Music Theory For Dummies

I'm a beginner piano student starting in my late 60s as one of my new activities of retirement. I've been studying piano in a relaxed way first with an online app, Flowkey, which I will probably go back to and then with a human teacher who I will be leaving soon. There are concepts that I was not able to understand that neither Flowkey nor my teacher were able to explain. An example would be the difference between major and minor scales. Flowkey would say that major scales or pieces written in major keys had a happy sound and minor keys more somber. While helpful there's some subjectivity to this and it didn't explain what makes it major or minor. My teacher explained no further than, "Well, it's a mathematical progression." which again didn't explain much. The book explained very clearly that what makes a scale major is a specific (and easy to understand) pattern of whole steps and half steps in notes. Same with minor only with a different pattern. The book goes into all the detail you need if you're a beginner or even intermediate student. I'm only about a fifth through the book but what I've gleaned so far from it already makes it a good purchase.

My teacher is amazed by the depth and clarity of the explanations. Organized so that I am able to pursue questions and backtrack to foundational material easily. A gem.

Excellent! Music theory book is a great refresher for musicians. Price is wonderful!

I am a professional mathematician with no prior training in music theory (I passed up high school band). After deciding that I wanted to teach myself the fundamentals of music theory, I purchased two books on the subject, just to benefit from complementary viewpoints. In very short order, I abandoned the second reference altogether and began relying exclusively on Pilhofer and Day's wonderful book.Given my educational background, I approach all new subjects, including music theory, from a logical point of view. I need to understand WHY things are as they are before I can devote myself with any sort of enthusiasm to extensive memorization. Pilhofer and Day present music theory in a sequential, logical manner that gently develops cumulative understanding and minimizes delayed gratification. By the time I reached Part 2 on Major and minor scales, key signatures, intervals, chord progressions, etc., every piece of the puzzle began to fit into place. There is simply no way to avoid the considerable investment of time and energy that is required in this subject. However, accomplished mentors such as Pilhofer and Day can make the process a far more enjoyable learning experience.If you are a complete novice in the field of music theory, looking for a book than can help you learn on your own, then this book will serve you well. I highly recommend it.

Great music theory book. Great service.

Well if you need to know Music Theory (MT)this is your book. MT is a vast and complex subject. But you can concentrate on the chapters that will do you the most good and let the other chapters wait until you need them.

I don't know much about music. I cannot read music, but I play native American flutes and African drums, so I wanted to know more about music theory. This is a very simple book to understand. It starts out very basic which is exactly what I needed. It gets a little more detailed and intense the further you go along. This is an extremely helpful book. Very happy with this purchase.

I got the book as a musician. Itll probably help me in ap music theory but i just never look at it