Book (or other media) on theory.

[Marvin]

Right, I am determined to learn theory and be able to understand music when it is placed in front of me. I don't necessarily need to but it is just something that p1sses me off not understanding.

Any suggestions on a book ( or other) that will explain music theory, particularly how it all ties together.

For example. If a piece is in Cmaj. The stave shows a riff in G then a riff in F. What, apart from the route, should you play.
The piece I'm looking at shows for the riff G - G,D,G,D,F,D,C the F riff - F,F,Eb,C,Eb,C,Bb. The guitarist is play G7 and F7 respectively.

At the risk of sounding really thick, how does all that work. So I want a book or something that really gets to the point. Is clear, for someone who has never really studied theory but also got some detail to it.

[OldGit]

You know too much for a book. You'll need to spend a few hours with a bass or piano tutor or other human who can take into account what you already know and what you want to know first.

I've been there and the books, and a lot of the tutors, have to start from the beginning and work throgh. You don't get to that stuff 'til year 3 or whatever .. and you can't ask a book questions of for an example that makes sence in bass-speak.

The simple answer is that the chords the guitarist is playing are made up of a selection of the notes of the scale represented by the key (and its name like C Maj or C min) The riff is made up of notes from that scale too.

If you take the scale and list the notes in it you'll find the riff notes are in it (usually)

[Marvin]

Sincere thanks.

The riff was out of a book. What it didn't tell me, in the bass notation, was that the guitarist was playing G7 and F7. Hence the bass riff now makes sense, as it has a minor seventh. So I do feel somewhat foolish for not noticing that.

I think where I get tripped up is recognizing when intervals have been altered, partly due to the vast number of permutations. This is where I have to improve I think.

My wife has also told me that the 2 music teachers at the school where she works would probably be willing to answers a few questions.

Again thanks.

[The Funk]

Mark Levine's [i]The Jazz Theory Book[/i]. Can't be beat.

[Bilbo]

[quote name='The Funk' post='601648' date='Sep 17 2009, 08:06 PM']Mark Levine's [i]The Jazz Theory Book[/i]. Can't be beat.[/quote]

Agree 100% - its a 'once purchased, you'll never need another book on theory' thang. Whilst the book is about jazz, the theory is universal and applies to all genres. Levine's book is just really easy to follow and takes you through the full range of simple to complex theories from a basic major scale right up to Giant Steps!

Its a no-brainer