5 Best Music Theory Book for Self Study

If you desire to know the fundamental of music or want to build your career as a musician, you might take help from a great-composed book. A book can improve your musical knowledge by providing all the necessary theories and techniques. But it seems somewhat overwhelming in picking the best music theory book for self-study as a massive amount of books out there with general musical theories.

But you need an effective book, so you can’t go for a specific one instantly. You might consider several factors before finalizing a particular book that serves your thirst for musical knowledge accordingly. Here are reviews of some great music theory books for self-study from absolute beginners to experts you can read right away.

Best Music Theory Book for Self Study

Book Name & Author Image Rating Price
Alfred’s Essentials of Music Theory: A Complete Self-Study Course for All Musicians by Andrew Surmani, Karen Farnum Surmani & Morton Manus 9.4 View on Amazon
Music Theory: From Beginner to Expert-The Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide to Understanding and Learning Music Theory Effortlessly by Nicolas Carter 9.0 View on Amazon
How to Read Music in 30 Days: Music Theory for Beginners with Exercises & Online Audio (Practical Music Theory) by Matthew Ellul 9.2 View on Amazon
Music Theory Essentials: A Step-by-Step Introduction to Music Theory for All Musicians by Barton Press 9.2 View on Amazon
Music Theory in One Lesson: Discover How Easy Music Theory Can Be! by Ross Trottier 9.0 View on Amazon

1. Alfred’s Essentials of Music Theory: A Complete Self-Study Course for All Musicians

You could experience the mystery of music through this fabulous music theory book. It’s composed in an easy-to-comprehend manner so that you can consolidate your musical knowledge with much fun. The book covers diatonic and chromatic theories of music to make you well-versed in this field. It can be ensured that you will find complete instructions to uncover your musical genius. The author focused everything from basic in order that you can grasp them at ease. It provides a full-fledged music training course through 75 concise lesions.

As it demonstrates the essentials of music in an expressive method, you hardly need to go under the supervision of a music teacher. The self-study book incorporates an abundance amount of practice sessions to improve your music reading and writing skills. In order to boost up your music listening skills, the book integrates ear training CDs. A massive amount of answers corresponding to harmony and melody are included in the book to sharpen your musical foundation. You could test your acquired knowledge through the additional 18 review units.

It’s a practical, inclusive, and powerful book for music enthusiasts. A guitarist, instrumentalist, pianist, songwriter, vocalist, and composer can effortlessly keep practicing through this book to push their musical understanding to the next level. The book explains the theories of flats, sharps, articulation, repeat sign, dynamic sign, dotted half note, ties, and so on. In addition, you will find an in-depth overview of time signature, measure, bar line, treble clef, staff, and many more core musical ideas through this best music theory book for self-study.

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2. Music Theory: From Beginner to Expert

It’s an excellent music learning guidebook for beginners to study on their own effort. You will find all the essential theories to master music in it. The book covers each fundamental topic in a unique, straightforward, and practical approach to aid you to build up a solid musical foundation. It will let you discover the secret behind musical success within a short time. In addition, you could easily comprehend how music really works through this masterpiece. The book is equipped in such a way in order that you can improve your music reading, writing, and learning skills.

You will have enormous audio examples by dint of this great book to hear relevant music theory concepts. In order to understand the concepts better, it’s equipped with additional expert tips and visual illustrations. You will get a comprehensible knowledge about musical harmony, melody, and rhythm. It will help you to master the natural principles of playing instruments. Most importantly, you will acquire some excellent instructions on the exact route of being a successful musician through this book.

It will make you an expert in using any chord or scale in playing instruments. You will grab a deep understanding of intervals, modes, keys, circle of fifths, and the mystery of notes. This book is composed of newly updated content, exercises, and images to present you with the latest resources. You could easily pinpoint the magic behind the mind-blowing music by getting into this tremendous book. It will give you a complete solution of how to grasp the composition and improvisation. You could learn everything with fun as it’s depicted in a compelling tone.

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3. How to Read Music in 30 Days: Music Theory for Beginners with Exercises

Getting a good possession over music is no longer time-consuming. It’s possible to gain mastery of music within months. Can’t believe it? Well, just collect this book and keep following all the instructions; you will be turned into an experienced musician in course of time. The book covers everything you need to get proficiency in musical terms. It will enable you to compose your own music after having a short-time consultancy. Writing your own songs or playing any instruments will seem no longer unreachable when you follow all the step-by-step guidelines.

With over 150 music examples, it has been the first learning aid among music-passionate individuals. The inclusion of 10 listening challenges, extensive lesion summaries, and immense expert tips claim it to be the best music theory book for beginners. It’s written in a simple, concise, and interesting approach to be favorable to you. Every topic is described in a comprehensible method to aid you to grab the musical notation properly. Thanks to the online audio examples access advantage as it might highly sharpen your foundation.

During the reading period, some questions will certainly arise in your mind- that’s why it provided a wide range of answers corresponding to music. It integrates the complete system behind musical notes and the rhythm of musical harmony precisely. You could express your musical ideas at ease. In addition, it will allow you to learn your instrument faster than ever before. In a word, you will become a master of music if you can go through the practical system of this book. Hence, it can be your first choice out of hundreds of books.

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4. Music Theory Essentials: A Step-by-Step Introduction to Music Theory

It would be your right tool for discovering the easiest way to learn music. The step-by-step instruction will also aid you to acquire the ability to play any musical instrument. The song composition will seem something facile by this great book. You will gain optimal confidence to establish yourself as a professional musician through this read. With the extensive chapters, you will learn about the secrets of notes, music scales, chords, and keys.

It will improve your understanding level to a significant margin through the comprehensive exercises. You could absorb the techniques of being an incredible musician rapidly through this tremendous book. As it is specifically designed for beginners, you will come across no barrier in the way of your music learning process. It’s not necessary to have prior music experience; you could absorb everything from basic to advance through this resourceful book. It will allow you to grasp the universal music theories and the benefits of learning music.

Moreover, you could know how to create music, read music sheets, and time signatures at ease. All the complex music theories like the physics of sound, intervals, harmony, dynamics, and so on will become clear to you. You will love the engaging writing style as you could memorize every piece of musical direction faster. All the chapters are enriched with valuable musical information and tips. It will smooth your learning curve to a great extent through the visual diagrams.

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5. Music Theory in One Lesson: Discover How Easy Music Theory Can Be!

It’s another fantastic book on music. You could win over all the potential challenges of music if you carry such an excellent guidebook. The book comes with an in-depth and resourceful explanation of all the core concepts. It will aid you to absorb the rhythms, melody, lyrics, harmony, and other musical essentials. The constructive instructions will sharpen your musical foundation to a remarkable level. You will gain authority on music through the direction of this extraordinary learning aid.

It’s a self-study book; therefore, you needn’t appoint someone who has mastery of music. The book explains all the topics in an engaging and compelling manner to make everything digestible to you. You will never stumble in seizing the foundation of music as it covers complex topics through visual illustrations. It will shine a fresh light on your musical career when you will learn the techniques properly. Playing all the instruments and writing your own songs will seem easier to you.

Most notably, it will allow you to create a mixture of feeling at ease. Most of the beginners struggle in inverting intervals and chords, but you won’t be like them if you can follow this book appropriately. You will have a clear understanding of the theories of the musical alphabet, the circle of fifths, modes, scales, musical distance, and more. Apart from the regular explanations, you will find a wide range of exercises to sharpen your skills. Therefore, it’s essentially one of the best music theory books.

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The Bottom Line

Music is always an adorable art. It needs intense affection, devotion, and concentration to acquire mastery of music. You could sing and write songs anytime without keeping a single musical principle in mind. But you can’t impress others through your vocal unless you have the composure of all the essential concepts. You need to work through some hard and fast rules to do well in music.

That’s why it’s paramount to take help from a music teacher at the beginning phase of a musical career. A book can also come in handy to absorb musical techniques. You might opt for the best music theory book for self-study to get a good command of music at home.


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