Thursday, August 12, 2004

Handbook on Introductory Harmony by Mary H. Fraser is very good for introductory work. It approaches concepts slowly, one idea at a time, so it isn't at all overwhelming, quite unlike the Vandendool, and things are explained clearly enough that I'm confident working without a teacher (although the terminology is different, so I would want a teacher to help establish the correct terminology if I were taking the exams).

However, I have one HUGE peeve: the exercise book often sets exercises and doesn't provide staves in which to do them! If I have to buy a separate textbook and exercise book, I shouldn't also have to buy staff paper! The end result is, of course that I only do the exercises for which staves are provided, and my learning suffers for that. It would be an ideal book if only they provided staves for every exercise.

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