Music theory from the very beginning. Books, websites,. Where should i begin?

[musicioso]

Hallo guys,

I am about to start learning music theory. I mean theory that is needed for improvisation/composing.

I already know something such as major and minor chords and scales.. but i am gonna start from very beginning. So do you guys know a good book or something that i can study?

Were should i start and how should i go further. I need suggestions/advise.

Thanks in advance.

[mikeowski]

For harmony: I heard "Theory of harmony" by Schönberg is pretty good. It's the only book about harmony I have so I don't really have a comparison, though I did some research on which book to buy before ofc.
Anyway, if you take your time with this one - and I mean lots of time - you're sure to get a vast knowledge of harmony.
Warning: at times he keeps on philosophizing about certain topics, which can be interesting to read but quite a bore aswell.
(And don't worry, it's not about 12-tone or serial music or any such thing)
For counterpoint: I have Kent Keenan's "Counterpoint", again the only book on the subject I read, so no comparison. However I heard it's pretty good (haven't read too far into it yet myself) so I'll just blindly hand the suggestion on to you. Again, you'll need to take your time and make sure you get everything before you move to the next chapter, otherwise things will become very puzzling very quickly.
For Orchestration: I don't know but apparently it's very important for composing.

I think this is also the order in which you should study music theory:
Harmony - Counterpoint - Orchestration

Good luck

[crownrib]

I found all the DUMMIES books on piano and theory and composing to be optimal for what you probably want.  They won't go so in depth or hold your hand in composing, but they will introduce you to most all topics, give you examples to play, and prime you for the step up to almost any other book you want to utilize for broadening understanding of theory.

They were excellent to get me from ground-level ignorance to a firm grasp of all fundamentals.  Now I am onto advanced-level jazz theory books, with their help.

[nekoloff]

I don't think you should take up harmony/counterpoint before you have solid basic knowledge of elementary music theory. It's essential for further study and, without it, you risk ending up frustrated in the middle of a Schoenberg harmony book without understanding almost anything of it. I personally prefer Paul Hindemith's Elementary Training for Musicians - it's a classical text on the subject, with a ton of inventive exercises that have been proven to work (he "tested" them on his students ).

 

[musicioso]

Wooow guys! This is a lot of help. Thank you all for your reply.


Yes, ik need the very first elements of music theory. The rest will come later

[cjcarrington97]

Forgive me if you cannot access this, but if you can, this was GREAT for when I was studying basic-intermediate music theory; it's really clear.

 

[musicioso]

Forgive me if you cannot access this, but if you can, this was GREAT for when I was studying basic-intermediate music theory; it's really clear.

 

Thank you, sir! I am gonna watch those videos.