Crane School of Music Faculty Publish Open Textbook on Music Theory and Analysis

Crane School of Music Faculty Members Publish 'Fundamentals, Function, and Form Student Workbook' through Milne Open Textbooks

Potsdam, NY (11/16/2023) — Three faculty members at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music have teamed up to create an open access music theory and analysis workbook.

"Fundamentals, Function, and Form Student Workbook" has been released by Milne Open Textbooks, and is available as a free download or can be read online, including fully integrated audio samples throughout. The new publication was authored by Dr. Ivette Herryman Rodriguez, Dr. Andre Mount and Dr. Jerod Sommerfeldt, all associate professors in the Department of Music Theory, History and Composition.

Students of tonal Western art music will find in the workbook a full set of exercises and activities to deepen and reinforce their understanding of music theory and analysis. The book begins with such rudimentary topics as rhythm, meter and pitch, and progresses through polyphony, chromatic harmony and musical form. In addition to exercises tailored to each topic, the book features recurrent activities focused on four-voice part-writing (figured-bass/Roman numeral realization and melody harmonization), as well as score analysis, which become progressively more advanced as new concepts and skills are covered.

Included for analysis are more than 500 excerpts drawn from the literature, almost all of which were composed by women and other underrepresented groups. The online version of the text includes embedded audio files for immediate aural reinforcement. Score excerpts and audio files are also available to download for use in class handouts and slideshows.

The open access publication is accompanied by an instructor manual. The workbook is designed to supplement an earlier Milne Open Textbook publication first authored by Dr. Mount in 2020, titled "Fundamentals, Function, and Form: Theory and Analysis of Tonal Western Art Music." Each chapter in the textbook has been given a corresponding chapter in the workbook, so that students can move fluidly between the two.

The exercises were also designed so that they could also be used independently from the textbook, by instructors who may prefer to use other texts and materials. Clear directions and examples are provided throughout, making the book equally suitable for self-guided learners.

Fundamentals, Function, and Form: Student Workbook can be downloaded as a PDF and read online at: milneopentextbooks.org/fundamentals-function-and-form-student-workbook.

About The Crane School of Music:

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution and was one of the first Yamaha Institutions of Excellence. For more information, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

###

Media Attachments