The Complete Idiot''s Guide to Music Theory

Part 1, “Tones,”
gets you started with reading music. You’ll learn about the
notes on a piano, the intervals between different notes, and how those notes
combine into different scales. You’ll also learn about clefs and keys—both major
and minor.
Part 2, “Rhythms,”
shows you how to arrange your notes sequentially in
space. You’ll learn how to count and how to notate your music, using whole
notes, half notes, quarter notes, and more. You’ll also learn about different time
signatures, and about tempo, dynamics, accents, and other musical effects.
Part 3, “Tunes,”
helps you combine tones and rhythms to create your own
melodies. You’ll learn how melodies and chords are constructed; you’ll also
learn about chord progressions and different song forms.
Part 4, “Accompanying,”
shows you how to make more out of your basic
melodies. You’ll learn how to write down the songs you hear on the radio, how
to accompany simple melodies on piano or guitar, and how to add harmony and
counterpoint to your songs.
Part 5, “Embellishing,”
goes beyond basic theory to present advanced music
notation and show you how to transpose music to other keys. You’ll also learn
how to spice up your music by substituting more sophisticated chords in your
arrangements.
Part 6, “Arranging,”
presents real-world advice for taking your music public.
You’ll learn how to create lead sheets and scores, use music notation software 
to create sophisticated arrangements, arrange for groups of instruments and
voices, and get your music performed. You’ll even learn the right way to wave
the baton when you conduct a choir or orchestra!
In addition, you get four appendixes and a bonus audio CD. The appendixes
include a glossary of musical terms, a chord reference, the answers to this
book’s exercises (found at the end of each chapter), and a guide to the shiny lit-
tle compact disc that accompanies this book. 
What’s on the CD
The CD that comes with this book is a fun bit of business all by itself.
Pop it into your CD player and you’ll find that it contains 
The Complete
Idiot’s Guide to Music Theory, Second Edition, Ear Training Course
, a self-
paced audio guide to improving your musical hearing. Work through the exam-
ples and exercises on the CD to learn how to recognize scales, intervals, chords,
and rhythms. It’s a great way to learn how to understand and transcribe the music
you hear. (And you can check your answers against those supplied in Appendix D.) 
While you don’t need to listen to the CD to learn from the book, I’ve tried to
tie the ear training lessons in with the content presented throughout the book.
For example, when you read Chapter 2, “Intervals,” you can listen to Lesson
Two on the CD (track #11), which lets you hear what all those intervals actually
sound like. Look for the Ear Training CD icon, like the one here, at the begin-
ning of a chapter to discover which track of the CD corresponds to the infor-
mation being presented.
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The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Theory, Second Edition
What You Need to Use This Book
Any practicing or aspiring musician can learn basic music theory from 
The
Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Theory, Second Edition.
You don’t need any initial
knowledge to get started; you can use this book even if you don’t know how to
read music or play an instrument.
However, it will help if you have access to some sort of keyboard instrument.
That can be a piano or organ, or some sort of inexpensive synthesizer or 
consumer-grade music keyboard. It doesn’t have to be a great keyboard or a big
one; you’ll use it mainly to perform some of the examples and exercises in the
book. (You can use this book without having a keyboard, but then you’ll have to
envision some of the examples in your head.)
Most of the examples and exercises can be performed on any instrument—
piano, guitar, trumpet, or whatever. If you don’t play an instrument, you can
sing most of the exercises. If you can’t play or sing, I suggest you go the cheap
keyboard route, so that you have some way of hearing the theory presented.
It will also help if you have some blank music paper at your disposal. And, of
course, a CD player—so you can listen to 
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music
Thoery, Second Edition, Ear Training Course
on the accompanying audio CD.
How to Get the Most out of This Book
To get the most out of this book, you should know how it is designed. I’ve tried
to put things together in such a way to make learning music theory both reward-
ing and fun.
Each chapter presents a basic concept of music theory, and progresses through
that concept using a combination of text and musical examples. In some chap-
ters you’ll find pages of reference material—scale listings, chord charts, and the
like—that you can turn back to whenever necessary.
At the end of each chapter are exercises based on the theory presented in that
chapter. Work through these exercises to test your newfound knowledge—and
find out what areas you need to work on a little more!
(In case you’re wondering, the answers to these exercises are in the back of the
book, in Appendix C.)
Throughout the entire book you’ll see a number of little boxes (what we in the
publishing profession call 
margin notes
) that present additional advice and infor-
mation. These elements enhance your knowledge or point out important pit-
falls to avoid. Here are the types of boxes you’ll see scattered throughout the
book:
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Introduction
Let Me Know What You Think
I always love to hear from my readers—especially when the readers are fel-
low musicians! If you want to contact me, feel free to e-mail me at
[e-mail]. I can’t promise that I’ll answer every e-mail, 
but I will promise that I’ll read each one!
I also recommend that you check out my personal website at 
www.molehillgroup.com. That’s where you’ll find any corrections to this book,
as well as learn about all the new books I’ve written. (Who knows—you might
find another book you want to read!)
It’s Time to Start—in Theory, at Least!
I hope I’ve convinced you of the many benefits of learning music theory. Now it’s
time to stop talking and start doing—so turn the page and get ready to learn!
Acknowledgments
I had assistance from dozens of individuals in the creation of this book and
would like to thank the following for their help:
Thanks to the usual suspects at Alpha Books, including but not limited to Marie
Butler-Knight, Renee Wilmeth, Kathy Bidwell, and Joan Paterson, for helping
to turn my manuscript into a printed book. For the second edition of this book,
I’d also like to thank Jennifer Moore, Janette Lynn, and Cari Luna for their
additional work.
Thanks to my junior high school music teacher and lifelong friend, Phyllis
Fulford, for suggesting some important changes to the book’s outline, and for
encouraging my talents way back when.
xxi
These boxes con-
tain definitions of words or
terms pertaining to a spe-
cific aspect of music theory.