I've been looking for an easy way to formally teach my kids music theory. So I did a little online research tonight, and I found what looks to be the perfect solution.
Basic Music Theory: How to Read, Write, and Understand Written Music (2nd edition), by Jonathan Harnum, is a free, printable 300+ page ebook that looks to be very homeschooler-friendly. (UPDATE: The author has recently changed the download from FREE to PAID. You can still download the 1st edition of Basic Music Theory here, although I believe that free download is viewable only.) I've already looked through a great portion of the book, and as a piano teacher, I'm very impressed with how the material is presented. It covers most everything I'd want my kids to know about basic music theory without going too in depth in certain areas that aren't practical for non-music majors.
If you have little to no background in music, this might be a great way to teach your kids the basics of music (and learn a little yourself) without springing for expensive music lessons. I obviously have a background in music, but I think this book is going to make teaching my own kids music theory much, much easier.
Click here to go to the download page for the ebook. You can also go here to download the quiz pack the goes along with the 2nd edition of Basic Music Theory (the link for the 2nd edition quiz pack download is second from the bottom).
You can also download my study guide to go along with Basic Music Theory here. The study guide breaks the book down into 31 lessons and coordinates with online music theory activites. It also includes the Practical Use pages and the appropriate quizzes from the Basic Music Theory quiz pack.
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That looks very interesting. I've been reviewing a lot of music theory in the past few months to teach these brood. I found a video Piano For Quitters that I highly recommend.
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So happy to see this!
Organized sports seems to crowd out what time youngsters once had to engage in actual music lessons and practice. And the flood of electronically generated sounds being used to produce techno-"music" these days, I wonder if actual musicianship may one day go the way of the phonograph.
Wouldn't that be the saddest?
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Thanks! Got it to download. Looks like it was the iPhone that was preventing it.
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That is fantastic~!!! Thank you! I've been wanting to start the 5 year old on Music Theory and this is a goldmine! Thank you!!
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Thank you!!!
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