First Steps in Music Theory - Information and Review

"Many teachers have said it would be useful for students to have a grade by grade presentation of the facts of music theory, particularly in a pocket format.

First steps in Music theory has been written as a support for the other Associated Board publications.- The AB guide to Music Theory and Grades 1-5 of music theory in Practice- not as a substitute for them"

So this book is basically the same as the AB guide, condensed, in a slightly simpler form and as a pocket book.

It is also split into the specific grades unlike the AB guide.

The first Chapter is as follows:

Grade 1

1. Time Values: Crotchets, Minims and Semibreves

2. Bars and Time Signatures

3. Time Values: Quavers and Semiquavers

4. Letter Names of Notes

5. The Stave and Clefs

6. Writing on a Stave

7. Ledger Lines

8. Sharps, Flats and Naturals

9. Semitones, Tones, and the Scale of C major

10. The Scales of G,D and F Major

11. Rests

12. Tied and Dotted Notes

13. Keys and Key Signatures

14. Accidentals

15. The Degress of a Scale

16. Tonic Triads

17. Intervals(number)

18. The Grouping of Notes Within a Bar

19. Performance Directions (Terms and Signs)

Then the following Chapters all take up the necessary concepts needed for each grade up to and including Grade 5.

The Pros of First Steps in Music Theory

1. The book contains good examples of the wrong way to write musical symbols, especially key signatures which beginners often get wrong.

2. The musical concepts are laid out for each Grade, so you don't learn anything that is not relevant to the Grade you are studying.

3. A good pocket size reference book that you can carry around in your instrument case and refer to when needed.

The Cons of First Steps in Music Theory

1. There are no exercises to do in the book, it's purely for reference only.

2. There are no drawings, cartoons or other fun stuff to keep a beginner interested.

3. There are no explanations of the musical words. Even the AB guide has some!

So who should buy this book?

I think this book is great if you are going to be studying the Associated Board Theory Exams, using it as a quick reference to all the parts needed for each exam.

But if you are not going down the exam route then I think there are better options for learning music theory.

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