best music theory book for me

[fairy211]

Hello,

I can play RCM grade 5 pieces at moderate speed but I only know 5 different scales and never read about music theory before. What book would you really recommend to me for music theory?

Thanks!

[fairy211]

this might read like a troll post but its not. I just never bothered to study music theory. But now I am quite interested as I believe I can play popular music with this knowledge purely from hearing by improvisation.

[pianocavs]

Hi!
I may suggest you download the following book:

https://piano-maps.com/libro-book-download

I hope you will find the basic elements of Music Theory in it.
They will surely complement, in a good way, the skills you have already developed.
Good luck!

[fairy211]

thanks it looks a bit daunting and not so compressed and straight to the point. I am rather looking for something with 200 pages roughly.

[kosulin]

Is this for self-study, or for work with teacher?

[pianocavs]

Hi!
Maybe you can find something interesting in this website:

https://www.infobooks.org/free-pdf-books/art/music-theory/

[keypeg]

Hi!
I may suggest you download the following book:

https://piano-maps.com/libro-book-download

I hope you will find the basic elements of Music Theory in it.
They will surely complement, in a good way, the skills you have already developed.
Good luck!

I looked through and got up the p. 118.  I would not recommend this, for a number of reasons.  One is the terminology.  I have never seen the 2nd degree diatonic triad called "CM II" (meaning, 2nd degree chord of the key of C major). --- Major scales /keys are called "tones" - which is not what a tone is.  This may be a matter of translation from the other language.

I stopped on p. 118 which said "When two 'tones' have the same signature, they are called enharmonic."  That is not correct.   B major and Cb major are enharmonic ---- B major has 5 sharps in the signature, Cb major has 7 flats in the signature (not the same signature). ---- otoh, relative major & minor keys have the same key signature.  C major and A minor both have zero sharps or flats (same key signature).

While I followed what they were trying to say, if I did not already understand theory fairly well, this would have put me into confusion.

[keypeg]

Online, the Teoria site is quite good for conventional type theory.  It explains each thing, often gives musical context, and gives you a chance to practice through exercises.

https://www.teoria.com/

When I studied theory rudiments, and did the RCM rudiments exam, it is via the old Barbara Wharram book.  It has three levels in overlap - P (preparatory), 1 (gr. 1), 2 (gr. 2) - the latter being quite advanced.  In P you might learn that there are major and minor chords; in 1 you might learn inversions and also the augmented and diminished; in 2 you start manipulating them.  It's been years so I may be off in the details.  By "overlap" I mean that an "advanced" thing in P might be a review in 1, so depending on your abilities you might go to that section while in P, or while in 1.

This is the book I have.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51g-66AOH1L._SL350_.jpg

This was followed by harmony theory.

[-nara-]

Hello,

I can play RCM grade 5 pieces at moderate speed but I only know 5 different scales and never read about music theory before. What book would you really recommend to me for music theory?

Thanks!

what kind of music do you want to play? you will get to where you want to be quicker if you focus your energies on the theory that most applies to that.

and i know some may say "but theory is theory", but if the main reason you want to learn theory is to be able to play a specific type of music (say jazz or bossa nova) you might not need a book that devotes whole chapters to things like figured bass and baroque composition.

so what's your flavour (as the kids say)?

[keypeg]

what kind of music do you want to play? you will get to where you want to be quicker if you focus your energies on the theory that most applies to that.

and i know some may say "but theory is theory", but if the main reason you want to learn theory is to be able to play a specific type of music (say jazz or bossa nova) you might not need a book that devotes whole chapters to things like figured bass and baroque composition

Figured bass and baroque composition is the next level.  To start we want to know what a major and minor scale (its variants) are, basic chord qualities, intervals.  Someone who has done up to grade 5 RCM will know how to read music, so key and time signatures are not outside the question.  Whether jazz or "classical", those basics are the same.