Reddit reviews The AB Guide to Music Theory, Part 1 (Pt. 1)

The AB guide to music theory

It helps if you learn an instrument.
Also helps if you start at 4 years old.
Like anything, you just have to learn it.
I personally think it helps if you’re good at maths.
I’ve always rationalised the way music works as a sequence of functions in time.
It also helps if your thinking can incorporate sound shapes, so you can spatialise sound and work out what should come next based on what just happened.
If you’re able to remember sound abstractly without reference is also really useful, so, can you remember the way a maj9 chord sounds so that you can hear a maj9 regardless of the pitch? Can you remember how a I IV V progression sounds regardless of the pitch? Why is this (CEGA) a C6 chord but this (ACEG) is an Am7 chord? Etc etc etc.

nnngh I see what you're asking, but it's really just plain old theory about keys and then we can get a bit more complex.

I write atonal music which uses all 12 tones freely, but I still use the rules of the road to guide my decisions. You shouldn't ever throw pitches in willy nilly.

Buy these books. They're produced by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music here in the UK. They are AMAZING and are a complete guide to everything you need to know. Heck, I'm doing music at degree level and I sometimes still find them useful.

1- http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Guide-Music-Theory-Vol/dp/1854724460

2 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Guide-Music-Theory-Part/dp/B00144C78E

Just learn some music theory, if you put in the time you'll grow as a musician and won't have to rely on tricks. This book is life.

If the video interested you, then you should look into learning music theory. And a much better way to do it than watching some guy jump all over a piano while text strobes up on the screen faster than you can read would be to buy a book on the subject.

My recommendations would be this one or this one.

Congrats on starting! Thats often the hardest part! And the best bit? Even if it feels like you've started late, some of the best musicians did exactly the same and it never stopped them! In fact I only started singing when I was 16 and now thats my job!

There are loads of resources online which might be able to help you. It does depend a little on what your priority is though. If you would simply like to be able to play and work things out as you go there quite a good app/site called Yousician which helps you learn music on your chosen instrument in a guitar hero style way. Your listening skills will definitely get better with this but I don't think it does much theory.

https://yousician.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz8OE6t-W2wIVBZUbCh1LqQQBEAAYASAAEgIGmvD_BwE

For learning the theory side of things, Piano is definitely very helpful if you can afford a small keyboard. Thats awesome you've already transferred some of the piano stuff you watched onto the ukulele, aural skills like that are hugely useful particularly later on if you want to listen to something and then write it down.

I would recommend music theory.net, they have lots of lessons and exercises online which you can use for free but the lessons are particularly good to give you a full understanding of how to read and understand music.
https://www.musictheory.net/lessons
They also have an app (which is the same material as the website) which you could use, but you do pay for it.

As far as other apps go there is another very useful one called Meludia. I love this one, it helps you train your ear rather then the theory side of things and will play you a short phrase which you then play back within the app. - https://www.meludia.com

For the general practice and seeing how you're doing, I've also just released an app called Muso which lets you practice a load of topics (like recognising notes and chords, and also written stuff) and see where your strengths and weaknesses are. You can also add a teacher further down the line to set you little quizzes and help you learn faster if you ever start lessons.
It's totally free and theres no rubbish in app purchase stuff you can just practice and see how you're doing (we've got a basic AI that learns what you need to practice next which will hopefully kick in soon!). If you do want to check it out its at www.theoretical.xyz or search "Muso by Theoretical" on the app stores (UK).

Theres also a lot of resources through ABRSM (the music Exam body) in the way of books and practice tests for the theory.
This is the most comprehensive to my knowledge and is very popular, though quite in depth!- https://www.amazon.co.uk/AB-Guide-Music-Theory-Vol/dp/1854724460

Or they have a few practice apps you can use, I think you have to pay for some of the features but you might find one you like - https://gb.abrsm.org/en/exam-support/practice-tools-and-applications/

Really though, I think the best tip is to practice practice practice, but above all have fun! Music is awesome and if you can get a bunch of friends together and have a jam together it really is some of the best fun!
I hope that helps a little bit, good luck with all of your music and I hope you enjoy it!

The AB Guide to Music Theory Vol 1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1854724460/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-axqDb02SRK8G

£5 each. Surely you can find both on whatever local marketplace you use for books, or source the PDFs.

This book taught me a lot of what I know. Over the years I have added to it from different sources, but I still recommend this book.

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Music-Theory-Part-Pt/dp/1854724460

A couple of standard texts in the UK are these two:
[AB Guide to Music Theory pt.1] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/AB-Guide-Music-Theory-Vol/dp/1854724460)
[First Steps in Music Theory] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Steps-Music-Theory-Grades/dp/1860960901/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KJ0AYXKZW43PBX65Q6P2)

They are closely connected, in that the former explains stuff in more detail, while the second is a kind of abridged revision text, listing all the things you need to know, with minimal explanation. Both start with the absolute basics and go up to grade 5.

A companion books of exercises (for testing yourself) is [this] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Music-Theory-Practice-Grade-ABRSM/dp/1860969429/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CXWDMNP8955NNC8DN0QE) (Grade 1 only)

Music theory won't necessarily help you make "beautiful melodies". It will give you some basic formulas to get you started, such as scales and simple chords: raw material to begin working with. But to understand melody, you have to learn some melodies. (Many composers write beautiful melodies with no theory knowledge - other than what they've gained from learning songs.)

I had guitar lessons and learned there, so I'm not too sure. For a start, subscribe to the music theory subreddit and maybe look a little on there for help. I would highly recommend buying the book 'The AB Guide To Music Theory Part 1' by Eric Taylor. It's pretty cheap and not too much of a long read, but is very clear and will help you loads.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Guide-Music-Theory-Vol/dp/1854724460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345727330&sr=8-1

This is UK, but I'm sure the American website has it to.

For general music theory there are some good videos on youtube for a lot of the basics (and a few for more advanced stuff as well if you wanna go that far)

If you're looking to buy books to learn from, then any theory book for grades 1-5 is a good way to get you started, maybe something like this (of course you could probably seek out the equivalent e-book or site with the same info)

If it's more the technical side of production you want to look in to, then /r/edmproduction has plenty of info, although stuff aimed at beginners tends to get buried a bit. But the search function or the faq will help with that : D

Also, youtube (again). There are literally thousands of production videos on there you can learn from once you have an idea of what you want to search for.

Coursera even have a few free introduction to music production courses every year if you wanna get really serious!

The ABRSM Guide is what I always point people towards - it takes you through all of the necessary basics in a thorough manner.

It doesn't explain the connections between the fundamental principles and string instruments, but if you get the former better understood, a lot of what is going on with the violin will fall into place.

However, feel free to ask here if there's specific questions you've got, whether violin-specific or not.

> Say if I can't find a teacher right away, how would you say I should try striking that "balance" you talked about? Any resources you'd suggest for each element (technical/musical/theoretical)?

Technical and musical elements are quite difficult to advise on because they are quite individual. Some people are very expressive but aren't necessarily brilliantly technical players and some are brilliantly technical but make music that sounds like robots, and all shades in-between.

If you pushed me I would say that something like Yousician's free lessons will get you off the ground as far as basic technique is concerned. Their free service is perfectly adequate for a complete beginner.

As far as musicality goes that's more difficult to teach. Really you're looking to try and "feel" something while you're playing and it's not quite the same as feeling an emotion - you're trying to feel the flow of the music. I found it helpful when I was first learning to play along to a track and not worry too much about getting it right - just noodle around trying to get into the feel of the thing. Playing with other people helps here too.

As far as theory goes that's easier.

Standard theory (you can call it 'classical' theory if you like but it applies to pretty much any form of music except really early music and more modern experimental stuff):
The AB Guide to Music Theory Part I
Music Theory in Practice Book I

(As you'll see from the Amazon listings there are more books in the Music Theory in Practice series, and there's an AB Guide to Music Theory Part II as well).
Get someone who knows what they're talking about to check your answers!

Jazz theory:
The Jazz Theory Book

Songwriting:

Chord Progressions for Songwriters

Bear in mind that music theory is a bit like art theory in that it's largely descriptive rather than prescriptive - it describes common practice and therefore gives you some guidelines but it's quite possible to follow all the rules and still come up with something that's fucking dreadful. So when you're writing try not to get bogged down with "is it correct?" - just ask yourself "do I like it? does it sound good?".


> What would an ideal (or even okay) progress would look like according to you?

I would say classical guitar grade 1 within 1-2 years is normal progress. If you're ambitious then 6 months to 1 year.

Yeah, check out the AB Guide to Music Theory. They're cheap, there are two volumes, and they have all the information that will take you from Grade 1 to 8 were you to take ABRSM Music Theory. These are the standard books for anyone doing music theory in the UK.

Amazon.com for volume 1 (I'm assuming you're US): http://www.amazon.com/The-Guide-Music-Theory-Vol/dp/1854724460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348947042&sr=8-1

Get a copy of the AB Guide to Music Theory
It is a really good introduction and while it is geared towards more traditional forms of music having a really solid knowledge of the fundamentals will see you well in any genre you are interested in.

Sounds like you need a better understanding of some music theory, not the piano, to help you write songs. I'd say look up some music theory basics, for example major scales 'come together' through the circe of fifths and they are all constructed the same way using a different starting note. Look for information about chord progressions and think about how they sound one after another, such as I, IV, V chords; I'd say it'd be more useful for you to understand this sort of thing instead of improving piano technique.

In terms of a book, when I did music theory I used the Theory is Fun grade 1 and 5 books. They look like childrens books but they were immensely useful to me. Also the AB Guide to Music Theory is great, although more complex. Keep in mind though that I live in the UK and these are books from here, so if you're from the US some of the terminology is a little different and these books might not be as helpful, sorry.

To be honest the best thing is to get a teacher. I don't know what the equivalent is wherever you live but in Britain lessons usually lead to doing grades/exams on the instrument, after a certain level they're worth Ucas points which help with getting into universities etc. The same is for music theory.
Also, people who just teach composition do exist, contact teachers in your area and they or someone else will know someone.
Otherwise, something along the lines of this.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AB-Guide-Music-Theory-Vol/dp/1854724460

EDIT: As for recording/writing music, Sibelius and/or Logic. Sibelius is great for actual sheet music/scores and logic for manipulating sounds.

I used these:

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Music-Theory-Part-Pt/dp/1854724460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466623651&sr=8-1&keywords=ab+guide+to+music+theory

https://www.amazon.com/Music-Theory-Practice-Grade-Abrsm/dp/1860969429/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1466623560&sr=8-3&keywords=abrsm+music+theory

But note that I didn't shop around - don't really have anything to compare it against.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AB-Guide-Music-Theory-Part/dp/B00D7JCTE6/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=abrsm+part+2&qid=1566413271&s=gateway&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AB-Guide-Music-Theory-Vol/dp/1854724460/ref=pd_bxgy_267_img_2/262-0798234-3159250?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1854724460&pd_rd_r=e9378e58-bc27-4eb1-a3c4-35e081d82b32&pd_rd_w=ur61m&pd_rd_wg=vaPlF&pf_rd_p=07e3e597-b71b-4701-a3fd-d79c50f48406&pf_rd_r=BXQM93ANRYQ0QCRF6YVE&psc=1&refRID=BXQM93ANRYQ0QCRF6YVE

Is that any help?

I recently bought: 'The AB Guide to Music Theory' by Eric Taylor. It comes in two parts. I find it to be well written and easy to follow - very handy in understanding the rules of music, for a novice too - it starts from the very beginning and includes references to baroque, classical and jazz.

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Music-Theory-Part-Pt/dp/1854724460

Oh, I just remembered something dude! Check out the grade 1-8 music theory books by ABRSM. They're super useful. Also, the AB Guide to Music Theory is a great companion for grades 1-5, then vol. 2 is great for grades 6-8. :)