Twentieth-Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice

by Vincent Persichetti

One of the most important books on contemporary music in the twentieth century. Here for the first time is an orderly presentation of the harmonic procedures to be found in music of the first half of the twentieth-century. The author examines the nature of intervals in various contexts, discusses the modes and other scales employed in modern music, describes the formation and uses of chords by thirds, by fourths, and by seconds, of added-note chords and polychords; he deals with different types of harmonic motion, with harmonic rhythm and dynamic sand ornamentation, with harmonic behavior in tonality, polytonality, atonality and serial composition.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference, Theory, Art, Textbooks

287 pages, Hardcover

First published February 19, 1961

Reviews

[Cliff Tan]

As a amateur Composer myself I find modern compositional techniques to be a mess. Writing music that no one listens to, contrary to the current contemporary approach of "dumbing down" and endless copy and paste hooks and refrains.
This book explains quite thoroughly: modern harmony of a variety of composers eg. Schoenberg, Prokofiev, Hindemith,etc. The technicalities are coherent and engaging enough for a post theory grade 8 student and I highly recommend it to musicians who are well versed in Schenkerian analysis and Gradus Ad Parnassum (study of counterpoint).
I started reading this book primarily because of my curiosity in prokofiev's compositional approach, and whether it was possible to have a tangible explanation for his "sound". Because general music theory (abrsm) doesn't go into depth on 20th century music save for 12 tone serialism and the French school eg, Debussy & Ravel.
If you are wondering: "why does this sound weird but so appealing at the same time?" Then I'd say "start with this book". I think that it is a Musician's job to explore all spectrums of harmony for musicianship' sake, And by that acquiring a firmer command at the instrument and music.

[Eric]

This is the only book (of which I'm aware) about 20th century compositional technique that explains its subject in a clear and concise way. Subjects such as quartal harmony which usually receive passing mention (if that) are given thorough exposition.

The last few chapters seem perfunctory, addressing the usual tacked-on subjects of pedal points, suspensions, chromatic alterations, etc. and can really be skimmed for a few insights.

It is, however, in need of a new edition with accompanying audio. It's a sin to make readers go searching for an Alban Berg piano reduction 60 years out-of-print (to have a gander at page 27!) with all of the tools available today.

[Serge Pierro]

A classic, and for good reason. Persichetti's book is about contemporary harmony in its many forms. The book goes in depth on subjects that other harmony books don't even touch on. This is a book for the serious modern day composer. Not for everyone, but those who are looking to expand their musical palettes would do well to study the insight that is contained within.

[David]

If you're a pen-to-paper composer (or computer keys to Finale or Sibelius or some other notation program) AND not currently preparing for a one-way time travel to 1899 or earlier, then you simply MUST read this book! Unlike a lot of theory books, this is more like a tool chest of "tricks of the trade" of how to create adventurous rhythms, melodies, and harmonies. As the book makes clear early, reading this alone will not come close to making you a great composer; Only composing regularly and boldly while exploring your own voice will do that. However, it will do more than enough to add fuel to your ideas.

[Bernardo Henríquez]

In a simple, concise manner, Persichetti lays out the most characteristic elements of the harmonic practice of a really interesting era. His language is very descriptive and his organization walks you through the microscopic and precise use of intervals and their sonorous characters, up to complex harmonic configurations such as atonalty, pandiatonalism and polytonality.

This book is very comfortable to read. It combines musical illustrations with simple explanations of the elements illustrated. I enjoyed reading it very much! Five stars.

[Yves Verbiest]

Fantastic book, in depth explanations, clear explanations, read it twice in a row because I was fascinated by his approach to harmony. Though a warning, it’s a book for the advanced music theoreticus, if you’re new or intermediate in music theory I would advice to stay away from this book for a few more months.

[Conor]

I'll be coming back to this for years to come. Full of extremely straightforward explanations of terrifyingly complicated concepts. Once I graduate I'm gonna go back and do a few more of the exercises, hopefully make something based off a few of the ideas here.

[Pedro Proença]

Lots of stuff to absorb. Now, onto the exercises.

[James Carroll]

I worked through a lot of this book in music school. It's the kind of book that one needs to spend time with and revisit now and then. I have it on my re-read list, for sure.

[Michael Reid]

A classic. Would recommend this as a foundational book to anyone interested in harmony.

[Sandy Maguire]

This is clearly an excellent book if you know your chops and want some "from the trenches" knowledge. Most of it was beyond me, but the parts I did understand considerably changed my mind about what musical composition *is.*

[Christopher Churcher]

So many fantastic ideas in this volume, both imaginative and instructive; all highly comprehensively and systematically presented.

Can’t wait to return to it in the future…

[Roger]

Great book.

[David]

fantastic use as a guide when exploring harmony

[Krirtian]

a fun encyclopedia of compositional techniques and tips presented by a philly OG; thusly the perfect book.

[Samuel]

Indispensable

[Chester T. Nevil]

Intricate and in depth look at the creative aspects and practices of harmony.

[Courtney Dantzler]

god this book is perfect. thank you, persichetti, for spoonfeeding me the answers to all of my burning compositional questions

[Orcylee]

It's what it says on the tin, an outstanding work on 20th century harmony. I've revisited this for years, and it's constructed in such a way that lends itself to opening a page either for inspiration, or to reinforce understanding of many harmonic concepts. Most notably for me is the passage on the relative consonance or dissonance of intervals based on context. A terrific work to get out of a rut for any composer, songwriter, or improvisor.

As a guitarist, it's really helped in devising some un-guiarlike chordal playing and writing. The guitar in particular can be a very pattern oriented instrument, potentially creating a sense of ubiquity of voice and uniformity of vocabulary. This book is not at all guitar oriented, making it the perfect accessory for the harmonically adventurous player.

[Javier Mondaza]

Libro muy inspirador para cualquier compositor. Persichetti era un genio a su manera y su visión artesanal de la música está llena de herramientas creativas que llevar para tu propio lenguaje.

[Daniel O'Hear]

Harmony is an odd way to describe the 20th century

[Jason Cady]

This book is packed with ideas. The writing and theory is easy to understand. Even though it's from the early 60s there is still a lot here to explore.

[Andrew Pitkin]

Excellent resource.

[Andrej]

Es libro para compositores intermedio avanzado. Es un referencia para maestros de armonía dado que el texto cuenta con una gran cantidad de aplicaciones tipo ejercicios armónicos que acompañan el final de cada capítulo.

[Francisco Meca Blaya]

Muy útil, me ayudó en análisis y en mi trabajo final de carrera

[Joe]

Didn't finish this but want to come back to it! Read about half

[Jared Orentlich]

This book is an interesting exploration into the ideas of early and contemporary jazz harmony and writing. It can be a little bit hard to understand at times, but after a second read through it becomes more clear what Vincent Persichetti is trying to say. Overall, this was an enjoyable and useful read, and I suggest it to any jazz musician.