The Complete Idiot's Guide To Music Theory by Michael Miller This is the book I wished I had in high school. Then, along with choir and concert band, my primary outlet for music was a rock band, and each of us would gather nightly in my garage, rehearsing, scheming, and dreaming, trying to knock out our own music, but without a solid grasp of the language and technical know-how. This book would have been such a big help back then. It鈥檚 still a big help now! Music is a communicative art, and the first persons the composer, arranger, or players must communicate with are other musicians. To a beginner, or to the uninitiated, written music may seem like an American trying to read Mandarin! If you wish to read and write music, this book could be more than your first primer鈥攊t could be your Rosetta Stone. In my own teaching, I often use The Complete Idiot鈥檚 Guide to Music Theory as a means to jump-start the learning process for my students. Too often young musicians and teachers alike approach music theory as a Very Hard Subject That Must Be Learned, instead of a set of liberating tools that makes one鈥檚 music-making easier and better. However, this book makes learning theory fun! Michael鈥檚 diagrams, language, and wit will often contain the bit of information that enables the student to finally grasp the material at hand, oftentimes with an accompanying smile at the author鈥檚 language and antics. Consequently, I鈥檝e often found that theory teachers at all levels will employ it for its numerous strategies, often at a time when nothing else has conveyed the concept. Beginning with the basic terminology and concepts, Michael invites the reader to work through a course that eventually leads them to a point where they can use the elements and concepts of music theory to improvise or compose whatever kind of music they鈥檝e heard in their heads, and then present it to the rest of us, so we can perform it, too. Each chapter contains several individual nuggets of information: clear explanations about notation, rhythm, melody, and harmony, along with further chapters on counterpoint, form, score layout, and even rehearsal technique. Each chapter is filled with tips, often with just the right kind of language or explanation to simply illuminate the trickiest of concepts. Each bit of technical language that is presented is done so in a logical and straightforward fashion, often humorously, helping the reader remember the concept more easily. This edition has added more aural skills/ear training materials鈥攑robably the single most important skill musicians learn and continue to hone their entire lives. Indeed, the chart that provides examples of all of the melodic intervals, based on a number of famous melodies, is superb鈥攊nvaluable to any musician! Additionally, the accompanying compact disc provides a number of exercises: pitch recognition (often incorporating your instrument!), interval and chord identification, rhythmic and melodic dictation, as well as some others. All these skills are valuable assets, and Michael ably sets you on the road to acquire them. Making music seems to be a drive that鈥檚 inherent in all of us. We must have all of the tools and knowledge of their use to musically reach out and express ourselves. The Complete Idiot鈥檚 Guide to Music Theory, Second Edition, is one of the first and best tools in your musical toolbox. And you know what the song says: 鈥淚f I had a hammer鈥?鈥? Download:
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