A collection of information from the 16th century Italian music theorist Gioseffo Zarlino through the very influential early 20th Century German theorist Heinrich Schenker. The bulk of the book is a "Dictionary of Theorists". These entries give the name, birth year, a short article about the theorist and his work, important editions of those works, and literature about the theorist and his work. There is also a literature supplement listing other works.

This is a companion volume to Music Theory from Zarlino to Schenker. The goal of the volume is to create a logically organized introduction to the major theorists of the time and a thorough review of the scholarly work about these writers.

Examine the music of any style or period for a consistent point of view via the style-analytical approach.

This expanded second edition, sets forth Jan LaRue's original, penetrating, and adaptable approach to the understanding of musical works.