Music Theory, 3E

Many people find music theory a tough subject-but it doesn't have to be! The best-selling Idiot's Guides: Music Theory, Third Edition, is a concise and clear guide that teaches any budding musician (and even more experienced ones) how to read musical notation by navigating the basics of reading and composing music. This book covers:

+ The basics of tones, including pitches, clefs, scales, intervals, and major and minor keys.
+ The building blocks of rhythm, including note values, basic notation, time signatures, and tempo, dynamics, and navigation.
+ How tunes are created, starting with melodies, chords, chord progressions, and phrases and forms.
+ The basics of accompaniment, including transcribing, accompanying melodies, and transposing to other keys.
+ Composing and arranging, including coverage of musical genres and forms, how to compose your own music, arranging for voices and instruments, working with lead sheets and scores, and performing your music.
+ Helpful reference appendixes, including a glossary, chord charts, and instrument ranges.
+ Exercises at the end of each chapter, and an answer key appendix.
+ All-new coverage of genres, composing, and arranging.
+ Expanded online ear-training and transcribing exercise content.

Author Bio:

Michael Miller has authored more than 150 non-fiction books in the past 25 years, including a number of best-selling music books for Alpha: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Drums, Second Edition, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music History, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Conducting Music, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Solos and Improvisation, and Idiot's Guides: Singing, Second Edition (with co-author Phyllis Fulford). Mr. Miller began arranging and composing vocal and instrumental music for various groups when he was just 14 years old. He later attended the world-renowned Indiana University School of Music, and was accepted into IU's prestigious Jazz Studies Program. In 1981, Mr. Miller founded the Indianapolis Songwriter's Workshop (now known as the Indianapolis Songwriters Association).