Music Theory through Musical Theatre: Putting It Together

by John Franceschina

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199999552
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/03/2015
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	468
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

John Franceschina began composing and arranging music at the age of five and has written symphonies, chamber music, incidental music, and film scores. He has acted as musical director for productions in New York City and on national and international tours and the stage director of operas, musicals, and plays. As a pianist/arranger, he has accompanied Angela Lansbury, Elke Sommer, Nell Carter, Jan Peerce, Robert Merrill, Lotte Lenya, Paige O'Hara, Chita Rivera, and Gwen Verdon. An educator with thirty years of college teaching experience, he has written fifteen books about the theatre and musical theatre.

Table of 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