Full Description
Grasp the concepts needed to compose, deconstruct, andcomprehend music Whether you're a student of music or a music lover, MusicTheory For Dummies presents you with essential information onhow to read, write, and understand music, as well as helpful hintson composing, arranging, and creating original melodies, harmonies,and chords. Music Theory For Dummies gives you a friendly,unintimidating overview of the material covered in a typicalcollege-level course and makes music theory easy to understand. Itincludes updated information on current teaching techniques; thenewest music examples and genres; information on mastering majorand minor scales, using intervals, and recognizing pitches andclefs; the lowdown on rhythms, tempo, dynamics, and navigation; howto transcribe the music you hear and transposing it to other keys;harmonizing and accompanying melodies; composing and arranging forvoices and instruments; performing your own music; and muchmore.Audio CD includes musical excerpts played on a variety ofinstruments Makes learning music theory as enjoyable as it is useful Tracks to a typical college-level music theory course Don't get discouraged by the seemingly complicated writtenstructure of musical theory. With Music Theory For Dummies, understanding music has never been easier! CD-ROM/DVDand other supplementary materials are not included as part of thee-book file, but are available for download afterpurchase.
Contents
Introduction 1
Part I
Chapter 1: What Is Music Theory, Anyway? 9
Chapter 2: Determining What Notes Are Worth 15
Chapter 3: Giving It a Rest 29
Chapter 4: Introducing Time Signatures 37
Chapter 5: Playing with Beat 51
Part II: Putting Notes Together 59
Chapter 6: Music Notes (And Where to Find Them) 61
Chapter 7: Mastering the Major and Minor Scales 79
Chapter 8: Key Signatures and the Circle of Fifths 93
Chapter 9: Intervals: The Distance between Pitches 109
Chapter 10: Chord Building 133
Chapter 11: Chord Progressions 157
Part III: Musical Expression through Form, Tempo, Dynamics,and More 175
Chapter 12: The Building Blocks of Music: Rhythm, Melody,Harmony, and Song Form 177
Chapter 13: Relying on Classical Forms 189
Chapter 14: Tapping Into Popular Genres and Forms 199
Chapter 15: Creating Varied Sound through Tempo and Dynamics207
Chapter 16: Instrument Tone Color and Acoustics 219
Part IV: The Part of Tens 225
Chapter 17: Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Music Theory227
Chapter 18: Ten Valuable Music Resources 233
Chapter 19: Ten Music Theorists You Should Know About 239
Part V: Appendixes 247
Appendix A: On the CD 249
Appendix B: Chord Chart 255
Appendix C: Glossary 293
Index 297
