Written exercises The Second Edition includes new exercises for each chapter that reflect changes in the text, in particular changes in the chapters on fundamentals and diatonic harmony. Exercises require students to fill in short harmonic progressions, complete sequential patterns, realize figured basses, harmonize melodies, analyze excerpts from music literature, and compose original music. Keyboard exercises Professor Gauldin s keyboard exercises help students make the transition from theory to ear training and performance. Students learn to hear various intervals, chords, and harmonic progressions and to master transposition, figured bass, and melody harmonization. All keyboard exercises have been collected in a separate section at the end of the text."

Taking a linear functional approach, Professor Gauldin uses clear explanations and outstanding musical examples to show students how individual chords function in the overall structure of a piece, explaining how both harmonic and melodic forces contribute to the development of musical ideas. For the Second Edition, Professor Gauldin has undertaken a comprehensive revision that responds directly to the suggestions of instructors. The new text emphasizes fundamental concepts, using a more effective organization and simpler, more accessible language to bring the most important ideas and information to the foreground.