| Acknowledgments | |
| 1 | Introduction | 3 |
| 2 | The Harmonic Language of the Popular Ballad | 6 |
| 3 | Rhythmic Features of the Popular Ballad | 18 |
| 4 | Melodic Design: Descriptive Categories | 24 |
| 5 | The Lyric: Its Qualities and Melodic Roles | 28 |
| 6 | Form: Nomenclature and Templates | 36 |
| 7 | The Large-Scale View: A Primer | 42 |
| 8 | Ballads of Jerome Kern | 52 |
| 9 | Ballads of Irving Berlin | 86 |
| 10 | Ballads of Cole Porter | 117 |
| 11 | Ballads of George Gershwin | 147 |
| 12 | Ballads of Richard Rodgers | 177 |
| 13 | Ballads of Harold Arlen | 209 |
| 14 | Ballads of Richard Whiting, Walter Donaldson, Harry Warren, Jimmy McHugh, Vincent Youmans, Duke Ellington, and Kurt Weill | 237 |
| 15 | Ballads of Hoagy Carmichael, Arthur Schwartz, Vernon Duke, John Green, Burton Lane, and Jimmy Van Heusen | 275 |
| 16 | Ballads of Kay Swift, Bernice Petkere, Ann Ronell, Dana Suesse, and Ruth Lowe | 310 |
| 17 | Concluding Reflections | 331 |
| Notes | 337 |
| Bibliography | 349 |
| Copyright Credits | 351 |
| Index | 359 |
