Customer Reviews

Harmony and Theory: A Comprehensive Source for All Musicians (Essential Concepts (Musicians Institute).)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I had some music theory before I picked up this volume, but had not studied it in a comprehensive manner. This book took me through the basics in a step-by-step fashion. As a result, I feel I have a firm grasp of scale structure, intervals, and chord forms. The exercises (with answers in the back) are very useful and enable you to ensure that you have understood the text. I spent two weeks with this book this past summer and am delighted that I did. Strongly recommended.

I spent 12 years studying classical piano and I have always had a good ear for music (which means I can't sight-read ...). When I went off to college, a group of people were jamming in the big room, so I sat down at the piano figuring I'd join in. Well, despite my thinking I was such a great ear-player I hadn't the slightest idea what they were doing. It sounded like the 1-4-5 boogie woogie I learned in sixth grade, but it wasn't. They told me to stop playing because I was doing it wrong, so I slinked off in humiliation.

25 years later, my husband gave me this book. He was tired of having to explain what he thought was fairly standard chord notation, and I was frustrated that despite my years of study, I had no idea what he was talking about. I read the book through and I was back in that dorm social room... and I figured out what they were jamming on!!!!

This book explained it all, chord substitutions, variations, which keys go with others and why, what works, what doesn't, and what to call it so you can talk to other musicians. I realize the typical reader would be someone who can play but can't read or write music, but don't count yourself out just because you can. If, like me, you came from the classical world but never learned to talk rock or jazz theory, this is a great book for you. It really was a Rosetta Stone for me. And now I know what a flat-five substitution is and when to do it.

I absolutely love this book. It covers essential music theory is a very short space in a well-organized manner. More importantly, it emphasizes the concepts that are most important to a musician who wants to develop their practical skills at chord substitution, improvisation, voicing chords, etc.

Although the topics in this book are covered in academic books on harmony, they aren't covered in such a powerful and concise way. Other books that targeted toward beginners don't have the same depth. However, if you are a beginner, this book will be useful to you now and down the road. Therefore, don't hesitate to buy it if you are just starting out.

I have been playing the piano and other instruments for over 25 years and played in a band for 11 of those years. I often look at this book for review purposes and it is one of the few harmony books I have kept on my bookshelf. Another good one is HARMONY by Walter Piston. However, this volume is an excellent textbook, not a concise presentation of the key essentials.

I was a little disappointed when I recieved this book. Reading the other reviews really I didn't understand that it was a book for beginners. I don't think this book can give interesting information (as I understood by reading the other reviews) to people that already has some good knowledge of theory. Exercises include writing on staff the notes of a major triad.


I would suggest this book to a musician that

1) likes playing pop/rock/easy jazz music
2) only plays by ear and wants to know something more (in an easy way)
3) knows something about music theory but isn't able to explain anything since all the information he/she has are stored in disorder in his/her brain

This is a self-teaching book (or at least it is good for self teaching).

This book gives you the "nuts and bolts" of music theory using a logical format, and content that is presented in an easy to understand manner - even for beginners. I highly recommend it. If you are intimidated by the thought of learning music theory (like I was) then you ought to consider this book. There are plenty of written excercises contained in each chapter to help make sure you understand the concepts presented (and the answers are in the back of the book). In essence, each short chapter offers an opportunity to gain a sense of accomplishment before you move on to the next concept. Even my favorite music teacher, who has over 35 years of teaching under her belt, was thoroughly impressed with this book and plans to buy a copy for herself. By the way, this is the book used for a music theory class at Musician's Institute in Southern California (a music performance school).

I know this subject -- this book is in a class by itself... basic music theory isn't that difficult... but explaining it is! The authors have actually gotten it right. They balance clarity thoroughness accuracy and practicality. This isn't 'rocket-science' type theory, and it isn't baby-stuff either... it's directed at the musician who's playing popular music (from blues and rock to sophisticated jazz) and who wants to understand basic notation, chords, fitting scales to chords for improvisation/soloing, modes, and chord substitutions. If it has a weak point it's in explaining how chord progressions are put together, but in fairness that is a _huge_ subject... and this book is _great_ on everything else. Other books on this subject are typically miserable... this one even has excercises and an answer key. I'm reccommending it to all my guitar students... this book is an answered prayer.

I'm a guitar player apprentice on my late 20's. I decided that if I ever where to play like the guitar players I listen to (Al Di Meola, John Petrucci, Paco de Lucia, Alex Lifeson) I needed the same tools they had. Since I read this book my guitar playing have improved so much. I understand the concepts and rules behind chord progressions, chord substitution, modes and soloing. If you are serious about learning and applying music theory and you don't have any formal music education, this book is for you. This book does not focus on any particular instrument (which make it so much better for that), just comprehensive theory. How you apply it is up to you.

Other books from MI that I've bough and I'm reading now are Rhythm Guitar - The Complete Guide, Music Reading for Guitar and Guitar Soloing. A word of advice, these materials are not easy to digest, it takes time, discipline and practice to master these concepts. But once you do, the sky is the limit!

The Musician Institute's books tend to be very useful, with superior lay-out and graphics. the approach is just right for popular music performers. In my opinion, "Harmony and Theory" is a winner.
The first half explains the basics of music notation, intervals, scales and chord formation. I already had a decent background in music theory so it is hard to tell how easy it would be for a first-timer, but on this book the subject looked very clearly explained. Very important: Every chapter has a number of exercises (with answers at the end of the book), so a reader can apply each new concept as it is presented.
The second half, exploring harmony, was gold! The content is based on the diatonic rules, but also covers virtually every exception you are likely to find (and apply) in popular music. Because I was already familiar with most of the topics, I read many chapters in a single sitting, but I would recommend this book to be approached by a new studentas as a "course" : one chapter at a time, and be sure to do the exercises!
Pick up your guitar and piano and play the chord progressions, chapter by chapter. feel the sounds and then go read the "logic". music is primarily about emotion, no doubt about it, but the analytical understanding of its principles can be so much fun and will arm you with more tools to express your own artistry.
Very useful and I am sure it can benefit many musicians.

I am a semi-professional musician (gigging and recording on weekends) and found this book to be a great help to me. Over the years i had picked up bits and pieces of theory, and most of it seemed to make enough sense, but there were still things i had no clue about! That is where this lifesaver of a book came in. I bought it based upon its well-deserved good reviews, and couldn't have been more pleased. It covered just about everything i wanted to know, and filled in almost all of the "holes" in my knowledge of music theory. However, this book isnt something you can just spend 2 minutes reading and pick up on exactly what it says. Some of the things take a bit of practice to fully understand, but its well worth the time. If you are serious about your music and want a solid fundamental knowledge of theory, then i would HIGHLY reccommend this book. Overall it has been one of the most practical, useful investments i have ever made.

I'm primarily a self taught musician of around 10 years. I own many music books (5 or 6 on theory, then the rest piano/guitar sheet music, piano/guitar instructional), and would have to say this is the BEST for beginning music theory students. There are plenty of exercises with included answers - unlike the other "Theory and Harmony" book by Arnie Berle.

Be sure to answer ALL of the worksheets and internalize all of the information before moving on. One of the "one star" reviews here is because the author didn't do this..he even states that "NOWHERE does it explain what Root Position is" and gives it a one star accordingly. Meanwhile, what do we find on page 73? "A chord with the root in the bass, regardless of the order of the upper voices, is described as being in root position."

And then another one star reviewer (who double posted) seems to miss that this is a BEGINNING theory book based on popular music. This is the book to begin with, work through, and then JUMP from to a modern textbook such as "The jazz Theory Book" by Mark Levine (or the textbook "Tonal Harmony" if you're interested in going that route). You'll have a much better grasp on theory, you'll be starting from a much further point in those books, and really - this book handles some topics better than either of those. Despite what that reviewer said, this will also take you further than many of the other beginner theory books (thumb through Berles "Theory & Harmony" to see what I mean). The only reason I say jump from this book is, honestly, it's 142 pages vs 500/600 pages of a textbook. OF COURSE there's much more depth within those textbooks..

So if you want one of the most clear theory books on the market - buy this one. Keep in mind there's a lot of memorization required in music theory, so be patient, STUDY and work through the answers. Intimidating concepts will becomes second nature with time, and this is the book to get you there.