10 Minutes Per Day

[rkl312]

In an effort to break out of my music theory procrastination I have acquired the book Music Theory by Tom Kolb.  I'm going to work with it at least 10 minutes of my practice time per day.  Any reviews out there of this book?

[Steve Krenz]

RK,

I'm not familiar with it but let us know how it works for you. 

- Steve

[matonanjin]

RK,

I do have that book.  I can't review it because I have started it many times and then set it aside.  I did think that it looked promising but just got distracted.

How about I start it again, like you working it 10 minutes a day, and then you and routinely compare notes?

[V7#5b9]

In my vast array of music theory books Tom Kolb’s “MUSIC THEORY Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask” has its place. Tom’s main approach is based on brief conceptual descriptions and formulas. It covers a lot of information, but you may find it kind of dry. I use it mainly as an additional reference. 

If you want to get a relatively quick grasp of basic music theory and understand the big picture, I would recommend “The Everything Music Theory Book” by Marc Schonbrun. Marc’s easy and engaging language makes reading the book and learning theory enjoyable. It actually has a companion book by the same author: “The Everything Reading Music Book.” There is some overlap between the books, but they complement each other perfectly. Then, you will be able to tackle more advanced music theory books. 

Steve usually recommends: “Edly’s Music Theory for Practical People.” It’s very good as well.

I hope this helps. 

[rkl312]

1 hour ago, matonanjin said:

RK,

I do have that book.  I can't review it because I have started it many times and then set it aside.  I did think that it looked promising but just got distracted.

How about I start it again, like you working it 10 minutes a day, and then you and routinely compare notes?

That would be great.  Worked ch.1 today finding the note A all over the fretboard.  Tomorrow is B and so on...

[rkl312]

7 minutes ago, V7#5b9 said:

In my vast array of music theory books Tom Kolb’s “MUSIC THEORY Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask” has its place. Tom’s main approach is based on brief conceptual descriptions and formulas. It covers a lot of information, but you may find it kind of dry. I use it mainly as an additional reference. 

If you want to get a relatively quick grasp of basic music theory and understand the big picture, I would recommend “The Everything Music Theory Book” by Marc Schonbrun. Marc’s easy and engaging language makes reading the book and learning theory enjoyable. It actually has a companion book by the same author: “The Everything Reading Music Book.” There is some overlap between the books, but they complement each other perfectly. Then, you will be able to tackle more advanced music theory books. 

Steve usually recommends: “Edly’s Music Theory for Practical People.” It’s very good as well.

I hope this helps. 

Thank you for the great suggestion.  I'm going to work with what I bought for the time being but now I have some great alternatives.  Thanks again!