Music Theory For Dummies

Learn to:

Identify the building blocks of music Understand music whether you′re playing, writing, or analyzing it Master the concepts of classical, rock, blues, jazz, and pop music

Get more out of music with this essential guide

Whether you′re pursuing a career in music or just enjoy listening to it, understanding music theory helps you appreciate the artistry and craftsmanship involved in composing great pieces. Inside, you′ll discover the technical skill, inborn talent, and plenty of practice that goes into making beautiful music.

Music Theory 101 discover the birth of music theory, understand how theory can help your music, and get to know time signatures, rests, and beats Meet the staff, clefs, and notes put notes together, master the major and minor scales, and grasp key signatures and the circle of fifths Go the distance find out about intervals (the distance between pitches), chord building, and chord progressions Find your groove get acquainted with musical expression through tempo and dynamics and delve into instrument tone color and acoustics The building blocks of music tap into classical and popular genres to wrap your mind around rhythm, melody, harmony, and strong form

Open the book and find:

The fundamentals of music theory Ways to manipulate and combine notes Why music theory can help your music How to establish rhythm and shape a melody The keys to reading a musical score A handy chord chart Ten music theorists you should know about Access to audio tracks online to aid your comprehension

Mike Pilhofer holds a Masters of Music in Music Education with a Jazz Emphasis from the Eastman School of Music and is an in–demand clinician. Holly Day′s work has appeared in over 3,000 print and electronic publications internationally.