Henry Martin

Counterpoint is a textbook for use as a stand-alone text in a course on species counterpoint or as a supplementary text for standard college-level courses in music theory. It is based on Heinrich Schenker's (1868-1935) two-volume study of counterpoint. It is intended to help all students of theory or composition to improve their musicianship by examining the voice-leading that underlies Western tonal music. The book proceeds by developing species counterpoint in the tradition of Johann Joseph Fux and his famous Gradus ad Parnassum (1725), but with attention to Schenker's more in-depth study. For the sake of brevity, musical examples are available on the Scarecrow Press website (www.scarecrowpress.com), rather than within the text itself. Everyone from beginning music theory students to composers to graduate composition students will greatly benefit from the methods presented here. Rather than actually teaching a student to compose, working through these exercises will improve musicianship as it applies to both composition and understanding music theory.

Now in paperback! Showcases professional work in the arena of jazz theory. Among the contributors are scholars of jazz theory as well as musicians, including four of the founding members of the jazz section of the Society for Music Theory. The articles offer a close analysis of a wide variety of jazz styles and span the years from the 1920s to the 1960s. Feature articles include analyses of the music of Johnny Dodds, Charlie Parker, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, an overview of jazz theory that examines its history and purpose, a discussion of linear intervallic patterns in the jazz repertory, and a review of scientific analyses of jazz microrhythms. Of great interest to jazz theorists, performers, educators and critics.

Martin provides a new overall assessment of the importance of Charlie Parker through an analysis of his improvisations in a variety of genres. Earlier studies of Parker argue that his style is based on an extensive network of melodic formulas that are combined to create solos. Because the same formulas appear throughout his improvisations regardless of the theme, these studies concluded that the solos do not usually relate to the original melodies. Charlie Parker and Thematic Improvisation provides a much-needed reassessment by showing that Parker's solos are often related to the original themes in unexpected and sometimes ingenious ways. The conclusion sums up features of Parker's style and discusses his contribution in the context of Western music history. Numerous transcriptions are provided. This groundbreaking technical study will be of interest to musicologists and serious students of jazz.