The Practice of Harmony

For courses in Music Theory

A text/workbook combination that gives students the tools to understand harmonic structures
With an emphasis on learning by doing, The Practice of Harmony, Seventh Edition takes students from music fundamentals through harmony in common practice to some of the more important harmonic procedures of the 20th century. Its approach is "additive" -- enabling students to use what was learned in one chapter to understand material in the next -- to minimize rote memorization, since students repeatedly use the concepts throughout the semester. The text begins with an overview of music fundamentals; the middle addresses the use of harmony in common practice; and the concluding section offers a basic glimpse of the harmonic practices of the 20th century. The authors intentionally avoid elaborate descriptions of their conceptual framework and refrain from specifying instructional methods, thereby allowing instructors a wide spectrum of teaching approaches in the classroom.

NOTE: This ISBN is for a Pearson Books a la Carte edition: a convenient, three-hole-punched, loose-leaf text. In addition to the flexibility offered by this format, Books a la Carte editions offer students great value, as they cost significantly less than a bound textbook.
About the Author: Composer, theorist, and jazz pianist Peter Spencer retired as a Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Florida State University. He was born in Wales, educated in England at Winchester College, Oxford and London Universities, and in the United States at West Virginia University where his terminal degree was the Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition. At FSU he served as Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition; as Director of the Certificate Programs for Pedagogy in Music Theory and Computers in Music; and was instrumental in developing the Center for Music Research. Besides his textbooks The Practice of Harmony, The Study of Form in Music, and Music Theory for Non-Music Majors, he has written instructional materials for the development of aural skills, including a comprehensive computer-based program in melodic and harmonic dictation.

Pianist and composer Barbara A. Bennett comes from a long line of southern musicians dating back to early twentieth-century traveling tent musicians along the eastern seaboard. She holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Georgia and a doctorate in composition from the Florida State University. She recently retired from the University of California, Riverside, where she taught music theory, composition, and women in music to many generations of music students. Her expertise in the classroom was recognized with an Outstanding Teaching Award. Besides teaching, composing, and performing, her career included serving on national and regional boards of The College Music Society and the National Association of Composers, USA.

The co-authors have a professional acquaintance that dates back to the early 1980s. While teaching undergraduate theory at FSU, Bennett was among the graduate assistants that Spencer supervised. They grew to share a pedagogical approach, and that common bond continued into their editing duties on The Practice of Harmony. They remain close friends and colleagues.