The Complete Idiot''s Guide to Music Theory

Exercise 20-1
Put your favorite piece of music in your CD player, pick up a baton, and start
conducting!
Coda
Thus ends this book—and your first exposure to basic music theory. I hope
you’ve found the information in these pages helpful, and that I’ve passed on
some of my love and enthusiasm for how music gets created.
The key thing to remember (aside from all the notes and rhythms and such) is
that these musical building blocks exist for you to use—however you like. We
may say that there are rules and conventions, but when it comes to creating
music, all the rules are made to be broken. What ultimately matters is how a
piece of music 
sounds
—to you, and to your listeners.
Theory is good, but it’s just a guideline for what happens out in the real world.
If you want to use parallel fifths in your harmony, go ahead. If you want to flat a
fifth or resolve a turnaround to the ii chord instead of the I, do it. Some of the
greatest pieces of music have broken all sorts of rules. As long as it sounds good,
it’s all okay.

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Chapter 20:
Performing Your Music
263
Just because you’re done with this book, however, doesn’t mean that your music
education has ended. In fact, if you choose to make music a part of your life,
your education 
never
ends. Every song you listen to, every piece of music you
hear is an opportunity to learn more about the music you love. Keep your ears
open and your mind free, and you’ll continue to expand your knowledge and
skills for the rest of your musical life.
You can also further your music education with more reading. If you’re serious
about becoming a better musician, I recommend you check out the following
books:
◆
Arranging and Composing for the Small Ensemble
(David Baker; Alfred
Publishing; 1970—revised edition 1988)
◆
Arranging Concepts Complete
(Dick Grove; Alfred Publishing; 1972—
second edition 1989)
◆
Hearing and Writing Music: Professional Training for Today’s Musician
(Ron
Gorow; September Publishing; 2000)
◆
Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs
(Jack
Perricone; Berklee Press; 2000)
◆
Sounds and Scores: A Practical Guide to Professional Orchestration
(Henry
Mancini; Northridge Music Inc.; 1973)
◆
The Study of Orchestration
(Samuel Adler; W.W. Norton & Company; third
edition 2002)
◆
Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting
(Jimmy Webb; Hyperion; 1998)
◆
What to Listen for in Music
(Aaron Copland; Mentor; 1939—softcover revi-
sion 1999)
I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention some of the other music books that I have
written. Like this book, they’re all in Alpha Books’ 
Complete Idiot’s Guide 
series,
and (I hope) are as equally easy to read and follow. These books include:
◆
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Composition 
(Michael Miller; Alpha
Books; 2005)
◆
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Playing Drums
(Michael Miller; Alpha Books;
2000—second edition 2004)
◆
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Singing
(Michael Miller and Phyllis Fulford;
Alpha Books; 2003)
◆
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Solos and Improvisation
(Michael Miller; Alpha
Books; 2004)
Of course, if you really want to learn about music, you need a good teacher.
Whether you study one-on-one with a professional educator, or attend music
classes at your favorite school or university, a teacher can provide the individual
instruction that’s necessary to develop your own unique musical skills.
There are also many music theory resources on the Internet. These tend to
change from year to year, so go to Google and do a search on “music theory”

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