Harmony Notes Book 1

This textbook teaches the writing of four-part harmony for voices, approached from a fresh angle. Its lessons move through a plain, logical order, with each step building on the one before. Worked examples come with explanations of what tends to work well in practice.

Every stage is paired with recordings, so readers hear the harmony while they study the notation, linking sound with symbol. Tonic solfa appears throughout as a way of hearing and navigating the music. Exercises placed through each chapter help readers absorb and apply the material, starting with simple tasks and growing harder as the chapters advance. Passages marked "lightbulb" highlight key grammatical points, and checklist boxes gather each chapter's main features for review.

Although the focus is vocal writing, the book widens its scope at three points to offer brief analysis of harmony in piano music and in string quartets. The musical examples are performed by students of the Royal Irish Academy of Music and are available online to listen to alongside the chapters. Recordings of the three pillars of analysis can also be played while following the scores, and the student exercises are offered as downloads.

Appendices provide supplementary exercises for chapters 5, 7, 8, 14, 16 and 17, with some possible solutions included.