Full Description
Music Theory through Musical Theatre takes a new and powerful approach to music theory. Written specifically for students in music theatre programs, it offers music theory by way of musical theatre. Not a traditional music theory text, Music Theory through Musical Theatre tackles the theoretical foundations of musical theatre and musical theatre literature with an emphasis on what students will need to master in preparation for a professional career as a performer. Veteran music theatre musician John Franceschina brings his years of experience to bear in a book that offers musical theatre educators an important tool in equipping students with what is perhaps the most important element of being a performer: the ability to understand the language of music in the larger dramatic context to which it contributes.
The book uses examples exclusively from music theater repertoire, drawing from well-known and more obscure shows and songs. Musical sight reading is consistently at the forefront of the lessons, teaching students to internalize notated music quickly and accurately, a particularly necessary skill in a world where songs can be added between performances. Franceschina consistently links the concepts of music theory and vocal coaching, showing students how identifying the musical structure of and gestures within a piece leads to better use of their time with vocal coaches and ultimately enables better dramatic choices. Combining formal theory with practical exercises, Music Theory through Musical Theatre will be a lifelong resource for students in musical theatre courses, dog-eared and shelved beside other professional resource volumes.
Contents
Introduction ; Part 1: The Lead Sheet ; Unit 1: Basic Concepts for Reading, Writing, and Appreciating Music ; Unit 2: Major and Minor Scales ; Unit 3: Modes and Other Scales ; Unit 4: Intervals ; Part 2: The Arrangement ; Unit 5: Triads, Seventh Chords, and Nonharmonic Tones ; Unit 6: Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords ; Unit 7: Singing Counterpoint 1 ; Unit 8: Singing Counterpoint 2 ; Unit 9: Chromatically Altered Chords ; Unit 10: Song Form and Cadences ; Unit 11: Modulation and Tonicization ; Unit 12: Upper-Embellished Chords ; Part 3: The Performance ; Unit 13: Analysis - George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers ; Unit 14: Analysis - Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim ; Unit 15: Analysis - Andrew Lloyd Webber, William Finn, and Jason Robert Brown ; Acknowledgements ; Alphabetical List of Musical Theatre Examples ; Bibliography ; Index
