Music Theory For Dummies®, 4th Edition
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2019942839
ISBN 978-1-119-57552-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-57554-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-57551-1 (ebk)
What do you think of when you hear the phrase music theory? Does the image of your elementary school music teacher eyeing you from behind the piano pop into your head? Or perhaps you have flashbacks to a later image of fellow college students in theory classes determinedly trying to notate theremin whistles? If either of these ideas is anything close to your own perception of what music theory is, hopefully this book will be a pleasant surprise.
For many self-taught musicians, the idea of theory seems daunting and even a little self-defeating. After all, if you can already read guitar tabs and play some scales, why would you want to muddle what you already know with theory?
Even the most basic music theory training gives you the information you need to expand your range and abilities as a musician. A decent amount of note-reading ability enables you to play a particular type of music, whereas some basic knowledge about chord progressions can help you write your own music.
Music Theory For Dummies, 4th Edition, is designed to give you everything you need to know to become fluent at knocking out a solid beat, reading musical scores, and learning to anticipate where a song should go, whether you’re reading someone else’s music or writing your own.
Each chapter is as self-contained as possible. In other words, you don’t have to read every single chapter to understand what the next one is talking about. Reading the chapters consecutively does help, though, because knowledge of music builds from simple concepts to complex ones.
We cover a lot of territory in this book, from discovering the basics of note values and time signatures to dissecting lead lines and adding harmony to a melody to studying the standard forms that much of popular and classical music follow. So if you’re new to the world of music theory, pace yourself while reading this book. Read it while you’re sitting at your piano or with your guitar or whatever instrument you’re working with next to you, and stop every couple of pages to practice the information you read. If you were taking a music class, this book would cover several years’ worth of information, so if you don’t learn everything in one or two months, you should refrain from self-flagellation.
We assume that if you’re reading this book, you love music, you want desperately to understand music and everything about it, and you’re a nut for the complicated dance of perfect timing and arrangement of tones. At the very least, we assume that you have a couple of books of sheet music lying around that have been frustrating you, or you have an old piano in the corner of your house that you’d like to mess around with.
This book is written for the following types of musicians (which, frankly, covers the gamut):
Icons are handy little graphic images meant to point out particular types of information. You can find the following icons in this book; they’re conveniently located along the left-hand margins.
In addition to the information and guidance about music theory that we provide in this book, you get access to even more online at Dummies.com
. Check out this book’s online Cheat Sheet for handy info regarding US and UK note names, time signatures, chord progressions, and more. Just go to www.dummies.com
and search for “Music Theory For Dummies Cheat Sheet.”
If you’re a beginning music student or want to start again fresh, plow through Part 1. If you’re already familiar with the basics of rhythm and want to simply find out how to read notes, head to Part 2. If you’re a trained musician who wants to know how to improvise and begin to write music, Part 3 covers the basics of chord progressions, scales, and cadences. You can also check out Part 4, which discusses a variety of musical forms you can start plugging your own musical ideas into.
Relax and have fun with your quest into music theory. Listening to, playing, and writing music are some of the most enjoyable experiences you’ll ever have. Music Theory For Dummies, 4th Edition, may have been written by teachers, but we promise, no clock-watching tyrants will show up at your door to see how fast you’re making your way through this book! We hope you enjoy reading this book as much as we did writing it. Sit back, read, and then start your own musical adventure.
Part 1
IN THIS PART …
Get to know music theory basics.
Understand notes and rests.
Read time signatures.
Figure out beat patterns and rhythms.