From Beethoven to Bill Evans: WESTERN HARMONY SIMPLIFIED

From Beethoven to Bill Evans: Western Harmony Simplified is a unique music “theory” book. Author Tom Regis draws from his background as a classically trained pianist steeped in various ‘popular’ styles, and, also as a writer and former attorney, to organize a seemingly complex subject into its most fundamental components. The result is a study of harmony that provides a careful step by step analysis designed to open the reader to the simple idea of the seven tone system that lies at the core of the Western musical heritage. The book is unique in that it not only provides the kind of exercises and examples we have become familiar with in a music theory book, but also in its from the ground up presentation of the organic mechanisms that build this system. This is neither a purely jazz or classical approach to learning harmony; it is an approach that views all of Western music as being derived from the same source. At times detailed in the text and not shy of a philosophical bent, the author has also kept the presentation simple, utilizing a piano keyboard graphic as the basis for the numerous examples. An extensive appendices section contains reinforcing materials for the body of the book as well as materials designed for more detailed study. These sections continue to use the piano keyboard graphics but also introduce examples in a staff note format that can include those readers inexperienced with musical notation.About the authorThe author is a pianist and composer presently residing in South Florida. He has worked with many greats of the music world including Celia Cruz, Eddie Gomez, Ofra Haza, Hans Zimmer, Michael Brecker and others. As a composer, he has placed numerous pieces on national television shows including Good Morning America, Oprah, the West Wing, and One Life to Live. Mr. Regis is currently working on a book outlining composer Arnold Schoenberg’s masterwork on Classical harmony, the Schoenberg Theory of Harmony. Read more