Search results for ""Author Will Metz""

Will Metz's main ambition in his first book, Music Theory for Self-Taught Musicians: Level 1: The Basics, was to define and introduce all the main concepts used in music theory (intervals, chords, scales, modes, etc.). He refers to these notions as "tools" because they are what musicians use to create music. Having a clear understanding of these notions is crucial, but it is only the first step . . . One must then understand how to actually use these tools and how they are combined and how they interact. More concretely, this book, Music Theory for Self-Taught Musicians: Level 2: Harmony, Composition, and Improvisation goes in depth into the notions of harmony, composition, and improvisation. It answers one of the most common and troubling questions of any musician, that is: What to play in any given musical context?This is what music theory is all about at the end of the day—learning a bunch of relatively complex notions would make no sense if they didn’t help to compose and create music. This is not rocket science, and anyone can understand the mechanisms of harmony. All of this is explained using the same principles that are in the first book, which means no (or very few) notes written on staff and clear, logical step-by-step explanations. As a self-taught musician, Metz would have given anything to have this book when he decided to start learning harmony and was dabbling with improvisation. Allow him to save you years of time and trial and error and to finally give you the clear and complete understanding of theory you deserve.

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It is well known that many musicians, from amateurs to famous professionals, are largely and sometimes exclusively self-taught. Most of the time, these musicians tend to put music theory aside, but there comes a time when many become curious about this science and understand its utility and potential. Unfortunately, they often get discouraged and think it’s too late to learn theory, that they needed to start early, and of course, know how to read. Fortunately, this turns out to be completely untrue. Most self-taught musicians will also turn to books and realize many are written for specialists and those who can already read music. They talk about scales and how to write chords on a staff, but if you are not sure what a note is and it takes you twenty minutes to figure out where a C is, it just adds to the frustration. Yet I promise that a late start in learning theory has no impact on the quality of musician you can become and your future ability to understand it. It is not too late! I have also felt this frustration, which is why I wrote this book. It was originally written for my "former self," who not too long ago was desperate to learn theory in a way that would finally be clear, coherent, and understandable, while not having to read notes. This is the book I wish I had back then! I know there are many people who share this feeling, and my main goal is to provide help and clarity. This book is based on simple, day-to-day common sense, and if you know your alphabet and can count to seven, I promise you will understand theory. You may actually find it surprisingly easy, and I can guarantee it will considerably improve your playing and appreciation for music.

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