Originally published in 1943, Models for Beginners in Composition represents one of Arnold Schoenberg's earliest attempts at reaching a broad American audience through his pedagogical ideas. The novelty of this book was its streamlined approach, basing all aspects of composition including motivic design, harmony, and the construction of themes on the two-measure phrase. This newly revised edition by Gordon Root incorporates many of Schoenberg's corrections to the original manuscript. It also includes a significant commentary elucidating the evolution of Schoenberg's pedagogical approach.
In its function as a practical manual for the American classroom, Models for Beginners in Composition is unique among Schoenberg's texts. The current Commentary explores Schoenberg's experience as a teacher at UCLA while tracing the development of the two-measure phrase as the main component of his pedagogical method. It demonstrates the way in which Schoenberg simultaneously preserved and adapted European ideas about tonal theory and pedagogy when he came to America, a give and take that allowed for increased theoretical originality and scope.
Models for Beginners in Composition established the two-measure phrase as one of the most significant of Schoenberg's contributions to American music education. This new edition, with Schoenberg's corrections and newly added commentary, allows readers to utilize and explore the text in greater depth. Students of composition, Schoenberg scholars, music theorists, and historians of music theory alike will no doubt welcome this new edition.
Industry Reviews
"The present volume is part of the ambitious 'Schoenberg in Words' series, which aims to reissue some of Schoenberg's published works on music theory and also his correspondence. If this updated edition of Models for Beginners in Composition (which Schoenberg published in 1943) is representative, the series sets a very high standard for bibliographic history in music theory. The volume includes the text of the original work, along with prefaces to the original
edition (by Schoenberg) and the 1972 edition (by editor Leonard Stein). But a large part of the book is taken up with exhaustive commentary by Root (SUNY, Fredonia) and appendixes with welcome
supplementary documents. This edition of Schoenberg's classic work will interest novice and expert alike."--Choice
"Meticulously edited, generously illustrated, and with useful supplemental materials including information on the historical context, explanations of Schoenberg's central theoretical concepts, and a companion webpage with recorded performances of the examples, Gordon Root's splendid new edition will make this important but sometimes overlooked book newly accessible to anyone interested in composition, theory, and the creative process. With its fascinating
documentation of how his students actually used and learned from the exercises, this edition opens up new windows into why Schoenberg was such an effective teacher, while providing vivid insights into his
personality, his commitment to coming to terms with his new life in America, and the development and influence of his theoretical ideas."--Joseph Auner, Tufts University
"Gordon Root's new translation of Schoenberg's Models is an invaluable resource: not only for scholars and teachers who seek familiarity with the methods of one of the twentieth century's great composition pedagogues, but for those of us interested in exploring how Schoenberg's understanding of the tonal tradition impacted his own music."--Jack Boss, Professor of Music Theory and Composition, University of Oregon
"An excellent bibliography and handy index add usefulness. The generous amount of illustrations, tables, diagrams, musical examples and facsimiles (of Schoenberg's own handwritten notes, comments and musical models) inform the mind, while also pleasing the eye." --Rhinegold Publishing
