Harmony through Melody offers a robust, conservatory-style approach to tonal music theory, focusing on Common Era classical works and reaching far beyond basic rudiments. Charles Horton, David A. Byrne, and Lawrence Ritchey develop techniques and strategies for exploring the fundamental interaction of melody and counterpoint with harmony, leading to a fuller understanding of melody within harmonic progressions.

This textbook present a step-by-step method with more than 1400 musical examples from a variety of styles and genres with class-room tested examples for study and suggested assignments at the end of each chapter. Student assessments are based on student writing and compositional exercises, and the textbook feature a free, online workbook with additional material.