Music Theory Made Simple: Essential Concepts for Budding Composers, Musicians and Music Lovers

Length: 128 pages
Edition: 1
Language: English
Publisher: Page Street Publishing
Publication Date: 2023-03-21
ISBN-10: 1645675904
ISBN-13: 9781645675907
Sales Rank: #364694 (See Top 100 Books)

Adrian Valia channels his music-making talent, his profound knowledge of theory and his experience with teaching music into the most comprehensive handbook for total beginners and those who want to deepen their shallow grasp on necessary concepts. With clear and enlightening illustrations and graphics, as well as short custom-made instructional videos accessible by QR code, this book streamlines all the notions that seem unapproachable to novices, as well as to those who have found studying music theory in a traditional classroom setting inscrutable.

Readers will delve into the fun world of Rhythms, with accessible exercises and lessons on time signatures, polyrhythms and more; elements of Melody like intervals, scales and modes are demystified, as is the elusive Circle of Fifths. Readers will also get introduced to Harmony and learn, among other compelling things, how to build absolutely any chord. What is more, Adrian includes an encyclopedic glossary of music terms, as well as recommended resources so readers can keep learning well after they’ve completed the book’s main chapters.

Whether they want to compose, play or simply better understand their craft as vocalists, this is the only book readers will ever need to build a solid, enduring foundation of knowledge. With The Fundamentals of Music Theory Made Simple, learning has never been more effortless or rewarding.

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Foreword by Emmanuel de Leon
Introduction
How This Book Works
Rhythm
    The Basics: What Rhythm Is Made Out Of
    How to Count Beats
    Note Values
    Permutations
    Dividing Beats in Three: An Introduction to Uneven Beats
    Time Signatures: Group Beats and Creating Different Moods
    2/4
    3/4
    Mixed Meter: Make Music Flexible by Changing Time Signatures
    Polymeter: Refine Your Arrangements with Layered Time Signatures
    Polyrhythms: Create Satisfying Contrasting Rhythms
    Polyrhythm Inversions: The Art of Displacing Rhythms
    2:3 (1st Inversion)
    2:3 (2nd Inversion)
    2:3 (3rd Inversion)
    2:3 (4th Inversion)
    2:3 (5th Inversion)
    Groove: How to Create Engaging Rhythmic Atmospheres
    Strong and Weak Beats
    Rock Groove
    The Clave
    Swing
    Humanizing Grooves: Imperfectly Perfect Rhythm
Melody
    What Is Melody?
    The Twelve Notes: Learn the Musical Alphabet
    The Seven White Notes
    The Sharp and Flat Notes
    Intervals: Convey Emotions with Only Two Notes
    Ascending Intervals
    Descending Intervals
    Interval Inversions: Unlock More Melodic Possibilities
    The Circle of 5ths: How It Can Help You Visualize Intervals (and Much More …)
    How to Use Intervals Emotionally
    Scales: A Template for the Perfect Melody
    The Major Scale
    How to Build Any Major Scale
    Scales in the Circle of 5ths
    Modes: The Art of Displacing Scales
    Relative Modes
    Parallel Modes
    Modes in the Circle of 5ths
    What Makes a Great Melody?
Harmony
    What is Harmony?
    Dyads: The Simplest Way to Add Depth to a Melody
    5th Dyads
    3rd Dyads
    Triads: The Four Chords Everyone Needs to Learn
    Major Chords
    Minor Chords
    Diminished Chords and the Diminished Scale
    Augmented Chords and the Whole-Tone Scale
    Triad Inversions: The Art of Displacing Chords
    Closed-Position Triads
    Open-Position Triads
    Chords in the Circle of 5ths: Visualize the Emotional Impact of Chords
    Major and Minor Chords
    Augmented Chords
    Fully Diminished Chords
    Tetrads: The Secret to Elegant Harmony
    Major 7th Chords
    Dominant 7th Chords
    Minor 7th Chords
    Minor-Major 7th Chords
    Augmented Major 7th Chords
    Augmented 7th Chords
    Diminished Major 7th Chords
    Half-Diminished Chords
    Harmonizing The Major Scale
    Chord Progressions: How to Create Smooth Harmonic Movement
    Tonal Centers and Tonal Hierarchy
    Perfect Cadences
    Plagal Cadences
    Single Chord Quality Progressions
    Substitutions
    Pedal Note
    Modulations: Change Tonal Centers to Create Even More Harmonic Contrast
    Common Chord Modulations
    Diminished Pivot Modulations
    Parallel Modulations
Conclusion
Quiz Answers
Resources
Bonus: The Harmonic Series
Glossary
Movable Devices
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Index
Newsletter Sign-up
Table of Contents
Copyright