Playable BooksA NEW WAY INTO MUSIC BOOKS
Read the idea.
Hear it come alive.
Music textbooks make more sense when you can hear the examples. Read, listen, and find your way through—at your own pace.
THE FIRST PLAYABLE EDITION · 1725 / 2026
An old conversation.
A new way to listen.
Fux’s Gradus ad Parnassum teaches counterpoint through a conversation between a student and a teacher. Now the music can join the conversation.
Open the book →TRY A MUSICAL EXAMPLE
Loading the example…
Press play. Change the tempo. Compare the original notation.
ALSO IN THE LIBRARY · 1722
Rameau’s
Treatise on Harmony.
Explore harmony, composition, and accompaniment across four books, with the original French, three English readings, and musical examples.
Read Rameau →Read alongside the source
Compare the explanation with the original pages. Listen to the examples and consult their source notes for alternative readings.
NEW READING EDITION · 1922
Schoenberg’s
Theory of Harmony.
Read the original German alongside a new English translation. The opening chapters are available; further chapters and musical examples are being added in reviewed batches.
Read Schoenberg →Keep the source in view
All 529 scanned pages are available for comparison. This growing edition is an AI-assisted draft, with source uncertainties kept visible.
Read with clarity
Choose Simplified English, the faithful English translation, or the original Latin.
Listen as you learn
Play verified musical examples and slow them down to hear how the parts fit together.
Stay close to the source
Compare rendered notation with the printed music, and open the original page scans.
WHY I’M MAKING THIS
Music books shouldn’t
feel out of reach.
For a long time, I felt blocked from learning through music textbooks. I wanted to hear what the pages were trying to teach me.
With William Caplin’s permission, I built the companion app for Analyzing Classical Form. Playable Books grows from that same desire: to help more people learn from these books.
Mayank Sanganeria ↗ALSO IN THE LIBRARY · 1922
Rimsky-Korsakov’s
Principles of Orchestration.
Read both volumes, follow the original scores, and hear the orchestral examples. English translation by Edward Agate.
Read Rimsky-Korsakov →Hear the orchestra
Gutenberg’s orchestral recordings accompany the examples. Supported scores also offer interactive piano playback.
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN?
Your next book
could be a playable book.
I’m taking requests for future conversions. Tell me the title you have in mind, and I’ll get in touch.