Music Theory: From Beginner to Expert - The Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide to Understanding and Learning Music Theory Effortlessly: 1 (Essential Learning Tools for Musicians)

I tend to think of music theory like grammar — it’s either well explained or it isn’t. Both can be complex and both need clear explanations. Author Nicolas Carter falls into the former category and has made a sterling job of clearly and precisely explaining the rudiments and more of musical theory. I’ve tried reading a number of related books but this is by far the best. I haven't yet read everything, but what I have has been great. It's the first volume of a two-book set; the companion volume being how to read music. As an inexpensive purchase, it's been an excellent buy and I’ve greatly increased my knowledge and understanding because of it. My Kindle version works well, with good clear diagrams and charts, and is augmented by SoundCloud audio links to hear examples, which is useful. There’s a lot of theory here and Mr Carter explains it well, enabling readers to quickly progress beyond the basics. There’s fundamentals, intervals, scales, modes, chord construction, inversions, rhythm, timing, structure, progressions, harmony, syncopation, and much more. In fact, it’s quite a comprehensive work with a print length of 244 pages. From my limited understanding it seems to be accurate too. The book is nicely presented, easy on the eye, and comes with a clickable table of contents, which makes it a pleasure to read and refer back too. Most importantly is the superb clarity the author brings to his subject, which he does in a concise but thorough manner. No wonder it’s a bestseller, and is well-deserving of the rating I’ve given it.

I'm over three quarters of the way through this now and feel that's enough to post a review. I bought this as a Kindle purchase and feel the book is well worth the money. This would also apply to the slightly more expensive paperback format. However, there a few things about the book I found quite annoying, though I am glad I perservered with it. Firstly, I don't profess to be an expert on grammar, but I like text to read as though it were being said out loud in a plain manner. Throughout this book, the definite and indefinite article are frequently dropped, so I found myself constantly being tripped up by "the, an, a" being missing. The author write sentences, such as "Play A chord", rather than Play an A chord". Ironically, the rhythm of the text is broken by this. Secondly, the early section on "Music Theory Fundamentals" contains a discussion of the physics of sound and pitch which could have been more concisely and better written. In fairness the author points out the section can be skipped, though there are a couple of nuggets in there which make the inclusion of this section quite sensible. Though at this point in the book, I did wonder whether I should bother with the rest of it. I'm glad I did. Primarily I bought this book as a hobbyist guitarist trying to understand modes and make sense of ideas I've heard talked about online. The book has brought together a number of concepts that didn't quite make sense for me and it's given me confidence that I properly understand these. For me, it has also clarified terminology and explained differences in the way the language of music is used. At times the book is laboured, the structure could be improved and there are a couple of diagrams missing, but all-in-all I think this is a very useful book which will help a lot of people if they stick with it.

An excellent book - explains music concepts and theory very well and is very well structured and in clear language. Highly recommended for anyone dipping their toes into music theory or has been baffled by other books on the subject. A very useful resource and reference with lots of good and practical advice.

This is the best music theory book I've come across (out of around a dozen I've read). It concentrates on the theory, rather than covering how to read music notation (there's a separate companion book that does that), which isn't used in this book. Instead, it concentrates on the actual theory, and does an excellent job of explaining the various elements of music theory - from pitch,tone,and timbre through modern and historical tuning (Temperament) systems, Musical intervals between notes, scales and modes (both covered in detail), Keys, Key Signatures and the circle of fifths (and the circle of fourths, Chords (both basic and advanced), Inversions, alterations, and progressions), Rhythm and time signatures, putting musical structures together, and going beyond the foundations. Everything is clearly explained and easy to follow, with occasional links to audio examples. If you want to learn how to read music notation, this isn't the book you want - try the companion volume instead - but if you want to know the theory behind how chords and other aspects of music work - or if, like me, you want to start composing your own music, and realise that knowing more about the theory can help give you a better idea of what's likely to work, then I highly recommend this book. There's lots of useful info (that goes beyond just the basics) presented in a way that's easy to read and understand, and it's all about the way music works - unlike some so-called music theory books that turn out to be mostly (or completely) about how to read music notation. Great for beginners and anyone else who's interested in how the various aspects of music work.

I’m a music theory nerd and have read this book to see whether there were gaps in my knowledge. I found the book very helpful and complete in its coverage. The book is relatively condensed and makes quick steps that it then subsequently builds on. So I think it will be quite challenging if you are a beginner and not familiar with music theory. I think its sweet spot will be for musicians that have some basic knowledge, but want to expand their knowledge.

The author knows what he is talking about but is most often just not able to express what needs to be said in a coherent, non-repeating/jumbled and ordered way. I am a Grade 8 pianist and picked this up to brush up on my theory and to try to get it really sorted. This book is infuriating and maddening! I kind of know what the author is trying to say but only because I have played piano for a lifetime! If you were a novice, you'd be open mouthed and wondering literally wtf is being described. It’s like if your kid asks you what is electricity and you say 'well when you turn on that light; that's electricity'. It is... .but that's not the answer. And most often the text in this book is technically correct.... but it not the answer. I'm going to persevere as I really want to get to the bottom of this, and see if things level off in the later chapters, but I have a bad feeling is all going to fall apart and I will end up furiously binning it and searching for a clearer explanation elsewhere. Another reviewed bemoaned the fact that this book needed a strong editor to take control and reformat it. I completely agree. I think an editor (for overview), an eloquent scientist (for order and clarity), a newspaper columnist (for story telling) and this author (for music theory grit) should be locked in a room for a month. It would probably result in clarity, sequence and order over what this author has fumblingly tried to express; and I'd probably love it.

I’ve only worked my way through a quarter of the book so far but it seems logically put together and generally well explained. It’s not perfect hence the four stars. There could be more diagrams and more explanations around certain areas. It has a slight bias towards guitar players in the explanations…I’d prefer it to be more keyboard oriented but you can’t please everyone.

I don’t usually bother writing reviews but I’m making an exception for this book. I am learning the double bass and have been dipping into this book as I need it during my musical theory journey. It is excellent. The author clearly knows how to teach and explains things very clearly. There are still sections that look beyond me but I know I will be using them as I progress. Self published books on Amazon can rightly get a good kicking but this is definitely NOT one of them. I’m really impressed with it. It may not suit a very young learner but if (like me, an adult learner) you just want the details facts and explanation then look no further. Well done Nicolas Carter you should be proud of this book (I’m a teacher - Physics not music! So don’t give out this praise lightly.) highly recommended.