Music Theory Explained ... Quite Well!

Ever wonder exactly how music works? How songs can burrow their way into our souls and remain there for a lifetime? Are there things great pieces of music have in common?

Actually, nearly all popular music has certain things in common ... melodies written in a definite key, chord progressions that go with and enhance the melody, rhythms and tempos carefully calculated to set up an infectious groove, accessible melodic hooks and insistent instrumental riffs that stick in the head, and so on.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory by Michael Miller explains all the theoretical stuff underlying all the wonderful music in the world — and also most of the not-so-great music, of course — and explains it quite well!

I've read any number of books that focus on music theory, or that contain chapters on theory within a larger context such as learning to play guitar. All the others fail, in my humble opinion, to actually teach theory. They tell you — sometimes well, sometimes poorly — rather than teach you.

The difference is that, as you read the Miller book, you grok the theory ... you don't just know it, shallow as human knowledge can sometimes be — and can remain, if it's not all too quickly forgotten.

Miller is an excellent educator, and somehow he manages to feed you all the things you need, in just the right order, without overwhelming you at any point with information that makes no sense or that is simply too much, too soon.