The Practice of Popular Music: Understanding Harmony, Rhythm, Melody, and Form in Commercial Songwriting [Paperback]

1. Musical Domains1.1 The Rhythm Domain1.2 The Pitch Domain1.3 Song Form1.4 Other Domains2. Major Frameworks2.1 Major Scales2.2 Small Intervals2.3 Beat Divisions2.4 Transitions in Form2.5 Key Signatures3. Essential Structures3.1 Perfect Intervals3.2 Syncopation3.3 Triads3.4 Harmonic Rhythm3.5 Triads in a Key4. Context Matters4.1 Chord Progressions in Major Keys4.2 Melodic Organization4.3 Drum Feels in 4/44.4 Triple Divisions5. Alternative Frameworks5.1 Compound Meter5.2 Shuffle and Swing5.3 Relative Minor Keys5.4 Chord Progressions in Minor Keys6. Relevant Connections6.1 Supertonic and Mediant6.2 Triple Meters6.3 Melodic Embellishments7. Expanded Elements7.1 Sixteenth Notes7.2 Larger Intervals7.3 Seventh Chords8. Core Endings8.1 Formal Suffixes8.2 Swung Sixteenth Notes8.3 Chord Inversion9. New Perspectives9.1 Parallel Minor Keys9.2 Syncopated Sixteenth Notes9.3 Phrase Organizations10. Missing Pieces10.1 Partial Bars and Hyperbars10.2 Atonic Tonics10.3 AABA form11. Colorful Combinations11.1 The Blues11.2 Harmonic Mixture11.3 Cross Rhythms12. Additions and Deletions12.1 Add and Sus Chords12.2 Modes12.3 Quintuple Meters13. Level Explorations13.1 Secondary Dominants13.2 Half-time and Double-time Outside 4/413.3 Syncopated Sixteenth Notes in 6/814. Further Extensions14.1 Harmonic-Bass Divorce14.2 Extended Chords14.3 Other Applied Chords14.4 Septuple Meters15. Some Substitutions15.1 Inverted Secondary Dominants15.2 Diminished Seventh Chords15.3 Tritone Substitutions16. Significant Shifts16.1 Tonal Modulation Strategies16.2 Metric Modulation

The Practice of Popular Music?is a music theory and musicianship textbook devoted to explaining the organization of contemporary popular music styles such as pop, rock, R&B, rap, and country.

Trevor de Clercq is a Professor in the Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University.

The Practice of Popular Music is a lC%