Customer Reviews

SQUARE ONE - A Western Music Theory Primer

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

 

 

This short, concise description of modern music theory is so complete and so dense that I find myself returning to the text time and time again to restudy difficult concepts, review familiar ones, confirm details, or just to check how far I've advanced in my studies. The prose is light and very easy to read while the technical information is both complete and well presented. Hands-down the best general work on modern music theory I have yet encountered. It is so useful I have it on my Kindle, my phone, and both PCs. I find myself coming back to this text to look up one thing or another almost every single day.

This is a fantastic foundation for aspiring musicians, or self-taught performers who need to fill in gaps in their technical knowledge of music.

This was an extremely helpful primer. The author makes it all very accessible and easy to understand. Worth a look.

I disagree with the prior reviews. This short book does not "fill in gaps" if you've studied music before. It is a very short and consise primer (I finished in an hour), excellent for its purpose as a primer. I am a software engineer trying to learn piano, and have not previously read any music theory books. This book was worth the $buck. You could find the same info if you searched on the internet, but this book puts together some nice concepts for you. The best line/advice out of this book was a statement something like "do not skip over stuff this book covers until you understand it". I actually followed the advice!

I bought this as I read the sample and found it very easy to understand with out a lot of unneeded jargon

I got a little bored with his discussion of the chromatic scale. Why? Because I know the chromatic scale and the other scales and he did not color his discussion. I would have liked him to state the word chromatic comes from the Greek chronos meaning to color. I have seen it as kronos but that refers mostly to god(s) stuff.
He talked about intervals my favorite subject. I rant about intervals.
Well, intervals have proper names also. There is no such thing as a 5th or a 4th unless you are consuming alcohol.
The harmonic intervals are either Major, minor, Augmented or diminished. Why? Because depending on where you live, they can be tuned differently. In Western music we refer to our intervals as Major, minor, diminished or Augmented. The Major 3rd- M3; the minor 3rd-m3; the Major 6th= M6; the minor 6th- m6; the diminished 3rd, 6th. Note the spellings closely.

They have names, just like you. Some have two names.
The perfect intervals are named perfect because they are universal. All cultures, all humanity can recognize them.
You may go here or there and experience "out of tune intervals" but you will always recognize the Perfect 4th- P4; the Perfect 5th- P5 and the Perfect octave- P8. Ah, but they can be colored,
" chromaticized", altered, too.

The alterations are Augmented and diminished. And we have a special guest- feared by all singers- the dread tri-tone- known as the Augmented 4th. His other name is the diminished 5th. Blow the mind of musicians- you can sing it.

The WEST SIDE STORY is based on the tri-tone. Sing "Maria."
When you are talking about intervals you must use the proper name or the person you are instructing or guiding will- as in all cases- play the wrong interval. Not using proper names is just sloppy, lazy and not musical.
Good article serves basic needs. Sometimes we need to be a little more exact, a little more technical and not pedantic.