A Practical Approach to Understanding Music Theory - 1st

Reviewed by Judith Ofcarcik, Assistant Professor, James Madison University on 11/23/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 2 see less

This is very much an entry-level book on the topic. It does not cover enough topics to be used as a traditional "music theory textbook," and it doesn't cover the included topics in enough depth to be a true fundamentals textbook.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I did not notice any factual errors, but there were two things that I consider issues of bias (meaning I have a problem with them but others might not): First, the harmony chapter is focused on the circle of fifths, which is not inaccurate but misses much of the nuance of harmonic function. Second, 6/8 is counted as 6 beats to the measure whereas most theorists would say it is two beats with three subdivisions. These could create problems in a college setting but would be acceptable if an adult were using the text for self-study, which I think is the best use of this book.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

Much of the material in this book is introductory, and that information is unlikely to change. However, current emphasis in theory pedagogy is on harmonic function, which is missing from this book. Also, the unit on form is missing information currently prominent in the field.

Clarity rating: 5

This book is clear and written in an approachable style.

Consistency rating: 5

This book felt very consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

The book can be broken up, although many sections are very short. I'm not sure there is enough content to sustain a semester-long course though.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Each chapter is organized clearly, and the books' chapters contain what you would expect. However, the last chapter is not really about music theory-it's more about general music study. I didn't dislike the chapter but I did question it's presence in such a brief book.

Interface rating: 5

Everything seemed fine with the interface.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Generally fine.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

It is not offensive in any way.

Comments

My biggest concern about this textbook is that it does not contain enough information on its own to support a semester-long class in music theory, even at the introductory level. It also does not contain any musical examples or exercises. This significantly limits its value for college instructors. That being said, I could see this book being very useful for adults wanting to learn to read and start to understand music. The text is relatively wordy, perhaps too much so for an undergraduate student, but I think an adult would enjoy reading it and could certainly learn enough information from the text to support private study on an instrument or voice. If you are teaching an adult beginner I would highly recommend this textbook as a free way to learn the basics of music and identify areas they might be interested in studying in more detail.