the exclusive province of the intended com- - But if we reflect that theory must follow practice, rarely g it except by chance, we must realize that musical theory a set of directions for composing music. Ie is rather the col- and systematized deductions gathered by observing the prac- ‘composers over a long time, and it attempts to set forth what been their common practice. It tells not how music will be en in the future, but how music has been written in the past. results of such a definition of the true nature of musical the- ‘many and important. First of all, it is clear chat this knowl- indispensable to musicians in all fields of the art, whether y be composers, performers, conductors, critics, teachers, or jogists. Indeed, a secure grounding in theory is even more to the musical scholar than to the composer, since it the basis for any intelligent appraisal of individual styles of ‘or present. the other hand, the person gifted for creative musical com- m is taking a serious risk in assuming that his genius is great to get along without a deep knowledge of the common