content: This is an indispensable work for anyone with a serious interest in musical composition. It lays out the entire foundation of tonal composition (i.e.: counterpoint) in a lucid, organized systematic manner.The serious student of musical composition should have this book, work through it not once but regularly. I re-read it constantly and work through all the exercises again once or twice a year.It should also be used in conjunction with "Structural Hearing Tonal Coherence in Music" by Felix Salzer (Schenker's protégé).