The Craft of Musical Composition Series : Paul Hindemith

It would be an understatement to say this book changed the way I think about music. This made me concern how the music actually sounds rather than trying to fit it into some sort of misleading theory. Hidemith addresses the often neglected subject of melody. You can virtually analyse any chord through Hindemith's system. It also opened up my idea of harmony regarding changes in tension levels. 

​

The Music and Music Theory of Paul Hindemith : Simon Desbrusalis

There is ample information regarding the music of Hindemith. There are minor corrections regarding Hindemith's derivations of results used for his system. There are some extensions to Hindemith's original theory such as regarding pitch groups. 

​

How to Write for Percussion - A Comprehensive Guide to Percussion Composition : Samuel Z. Solomon

It is useful to keep it as reference as it is densely packed with information regarding percussion instruments. 

​

20th Century Harmony : Vincent Persichetti

I believe this is essential reading because it has ample information regarding different compositional devices. I would recommend this book to be used as a database rather than an instruction manual as I believe it is very difficult to gain technical perfection solely through reading this. 

​

Traditional Harmony Series : Paul Hindemith

Hindemith suggests one of the strengths of this book is the fact that it has minimal rules. For me, the book is occasionally too lenient on the rules. Nevertheless, it is very concise and you can cover necessary aspects of "Traditional Harmony" in a very short amount of time.

​

Theory of Harmony : Arnold Schoenberg

This book is mainly a historical artifact more than an instruction manual. It is unnecessarily long. 

However, by reading this you can understand the musical style of pre-20th century music through first-hand experience of Schoenberg. In addition, you can understand Schoenberg's philosophy regarding music. 

​