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By Instrumentation
Books on Music
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Accessories
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 enlarge | Author: Michael Miller
Publisher: Alpha
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $10.90
You Save: $9.05 (45%)
New (43) Used (18) from $9.67
Avg. Customer Rating:  62 reviews
Sales Rank: 1805
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1592574378
Dewey Decimal Number: 781
EAN: 9781592574377
ASIN: 1592574378
Publication Date: September 6, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A good foundation in music theory January 4, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I bought this book because I have been learning to play electric guitar and bass. In high school, I played in the marching band, but I never really took an interest in learning the how or why of music. From the beginning, this book made a huge impact on my efforts towards learning music. Lots of the other instrument-specific books have helped, but reading this book helped me to begin to grasp the intricacies of what to play and how to make music sound good. I would recommend this book to any other person who isn't a music expert.
A Great Introduction to the Wonderful World of Music Theory December 29, 2006
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
First, understand that this book is not an all-encompassing guide to music theory. (Not that is either meant to be, or is advertised as such.) Instead, it is a very friendly, readable introduction. I have owned several theory books during my life, and this is by far the best starting point that I have seen.
Highly recommended for those interested in gaining a more technical perspective to music, for those already well-versed in theory, look elsewhere.
 Solid intro October 31, 2006
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
I feel that this is a very solid primer for people either new to music, or people like me who are returning to playing an instrument (in my case the guitar) after many years. I studied the piano/keyboard in my childhood and early teens, but ultimately stopped and are now getting back into music after many years. Needless to say I had pretty well forgotten all of my previous music theory, and needed to start back at the beginning. Mr. Miller's book thus far has been invaluable in helping me get started, and it has done so in a way that isn't threatening or overwhelming.
There are a couple of areas that I have run across that need to be addressed however.
1: Do not recommend attempting to work through this book without either owning or having ready access to a keyboard or piano. Keep in mind that I'm writing this from the standpoint of the beginner when I say this. Although this book is supposed to be geared for all instruments, starting with Chapter 2 the material may prove to be confusing without being able to reference an actual keyboard. While the author does make this point in the introduction, this is something that I notice has been skipped over in the book's description and likewise would likely be missed by someone who is simply browsing for a book on the subject.
2: The ear training disk. Good in concept, but weak in execution. The way Mr. Miller approaches the subject is to play a note on the disk, then have the student copy the note on the piano, then write it down on music paper. Personally I like the approach as it not only develops the ear training but also sight reading and reinforcing where the notes are on your instrument. Where the execution falls short is that a: the lessons are clustered together on the tracks as opposed to having a single track for each note (so the student could use the shuffle feature on a CD player, and even back up if necessary) and b: the author announces each lesson before he plays the note. These two factors I feel limits the disk as a training tool. Then again, there is no reason the same methodology couldn't be used with another ear training system, say like Bruce Arnold's One Note series (which I'm currently using).
Verdict: Highly recommended.
Great accessible guide to music theory - especially for the beginner July 15, 2006
35 out of 35 found this review helpful
My background is in engineering and computer science. However, I do a lot of multimedia programming, and when it came to writing code for computer music I was at a loss because I have no formal musical training whatsoever. I've never played an instrument and I probably never will. However, I found it disabling to be unable to read music or understand the language of music theory when it came to reading the many helpful works on computer music that are in print and on the web. This book appeared to be what I was looking for and it turned out I was correct in my choice. It takes you from the absolute beginning, assuming you can't even read music, and takes you from intervals through phrases through counterpoint and into composition and performance. There are very helpful exercises at the end of every chapter with solutions at the end of the book, making this a good choice as a textbook or an excellent and inexpensive means of self study.
Part one talks about the notes of a scale,the different types of clefs and staves, the intervals between notes, major and minor scales, and keys and key signatures. Part two, on rhythm, starts by teaching you what simple whole notes are and moves on to sixteenth notes and syncopations. Also covered are time signatures, tempo and dynamics, and how to navigate through a piece of music. In part three, Tunes, you learn how to put tones and rhythms together to create a melody. Next you learn how to add chords to your tunes and find out about chord progressions and song forms. At this point, you have what you need to create your own pieces of music. Part 4, on accompaniment, teaches you how to train your ears so you can write down music as you hear it. You'll be able to create simple accompaniment parts on piano or guitar. Last, this section shows you how to take a song in one key and transpose it to a totally different key. Part 5, on embellishment, shows how to fill out your music with harmonies and counterpount, and how to add fancy chord substitutions to your tunes. The last section is on arranging music. It talks about how to write for specific voices and instruments and how to create attractive master scores and lead sheets. You also learn how to conduct your music in front of a choir, band, or orchestra. The appendices contain a complete glossary of terms, a chord reference, and answers to the chapter exercises.
I read the entire book, although parts one through three, which focuses on music literacy, are what I concentrated on because it coincided more to my needs. Parts 4 through 6 are more on performance and composition. I was so impressed by the book that I also bought "Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition", which I found equally accessible. I highly recommend both books.
Note that there really is very little difference between the first and second editions of this book, which makes sense because music theory does not change much over time. The parts of the second edition of book and chapters that they are composed of have identical titles and near identical content to the first edition. The only real difference is that the second edition has an audio CD in it that contains "The Complete Idiot's Guide Ear Training Course". If that is not important to you, going with the first edition and saving some money might be a good idea.
 poorly written introduction to music May 3, 2006
7 out of 40 found this review helpful
While the content of this book is appropriate, the text is sometimes misleading, confusing and vague.
I do not recommend this book. Edly's is much better.
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