100 books like Theory of Harmony

By Arnold Schoenberg, Roy E. Carter (translator),

Here are 100 books that Theory of Harmony fans have personally recommended if you like Theory of Harmony. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Study of Counterpoint: From Johann Joseph Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum

Deke Sharon Author Of The Heart of Vocal Harmony: Emotional Expression in Group Singing

From my list on make great music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been singing since before I could speak, and I found myself drawn to music even though there were no musicians in my family. From church choir to the SF Boys Chorus, through every choir and musical I could join, then onto the New England Conservatory of Music and the Tufts Beelzebubs, I hungrily digested every bit of music knowledge I could find, with a deep desire to become a musician upon graduation. These books are the best I have come across in more than 50 years, and I hope you’ll find great knowledge and insight in their pages. 

Deke's book list on make great music

Deke Sharon Why did Deke love this book?

I wanted to learn how to write melodies and countermelodies from the best, and Fux is the legend who taught the greats. Bach, Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven all carefully studied these sage lessons.

Even though it was written in 1725, the book is enormously approachable, written in a series of conversations between a teacher and student. And yes, you don’t have to read it in Latin; it’s been translated into modern English. 

By Johann Joseph Fux, Alfred Mann (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Study of Counterpoint as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The most celebrated book on counterpoint is Fux's great theoretical work Gradus ad Parnassum. Since its appearance in 1725, it has been used by and has directly influenced the work of many of the greatest composers. J.S. Bach held it in high esteem, Leopold Mozart trained his famous son from its pages, Haydn worked out every lesson with meticulous care, and Beethoven condensed it into an abstract for ready reference. An impressive list of nineteenth-century composers subscribed to its second edition, and in more recent times Paul Hindemith said, "Perhaps the craft of composition would really have fallen into decline…


Book cover of Composing Music: A New Approach

Deke Sharon Author Of The Heart of Vocal Harmony: Emotional Expression in Group Singing

From my list on make great music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been singing since before I could speak, and I found myself drawn to music even though there were no musicians in my family. From church choir to the SF Boys Chorus, through every choir and musical I could join, then onto the New England Conservatory of Music and the Tufts Beelzebubs, I hungrily digested every bit of music knowledge I could find, with a deep desire to become a musician upon graduation. These books are the best I have come across in more than 50 years, and I hope you’ll find great knowledge and insight in their pages. 

Deke's book list on make great music

Deke Sharon Why did Deke love this book?

After filling my head with theories and practices, it was time for me to break everything down, which this book does brilliantly, and start writing my own melodies and harmonies.

Designed almost like a workbook, these very thoughtful and insightful steps helped me understand the fundamental process of writing. They started with exercises such as creating a simple five-note melody and built until I was crafting entire songs.

By William Russo,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Composing Music as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Aimed at those who have some knowledge of music but not formal training in composition, this concise introduction to composing starts right in with a brief composition exercise, then proceeds step by step through a series of increasingly complex and challenging problems, gradually expanding the student's musical grammar. "This is a wonderful book for anyone who is developing improvising skills or who would like a fun way to explore music."--Jim Stockford, Co-Evolution Quarterly


Book cover of All You Need to Know About the Music Business

Deke Sharon Author Of The Heart of Vocal Harmony: Emotional Expression in Group Singing

From my list on make great music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been singing since before I could speak, and I found myself drawn to music even though there were no musicians in my family. From church choir to the SF Boys Chorus, through every choir and musical I could join, then onto the New England Conservatory of Music and the Tufts Beelzebubs, I hungrily digested every bit of music knowledge I could find, with a deep desire to become a musician upon graduation. These books are the best I have come across in more than 50 years, and I hope you’ll find great knowledge and insight in their pages. 

Deke's book list on make great music

Deke Sharon Why did Deke love this book?

Something I didn’t realize as a young musician but quickly learned is that it’s called the business of music, and you need to spend as much time on the business side as the music side.

They call this book the music industry bible, and I agree—in its 11th edition, it’s up to date with the latest opportunities and challenges in music (streaming, various platforms). Great music can’t just live on your desk or computer; it needs to get out into the world to fulfill its function: emotionally connecting people. 

By Donald S. Passman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All You Need to Know About the Music Business as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dubbed "the industry bible" by the Los Angeles Times, All You Need to Know About the Music Business by veteran music lawyer Donald Passman is the go-to guide for everyone in the music business through ten editions, over thirty years, and over a half a million copies sold. Now with updates explaining why musicians have more power today than ever in history; discussion of the mega-million-dollar sales of artists' songs and record catalogs; how artist access to streaming media, and particularly TikTok, has completely reshaped the music business; the latest on music created by AI; and a full update of…


Book cover of The Best Fake Book Ever

Deke Sharon Author Of The Heart of Vocal Harmony: Emotional Expression in Group Singing

From my list on make great music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been singing since before I could speak, and I found myself drawn to music even though there were no musicians in my family. From church choir to the SF Boys Chorus, through every choir and musical I could join, then onto the New England Conservatory of Music and the Tufts Beelzebubs, I hungrily digested every bit of music knowledge I could find, with a deep desire to become a musician upon graduation. These books are the best I have come across in more than 50 years, and I hope you’ll find great knowledge and insight in their pages. 

Deke's book list on make great music

Deke Sharon Why did Deke love this book?

I found that once my brain was filled with enough information, I didn’t need more theories. I needed to dive headfirst into the greatest songs ever written and learn from them. A fake book doesn’t have any arrangements; it’s just the melody and chords, but that’s what a song is at its core. Along with recordings, I had everything I needed, and so will you. Feel free to swap in the Ultimate Jazz Fake Book or a classical fake book if you prefer. 

By Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Best Fake Book Ever as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

(Fake Book). One of the bestselling fake books of all time has just been updated to include an even better assortment of 1001 essential songs from all genres that every musician should have in their library! Includes the melody lines, lyrics, and chords for: ABC * Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive * After the Love Has Gone * Aguas De Marco (Waters of March) * Ain't No Mountain High Enough * Another Brick in the Wall * Another One Bites the Dust * We Will Rock You * Autumn Leaves * Baby, It's Cold Outside * Begin the Beguine * Big Yellow…


Book cover of The Bean Eaters;

Robert Pinsky Author Of The Sounds of Poetry: a Brief Guide

From my list on that were composed by ear.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a poet, my main gift is related to my first ambition, to be a musician. I like to talk, I like to listen, I like the sounds of words and I like to hear (for example) what Emily Dickinson and William Butler Yeats have to say.

Robert's book list on that were composed by ear

Robert Pinsky Why did Robert love this book?

When Brooks says “ballade” or “blues” she speaks with the authority of one who can hear—can allude to music without needing to copy it.

Composing the sounds before the record-keeping act of merely writing the words. She doesn’t need the added music of actual song: she embodies the music in the sentence-sounds. (And the harmonies and discords and rhythms of speech.)

By Gwendolyn Brooks,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Bean Eaters; as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been…


Book cover of Philosophy of New Music

Paul Rekret Author Of Take This Hammer: Work, Song, Crisis

From my list on popular music and capitalism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a lecturer in the School of Media and Communication at the University of Westminster. I write regularly on popular music and culture in scholarly form and as a critic in various publications. I am convinced that popular music can gesture at utopia despite its emergence from within a capitalist market society.

Paul's book list on popular music and capitalism

Paul Rekret Why did Paul love this book?

Whilst not strictly a book about popular music, but rather two separate but related essays on the modern composers Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg, Adorno’s study has been utterly formative for how I understand music and its relationship to its social conditions.

I can’t even fathom how I could think about music without Adorno, and this book is by far his most concerted and concise statement on the subject.

By Theodor W. Adorno, Robert Hullot-Kentor (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Philosophy of New Music as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An indispensable key to Adorno's influential oeuvre-now in paperback

In 1949, Theodor W. Adorno's Philosophy of New Music was published, coinciding with the prominent philosopher's return to a devastated Europe after his exile in the United States. Intensely polemical from its first publication, every aspect of this work was met with extreme reactions, from stark dismissal to outrage. Even Arnold Schoenberg reviled it.

Despite the controversy, Philosophy of New Music became highly regarded and widely read among musicians, scholars, and social philosophers. Marking a major turning point in his musicological philosophy, Adorno located a critique of musical reproduction as internal…


Book cover of The Oxford History of Western Music

Ran Spiegler Author Of The Curious Culture of Economic Theory

From my list on scholarly and popular-science books that both pros and amateurs can enjoy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an academic researcher and an avid non-fiction reader. There are many popular books on science or music, but it’s much harder to find texts that manage to occupy the space between popular and professional writing. I’ve always been looking for this kind of book, whether on physics, music, AI, or math – even when I knew that as a non-pro, I wouldn’t be able to understand everything. In my new book I’ve been trying to accomplish something similar: A book that can intrigue readers who are not professional economic theorists, that they will find interesting even if they can’t follow everything.

Ran's book list on scholarly and popular-science books that both pros and amateurs can enjoy

Ran Spiegler Why did Ran love this book?

This is actually not one book but a five-volume (!) series of books which contains some of the best writing on classical music I’ve ever come across.

Taruskin, who passed away recently, was a legendary musicologist. In his writings, he managed to combine analytic writing that addresses his colleagues with unbelievably sharp and insightful writing that I, as a classical music fan who is not a pro, enjoy tremendously.

Taruskin loved picking intellectual fights, and this sort of combative energy is gripping. In this series, there are major story arcs like the interplay between “oral” and “literate” traditions or the role of nationalism in 19th-century music. I liked how Tarsukin switches smoothly between a close analysis of a piece and a discussion of how it relates to the wider culture.

By Richard Taruskin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Oxford History of Western Music as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Oxford History of Western Music is a magisterial survey of the traditions of Western music by one of the most prominent and provocative musicologists of our time. This text illuminates, through a representative sampling of masterworks, those themes, styles, and currents that give shape and direction to each musical age.

Taking a critical perspective, this text sets the details of music, the chronological sweep of figures, works, and musical ideas, within the larger context of world affairs and cultural history. Written by an authoritative, opinionated, and controversial figure in musicology, The Oxford History of Western Music provides a critical…


Book cover of Rythm Oil: A Journey Through The Music Of The American South

Franz Douskey Author Of Sinatra and Me: The Very Good Years

From my list on the roots of social change through popular music.

Why am I passionate about this?

More has been accomplished by music to wake us up that any marches, speeches, injustice, and/or wealth. In the beginning, music and its many forms I followed were an accident. Now I see that music is vital for social expression, intimacy, solitude. The walls in my writing room are covered with photos, CDs, 78s, and most certainly live recordings and books. I feel sorry for the soul(s) who will have to pick through this history when I’ve gone to that Upper Room.

Franz's book list on the roots of social change through popular music

Franz Douskey Why did Franz love this book?

Yes, the title is spelled correctly. I’ve known Stanley Booth from our days in Memphis. He has written about The Rolling Stones, B. B. King, Al Green, and Keith Richards. Keith wrote that “The interesting thing about music to me is that music has always seemed streaks ahead of any other Art form or any other form of social expression.” It has never been said any better.

Stanley Booth’s Rythm Oil contains studies of numerous, forgotten musicians and singers. It is a study of remote history. Stanley Booth doesn’t write with ink. He writes with grit.

By Stanley Booth,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rythm Oil as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A collection of 20 essays centred on Memphis, Tennessee, and comprising a fusion of fact, essays and fiction in which the author describes his encounters with major figures of American blues and soul music. Stanley Booth also wrote "The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones".


Book cover of Silence: Lectures and Writings

David Rothenberg Author Of The Possibility of Reddish Green: Wittgenstein Outside Philosophy

From my list on to make you want to change the world.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been trying to balance a need to help make the world a better place with my own small expertise as a musician and teacher. So I’ve played music with birds, whales, and bugs, taught philosophy to engineers for decades, written many books and released many albums, and traveled all over the world learning what people are doing to improve things. I need to find words to read that encourage me and lift me out of the looming pull of depressing statistics and real suffering that we all read about every day. I hope change is possible, and I urge everyone to work toward it in their own specific and unique ways.

David's book list on to make you want to change the world

David Rothenberg Why did David love this book?

From the 1960s but still one of the greatest books on how being creative means trying everything, trusting no one, and listening to everybody and everything. After you read this you will know that you can be an artist, that is, if you are meant to be one.

By John Cage,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Silence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Silence, John Cage's first book and epic masterpiece, was published in October 1961. In these lectures, scores, and writings, Cage tries, as he says, to find a way of writing that comes from ideas, is not about them, but that produces them. Often these writings include mesostics and essays created by subjecting the work of other writers to chance procedures using the I Ching. Fifty years later comes a beautiful new edition with a foreword by eminent music critic Kyle Gann. A landmark book in American arts and culture, Silence has been translated into more than forty languages and has…


Book cover of Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall

Edward Dusinberre Author Of Distant Melodies: Music in Search of Home

From my list on loss and discovery.

Why am I passionate about this?

For three decades I have been the first violinist of the Takács Quartet, performing concerts worldwide and based at the University of Colorado in Boulder. I love the ways in which books, like music, offer new and surprising elements at different stages of life, providing companionship alongside joys and sorrows. 

Edward's book list on loss and discovery

Edward Dusinberre Why did Edward love this book?

In these five stories music is the catalyst that shapes the narrators’ encounters with regret, failure, and loss. Through seemingly straightforward but complex dialogue, surprising plot twists, and individual revelations, Ishiguro mixes whimsy and melancholy with moments of connection and revelation—a cocktail that is oddly comforting.   

By Kazuo Ishiguro,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Nocturnes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*Kazuo Ishiguro's new novel Klara and the Sun is now available*

In Nocturnes, Kazuo Ishiguro explores ideas of love, music and the passing of time. From the piazzas of Italy to the 'hush-hush floor' of an exclusive Hollywood Hotel, the characters we encounter range from young dreamers to cafe musicians to faded stars, all of them at some moment of reckoning.

Gentle, intimate and witty, this quintet is marked by a haunting theme - the struggle to keep alive a sense of life's romance, even as one gets older, relationships founder and youthful hopes recede.

'Each of these stories is…


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