1) Contemporary Theory Primer
2) Contemporary Theory Workbook 1
3) Contemporary Theory Workbook 2
Contemporary Theory Primer provides an enjoyable and practical introduction to music theory for the novice musician from age 5 and up. The accelerated learning concepts in the book help students gain a thorough grounding in ‘general interval’ recognition and writing plus an understanding of various time signatures and rhythms. Color-coding is employed to help students write and recognise the music signpost notes and clefs while Margaret Brandman’s simplified interval system allows students to grasp the concepts easily. The book includes plenty of practical rhythmic exercises even extending to 5/4 and 7/4 time. Graphic boxes representing the duration of the sound are placed under the notes. Once the student has coloured in the boxes, the exercises can easily be clapped or played.
Contemporary Theory Workbooks 1 and 2. These books present a practical and common-sense approach to music theory, covering the elements of music from the basics through to higher grade information including modern chords, all Major and Minor scales and modes, rhythm elements and much more.
Book 1: Intervals, All Major Scales, Cycle of Fifths (major keys), five types of triads, inversions, Simple Meter time-signatures, note values from whole notes to sixteenth notes and much more…
Book 2: Three types of Minor Scales, Cycle of Fifths including minor keys, Compound Meter time-signatures, Modulation, Four-note chords, Modes, Introduction to Harmony, Blues Scale, Pentatonic Scales and more…
The page per lesson format encourages the student to move forward at a page a week pace or faster. Answers are included.
‘Each subject is covered in such a way as to flood the student’s mind with light. Sprinkled throughout are topics never covered except in encyclopaedias, refreshingly and clearly explained in easily understood statements displaying breadth and clarity. They are simply a must for every student and teacher’s library.’
