Quote:
Originally Posted by clintj
Can you recommend a good book or books for this material? My book goes as far as harmonizing the scales and substitutions, but stops well short of this level of detail. I'd love to learn more of this stuff.
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Well, I've distilled that from several books, and also from plenty of experience studying and playing rock and jazz (and, er, reading websites...
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I don't know one book that lays it out like that, but there are plenty of good theory books around. The ones I know well (because I own them!) are:
Eric Taylor - The AB Guide to Music Theory pt.1
Eric Taylor - The AB Guide to Music Theory pt.2
- both classically based, designed for the UK ABRSM grades.
Eric Taylor - First Steps in Music Theory
- excellent summary of the essential concepts for grades 1-5. Concise and cheap!
Keith Wyatt and Carl Schroeder - Harmony & Theory
- one small typo, but otherwise excellent - not too deep - with exercises in each chapter to test your knowledge.
Tom Kolb - Music Theory (Everything You Wanted to know...)
- also excellent, and guitar-friendly! (comes with CD for ear training exercises)
Mark Levine - The Jazz Theory Book
- NOT recommended, not for beginners anyhow (even in jazz). Well written, easy to read, with lots of illustrative examples from jazz recordings; but biased towards chord-scale theory, and with not enough info on basic functional harmony (keys, chord progressions)
Robert Rawlins and Nor Eddine Bahha - Jazzology
- written partly as a corrective to Levine, filling in what he left out. Unfortunately not as well designed as Levine's, and with no real-world musical quotes (all the music examples in the book were written by the authors). But recommended if it's jazz theory you want.
William Russo - Composing for the Jazz Orchestra
- about arranging rather than composing, but a good (brief) summary of basic jazz chord theory, referring to functional (not modal) harmony (eg, 6 types of 7th, their possible extensions, and common changes).
Tom Bruner - Arranging and Orchestrating Music
- similar ballpark to Russo, but more on basic theory, with exercises (as in Wyatt/Schroeder) as well as details of instrument ranges and transposition, for arrangers. The oldest theory book I own, so probably taught me the most.
There are lots of other books I've borrowed and read over the decades, whose titles escape me - probably at least as good as the above.
Of the above, I'd recommend Kolb and Wyatt/Schroeder - and maybe Bruner. And "First Steps" for essential classical basics (starting with notation).
Definitely get at least 3 books, because 1 or 2 are never enough - you need the perspective you get from reading different angles. What doesn't make sense in one will click in another.
DO check the amazon reviews for all the above, which will give you a broader picture.