Anyone here ever work with Cherubini's book ? Roger Sessions learned from it, that's at least a decent recommendation.
I know I read through Schoenberg's Preliminary Exercises but it was probably beyond me at that time.
Reading some of these comments makes me realize how lucky I was to have a really excellent teacher (Michael Jon Fink, a professor at CalArts). It's a bit dismaying at times to consider how many teachers have "taught" this stuff without ever realizing its true nature and worth. Better to have no instruction at all than to be taught badly. Mike took me through Fux but turned me loose on Kennan. He'd check my tonal work for errors, but he felt that since I knew Fux I'd be able to get through Kennan without much assistance. (Though I believe that going through Piston's Harmony was essential background for working through Kennan). As another comment here wrote:
I worked with Mike in private lessons once a week for almost two years. Incidentally, Chaz Smith introduced us. Anyone here know Chaz's work ?Wouldn’t have skipped any class or any exercise for the world.
Anyway, to the OP: Good luck in your studies, they'll take some time to get through but you'll be a far better-equipped composer for the experience.
dp
Joseph assures that love for music is his only motive. When that is settled, the travel can begin. Three types of movement, four rules of movements that can really be reduced to two, five species where the last is but a combi of the four + a set of period specific voice leading recommendations (that are actually relative to style, period, and whether you write for choir or instruments). Viola, and here come the students Mozart, Bach and Haydn among others. 
