Music Theory Secrets

94 Strategies for the Starting Musician

Brent Coppenbarger

Modeled on the brilliant approach first formulated by distinguished professor of music and master clarinetist Michele Gingras in Clarinet Secrets and More Clarinet Secrets (both available from Rowman and Littlefield), Music Secrets is designed for instrumentalists, singers, conductors, composers, and other instructors and professionals seeking a quick set of pointers to improve their work as performers and producers of music. Easy to use, contributions to the Music Secrets series fill a niche for those who need quick and easy methods for learning what they need—from those just starting to the advanced musician in need of a refresher or new insights.

Rhythms, melodies, and harmonies are the building blocks of music. In Music Theory Secrets: 94 Strategies for the Starting Musician, Brent Coppenbarger offers a full range of methods to help musicians, not only grasp, but remember those key elements upon which the music they play is built: pitch, rhythm, scales, key signatures, and harmony. With over eighteen years of experience teaching music theory, Coppenbarger offers the various teaching and memory strategies he has designed to help musicians understand and retain what they need to know.

Coppenbarger covers critical information on how to determine pitch, the use of meter, and how to count rhythms in simple and compound meter; explains major scales and major key signatures, as well as minor scales and minor key signatures; surveys other types of scales (such as those used in jazz) and explains how modes work; presents necessary data on scale degree names and intervals; covers triads and various types of chords; touches upon Roman numeral analysis, inversions, and figured bass; presents non-chord tones and discusses solfege singing, including several pages of sight singing using various clefs and keys (strongly recommended for instrumentalists for practicing transpositions for the appropriate clef and range) demonstrates the different techniques musicians can use for transposing keys; and finally discusses more advanced concepts such as part-writing rules, the use of sequences, and form.

Music Theory Secrets: 94 Strategies for the Starting Musician is an indispensable resource for instrumental teachers wishing to incorporate music theory into lessons, classroom teachers, high school and college students, amateur musicians, those wanting to learn to read music, home-schooled students, and college bound music students.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 156 • Trim: 7¼ x 10

978-1-4422-3323-2 • Paperback • August 2014 • $55.00 • (£42.00)

978-1-4422-3324-9 • eBook • August 2014 • $52.00 • (£40.00)

Series: Music Secrets for the Starting Musician

Subjects: Music / Instruction & Study / Theory, Music / Reference, Reference / General

Music Theory Secrets

94 Strategies for the Starting Musician

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Modeled on the brilliant approach first formulated by distinguished professor of music and master clarinetist Michele Gingras in Clarinet Secrets and More Clarinet Secrets (both available from Rowman and Littlefield), Music Secrets is designed for instrumentalists, singers, conductors, composers, and other instructors and professionals seeking a quick set of pointers to improve their work as performers and producers of music. Easy to use, contributions to the Music Secrets series fill a niche for those who need quick and easy methods for learning what they need—from those just starting to the advanced musician in need of a refresher or new insights.

Rhythms, melodies, and harmonies are the building blocks of music. In Music Theory Secrets: 94 Strategies for the Starting Musician, Brent Coppenbarger offers a full range of methods to help musicians, not only grasp, but remember those key elements upon which the music they play is built: pitch, rhythm, scales, key signatures, and harmony. With over eighteen years of experience teaching music theory, Coppenbarger offers the various teaching and memory strategies he has designed to help musicians understand and retain what they need to know.

Coppenbarger covers critical information on how to determine pitch, the use of meter, and how to count rhythms in simple and compound meter; explains major scales and major key signatures, as well as minor scales and minor key signatures; surveys other types of scales (such as those used in jazz) and explains how modes work; presents necessary data on scale degree names and intervals; covers triads and various types of chords; touches upon Roman numeral analysis, inversions, and figured bass; presents non-chord tones and discusses solfege singing, including several pages of sight singing using various clefs and keys (strongly recommended for instrumentalists for practicing transpositions for the appropriate clef and range) demonstrates the different techniques musicians can use for transposing keys; and finally discusses more advanced concepts such as part-writing rules, the use of sequences, and form.

Music Theory Secrets: 94 Strategies for the Starting Musician is an indispensable resource for instrumental teachers wishing to incorporate music theory into lessons, classroom teachers, high school and college students, amateur musicians, those wanting to learn to read music, home-schooled students, and college bound music students.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 156 • Trim: 7¼ x 10

978-1-4422-3323-2 • Paperback • August 2014 • $55.00 • (£42.00)

978-1-4422-3324-9 • eBook • August 2014 • $52.00 • (£40.00)

Series: Music Secrets for the Starting Musician

Subjects: Music / Instruction & Study / Theory, Music / Reference, Reference / General

Author

Brent Coppenbarger is professor of music at the Cline School of Music at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina where he has taught music theory and woodwinds since 1995. He has published in The Clarinet, NACWPI Journal, and The Instrumentalist. He is also a composer who works are available from Dorn Publications and Musica Rara.

Table of Contents

Quick Reference Guide to Helpful Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
Prelude
Chapter 1: Pitch and Rhythm Basics
Secret 1: Pitch Basics
Secret 2: The Treble Clef or G Clef
Secret 3: The Bass Clef or F Clef
Secret 4: The Alto Clef & The Tenor Clef
Secret 5: The Grand Staff
Secret 6: Rhythm
Secret 7: Time Signature
Secret 8: Meter
Secret 9: Simple Meter
Secret 10: Compound Meter
Secret 11: Asymmetrical Meter
Secret 12: Counting in Simple Meter
Secret 13: Counting in Compound Meter
Secret 14: Practice Makes Perfect

Chapter 2: Major Scales and Major Key Signatures
Secret 15: The Scale
Secret 16: The Major Scale
Secret 17: The Major Tetrachord
Secret 18: Key Signatures
Secret 19: The Order of Flats
Secret 20: The Order of Sharps
Secret 21: The Sharp Key Signatures in Major
Secret 22: The Flat Key Signatures in Major

Chapter 3: Minor Scales and Minor Key Signatures
Secret 23: Minor Scales
Secret 24: Parallel Minor
Secret 25: Relative Minor
Secret 26: Natural Minor Form
Secret 27: Harmonic Minor Form
Secret 28: Melodic Minor Form

Chapter 4: Other Scales
Secret 29: The Chromatic Scale
Secret 30: The Whole Tone Scale
Secret 31: The Pentatonic Scale
Secret 32: Dorian Mode
Secret 33: Phrygian Mode
Secret 34: Lydian Mode
Secret 35: Mixolydian Mode
Secret 36: The Seven Note Blues Scale
Secret 37: The Bebop Scale
Secret 38: Less Common Scales

Chapter 5: Scale Degree Names and Intervals
Secret 39: Scale Degree Names
Secret 40: The Interval
Secret 41: Major Intervals
Secret 42: Perfect Intervals
Secret 43: Minor Intervals
Secret 44: Augmented Intervals
Secret 45: Diminished Intervals
Secret 46: The Tritone

Chapter 6: Triads
Secret 47: Major Triads
Secret 48: Minor Triads
Secret 49: Augmented Triads
Secret 50: Diminished Triads

Chapter 7: Chords
Secret 51: The Major Seventh Chord
Secret 52: The Major-Minor Seventh Chord
Secret 53: The Minor Seventh Chord
Secret 54: The Diminished Seventh Chord
Secret 55: The Half-Diminished & Fully-Diminished Seventh Chord
Secret 56: Other Chords

Chapter 8: Roman Numeral Analysis
Secret 57: Roman Numeral Quality
Secret 58: Roman Numerals in Major Keys
Secret 59: Roman Numerals in Minor Keys
Secret 60: Four-Part Roman Numeral Analysis

Chapter 9: Inversions of the Chord and Figured Bass
Secret 61: The Root Position Triad
Secret 62: The First Inversion Triad
Secret 63: The Second Inversion Triad
Secret 64: Figured Bass
Secret 65: Root Position Figured Bass
Secret 66: First Inversion Figured Bass
Secret 67: Second Inversion Figured Bass
Secret 68: Seventh Chord Figured Bass
Secret 69: Lead Sheet Inversions

Chapter 10: Non-Chord Tones
Secret 70: Non-Chord Tones Defined
Secret 71: The Passing Tone
Secret 72: The Neighbor Tone
Secret 73: The Escape Tone
Secret 74: The Appoggiatura
Secret 75: The Anticipation
Secret 76: The Suspension
Secret 77: The Pedal Tone
Secret 78: Using Non-Chord Tones To Improvise

Chapter 11: Singing with Solfège Syllables
Secret 79: Sight Singing
Secret 80: Solfège Syllables in Major
Secret 81: Solfège Syllables in Natural Minor
Secret 82: Solfège Syllables in Harmonic Minor
Secret 83: Solfège Syllables in Melodic Minor
Secret 84: Other Methods of Sight Singing

Chapter 12: Transposition
Secret 85: Concert Pitch Instruments
Secret 86: Transposing Instruments
Secret 87: Transposing Parts
Secret 88: Transposing Using Solfege Syllables
Secret 89: Transposing Keys
Secret 90: The Transposition Table

Chapter 13: Advanced Concepts
Secret 91: Four Part Analysis
Secret 92: Part-writing Rules
Secret 93: The Sequence
Secret 94: Form

Appendix 1: Chorale Analysis
Appendix 2: Suggested Further Reading
About the Author
Index

Reviews

Brent Coppenbarger has written a concise and valuable reference aid for musicians of any shape or size. . . .This book provides clear 'secrets' in theory concepts and answers for musicians working outside their comfort zone. . . .Music Theory Secrets . . . offers concise and thorough theory strategies for musicians from beginner to accomplished; the tables and illustrations are clear and the practice exercises (including answers) qualify this book for a valuable bookshelf tool.
— American Music Teacher

This book was written for a number of audiences: high school students planning to study music in college, private music teachers wanting to incorporate some music theory into their lessons, adult amateur musicians who wish to understand music theory and construction much better, and for music teachers having to teach music theory as part of an overall classroom experience. As the author states, many college music majors struggle to understand music theory, and many of them drop out of the major because of this. This book attempts to fill both basic and advanced music theory challenges through various tricks, descriptions, explanations, and mnemonics. It starts out with very basic concepts such as pitch, rhythm, major and minor scales, scale degrees and chords, and Roman numeral analysis and chord inversions, and moves to more advanced concepts such as singing with solfege syllables, transposition, and four-part writing analysis. Having had major issues with music theory myself while obtaining my undergraduate music degree, I can say that this book is a wonderful addition and of practical help to anyone in the music profession dealing with various aspects of music theory.
— American Reference Books Annual

Music Theory Secrets

94 Strategies for the Starting Musician

Brent Coppenbarger

Music Theory Secrets

94 Strategies for the Starting Musician

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