Percy Goetschius

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Percy Goetschius (10 August 1853 Paterson, New Jersey � 29 October 1943 Manchester,
New Hampshire) won international fame in the teaching of the theory of composition.
[1]

Contents
1 Career
2 Selected music theory textbooks
3 Goetschius' theory of harmonic progression
4 Family
5 References
5.1 General
5.2 Inline citations
6 External links
Career
Goetschius was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He was also encouraged by Ureli
Corelli Hill, a conductor and violinist, who was a friend of the Goetschius family.
[2] Goetschius was the organist of the Second Presbyterian Church from 1868�1870
and of the First Presbyterian from 1870�1873, and pianist of Mr. Benson's Paterson
Choral Society. He went to Stuttgart, W�rttemberg, in 1873 to study theory in the
Royal Conservatory with Immanuel Faisst, and soon advanced to become a professor.
In 1885, King Karl Friedrich Alexander of Wurttemberg conferred upon him the title
of royal professor. He composed much, and reviewed performances for the press.
Syracuse University conferred an Honorary Music Doctorate degree up Goetschius for
the academic year 1892�1893.[3] In 1892 he took a position in the New England
Conservatory, Boston, and four years later opened a studio in that city. In 1905 he
went to the staff of the Institute of Musical Art (Juilliard School) in New York
City, headed by Dr. Frank Damrosch.

Goetschius's notable pupils include Henry Cowell, Lillian Fuchs, Howard Hanson,
Wallingford Riegger, Bernard Rogers, Julia Klumpke, and Arthur Shepherd. In 1917,
he was elected an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, the national
fraternity for men in music, by the Fraternity's Alpha Chapter at the New England
Conservatory.

Selected music theory textbooks

Goetschius published several textbooks on theory, including:

The Material Used in Musical Composition, New York: G. Schirmer

1st ed. (1882); OCLC 558882224
2nd ed. (alternate link) (1889)
4th ed. (1895)
8th ed. (1907); OCLC 20836840
14th ed. (1941 print) (1913, 1915, 1941); OCLC 854588114, 603255234, 981774965,
OCLC 989474583
The Theory and Practice of Tone-Relations, Boston: New England Conservatory (1892);
OCLC 62459269, 875583226
11th ed. New York: G. Schirmer (1913); OCLC 10390239
15th ed. (1917)
24th ed., New York: G. Schirmer (1931); OCLC 351740363
Models of the Principal Musical Forms, Boston: New England Conservatory (1892);
OCLC 957765390
Lessons in Music Form, Boston: Oliver Ditson (1904)
Exercises in Melody Writing, New York: G. Schirmer
1st ed. (1900); OCLC 497628594
2nd ed. (1903)
?? ed. (1905); OCLC 250682608
6th ed. (1908)
7th ed. (1910)
11th ed. (1923)
?? ed. (1928); OCLC 459452058
The Larger Forms of Musical Composition, New York: G. Schirmer
5th ed. (1915); OCLC 989390504
7th ed. (1915); OCLC 752431436
The Homophonic Forms of Musical Composition, New York: G. Schirmer
1st ed. (1898)
? ed. (1901); OCLC 499943798
3rd ed. (1905)
3rd ed. (1908)
4th ed. (1907); OCLC 757059439, 752431426
7th ed. (1913)
8th ed. (1915); OCLC 1844527
9th ed. (1918); OCLC 868507364
10th ed. (1921)
11th ed. (1923)
Music Theory for Piano Students, co-authored with Clarence Grant Hamilton, John P.
Marshall, Will Earhart, Boston: Oliver Ditson
(1924); OCLC 5020226
?? (1930)
Exercises in Elementary Counterpoint, G. Schirmer
5th ed. (1910); OCLC 756994501
Counterpoint, New York: G. Schirmer (1930)
The Structure of Music, Philadelphia: T. Presser (1934)
As of the mid-20th century, use of Goetschius' books, as texts, is rare; albeit,
the books contain original theoretical ideas and pedagogical approaches that endure
today.

Goetschius' theory of harmonic progression

Perhaps the most important theory put forth by Goetschius is that of natural
harmonic progression, which first appeared in The Theory and Practice of Tone-
Relations. According to Goetschius' theory, the triad V in a key resolves to the
tonic triad I because of the acoustically perfect interval of the fifth between the
root of V and that of I:

Fifth-Progression1.png
Goetschius believed that, since the upper tone of the fifth is a harmonic of the
lower, a chord rooted on the upper tone demands to be "resolved" by progressing to
the chord rooted on the lower tone. Moreover, this theory is extended to other
chords in a key, so that the normal tendency of a chord (triad or seventh chord) in
a key is to progress to the chord rooted a fifth lower.

Fifth-Progression-2.jpg
The sole weakness of this theory is its failure to account for the importance of
the subdominant triad IV, a chord frequently used in musical practice. Although
Goetschius acknowledges the importance of the IV harmony elsewhere in his writings,
it does not appear to have a place in his theory of harmonic progression.

Family
� My family name is (or should be) pronounced get'she-us. The family hails from
Switzerland (1714), where the name was G�tschi. One of my ancestors, middle of the
18th century, an earnest Latin scholar, affixed the Latin terminal us. �
�?Percy Goetschius, as he told the Literary Digest[4]
Goetschius died in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he had retired to in 1925.

References
General
Percy Goetschius, Theorist and Teacher (Ph.D. dissertation), by Mother Catherine
Agnes Carroll, RSCJ (1910�1996), Eastman School of Music (1961); OCLC 31051516,
12860645
Note: Mother Carroll had been a long-standing music professor at Manhattanville
College
A History of Harmonic Theory in the United States, by David M. Thompson (PhD) (born
1951), Kent State University Press (1980); OCLC 681085691
As of 2017, Thompson is Chair of the Music Department at Marian University, Fond du
Lac, Wisconsin, where he teaches music theory, history, music administration, and
American music
Inline citations
New Jersey Biographical Dictionary (2008�2009 ed.; Vol. 1 of 2), Caryn Hannan
(ed.), State History Publications (2008), pps. 274�276 ; OCLC 245610040
Thompson, David M.: A History of Harmonic Theory in the United States. Kent, Ohio:
The Kent State University Press, 1980. P37.
Annual Report of the Regents (Vol. 106), University of the State of New York,
James B. Lyon, State Printer, pg. 609 (1893); OCLC 460851224, 150088199
What's the Name, Please?, by Charles Earle Funk, Funk & Wagnalls (1936, 1938), pg.
71; OCLC 759066016, 3142055
External links