Customer Reviews

The Music Theory Handbook

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a formally trained musician with a Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in music (and currently a candidate for a Doctoral Degree), I have had more than my fair share of Music Theory courses.

This text is a wonderfully crafted work. It is thorough and to the point. It was extremely easy to follow and understand. I wish it had been available to me when I started college those many years ago!

For the music student entering college, or even the serious high school student, this text would make a fine resource to add to your collection.

Ms Merryman gives a concise, clear, and yet broad intro to music theory of the common practice period (i.e. no atonal works, no Gregorian chant). Illustrated by examples and underscored with keyboard exercises that help to hear what she's writing about, this book explained many things I intuitively understood with a refreshing clarity. Then, for those who want to dig deeper, there are helpful references at the end of each chapter. I read it as a borrowed book from a library - now I'm buying it.

Ms. Merryman's book is a perfect, and perfectly clear, synthesis of the fundamentals that one learned (or should have learned) in undergraduate music theory. This book was never designed to serve as a primary theory textbook; no book this brief could be successful in that endeavor. Therefore, one who has no technical musical background will likely find its compact explanations a bit confusing.

Instead, this book was designed as a refresher for people's memory of concepts that they at one time or another had under their belts, but that may have faded. Nonetheless, one should not think that the book's brevity results in any skimming over the subject matter. Quite the opposite is the case, and it is impressive that Ms. Merryman can pack so much into such a short space, all the while explaining the fundamental issues in the most straight forward manner.

Music students entering graduate programs more often than not find that the school requires them to take some kind of remedial theory course. This requirement is not an insult to the undergraduate school, but rather a reflection of a reality--many fundamental and necessary concepts may have eluded the undergraduate. Were every music student to take the summer between undergraduate and graduate studies to absorb Ms. Merryman's compact book, fewer students--and schools--would be disappointed come September. Her book should be on every musician's shelf or, better yet, desk.

I had been looking for a book like Marjorie Merryman's, The Music Theory
Handbook for my secondary piano students who want to prepare for college level theory beyond where most of the existing pedagogical books take them. In a one hour piano lesson, there isn't time to delve into a college text like Benward or Ottman. Ms. Merryman has packed the basics of Theory 101 into an informative text with helpful examples.
In addition to the fundamentals, harmony and counterpoint are presented along with analysis, phrase structure, form, compositional techniques and instrumentation. Exercises based on the concepts presented in each part are grouped in a separate section.

The clear format makes the text easily comprehensible. I highly recommend this book for high school students who plan to continue their musical studies in college.

I just needed this book to prepare for a theory test for an online Master of Music degree from Boston University. It is very concise, yet has all the details I need to review music theory. Since the last theory class I took was over 5 years ago, I needed to brush up. This book is nice because now I don't have to comb through all the books I used for my undergrad work.

I found this book to have a lot of solid, useful information, which was presented in a succinct, economical way. It covers the basics well. However, the book itself is quite pricey. I've actually been torn between keeping it (because it is an excellent book) and returning it (because it was so expensive). It's a pretty slim book, and I'm impressed that the author was able to cram two entire semesters of conservatory-level theory -- plus some exercises -- into such a thin book, but, by the same token......it's hard for me to justify paying so much for such a small volume!

So, I'm still on the fence about this. There are more expensive theory books out there, for sure, and the majority of them are no doubt a lot wordier. I do like the book. Just can't decide whether I can afford it or not!

The Music Theory Handbook by Marjorie Marryman is probably not for absolute beginners, unless they are working with a teacher. However, I was looking for a concise refresher, and this book was exactly what I needed. It is very easy to read, having had some prior exposure to the subject.
I have also been searching for some good exercises to reinforce material learned in harmony and musicianship courses. The last two chapters are full of great exercises. Don't wait to read the whole book before starting the exercises. You can start right in on parts 7 and 8 after reading part 1. I'm very glad I found this book.

This book is a great review for music teachers and students. It was very concise and easy to understand.

I'm not sure why this book has received so many good reviews. I found it a dull and difficult read. There are many other better, and much more, interesting books on music theory out there. For someone just starting out, I highly recommend Marc Schonbrun's "The Everything Reading Music Book" -- it may not have the Air of Erudition that Ms. Merryman's book has, but it is readable, understandable, and informative.

The Everything Reading Music Book: A Step-By-Step Introduction To Understanding Music Notation And Theory (Everything: Sports and Hobbies)