 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: chicagoclar
Date: 2004-02-18 18:53
I have been teaching clarinet lessons for the past 6 years or so. I have just started teaching lessons at a school in our area, so now I have about 15 students on top of a clarinet choir. I really want to include theory in the lessons, but I haven't found a good book to work out of, so we started with the circle of fifths and major and minor scales. For all of you that have been teaching, any ideas on what books would be good for teaching theory? Thanks in advance
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2004-02-18 19:50
In all my theory classes except 20th Century, we've pretty much disregarded the textbook, so I don't have any good recommendations. I'd just try to familiarize them first with intervals, then with chord/triad qualities, then harmonic function, etc. (gradually, of course). Sight singing (ack!) is also extremely valuable, though your average clarinet student may be reluctant to participate (took me a long time to get comfortable).
If they can handle the math, I'd introduce them to the harmonic series, and why major thirds are high and fifths a touch low on an even-tempered instrument.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: hans
Date: 2004-02-18 22:22
Karen,
"For Young Musicians" by Bray and Snell may be what you are looking for. It's published by:
Waterloo Music Company, Ltd.,
3 Regina Street North
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada N2J 4A5
Regards,
Hans
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-02-19 13:54
The worst thing about the book is its title: _The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory_. My copy came from Barnes and Noble for about $20. Although I have not used it for teaching, it would do well as a textbook.
It's unusual, as most theory/harmony books are written at a much higher level. Many presume the readerr knows a lot about the subject already, but this one starts rather at the bottom (how to read music, even).
I've suggested it to a number of people, from students to instrumental teachers (including at least one conservatory graduate), and no one has complained yet. And yes, some have actually bought it.
Regards,
John
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Author: allencole
Date: 2004-02-19 17:05
I'm familiar with a number of theory books, having gone through this same journey some years ago. The choices are a lot better now than they were then. I've also found that students do well when given technical exercises that can be directly correlated with their theory at some point. Playing songs be ear, and learning to extract arpeggios from the major scales will go a long way. Theory and technical exercises were made to bolster each other. I wrote a lengthy post on this a while back and it may give you some ideas.
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=66619&t=66511
Here are some good books:
The Complete Idiot's Guide is a good one, although there is some debatable stuff in the area on intervals & ear training.
Classical Music for Dummies is a great general music book and everyone should read Ch.11 "The Dreaded Music Theory Chapter." It is a rollercoaster ride. You might want to have this available for loan to your students. It is a great book for generating interest in music.
Music Theory for Practical People is fantastic for adults, but I don't know if I'd give that one to my kids. I'd make them do the first three Master Theory Workbooks first.
Alfred has a three-volume set with a CD, but it doesn't drill the students enough to reinforce what is learned.
The Master Theory Workbook (Kjos publishing) is IMO still the best thing for school age students. It's not a pretty book, or a funny book, or a comprehensive book. However it does the following:
1 - presents the subject simply and in small bites
2 - has enough exercises to provide the student with real reinforcement
3 - is organized so that help is easy to find
4 - It is the only true workbook I've seen that deals in real notes rather than pictures of the piano keyboard.
I generally take my guys up through book 3. At that point they can deal with 2-part harmony and I-IV-V chords. Master Theory also does a great job of teaching rhythm. I think that its authors show very good judgement in terms of what is and isn't essential.
Congratulations on bringing theory into your program. It turned my studio completely around.
Allen Cole
Post Edited (2004-02-19 17:15)
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Author: Mark P. Jasuta
Date: 2004-02-19 23:01
Basic Music Theory (How to read, write and understand written music)
by Jonathan Harnum ISBN 0-9707512-9-X
This is actually a course with quizes and chapter tests.
When they are done with that..........
Music Theory (Harpercollins college outline)
ISBN 0-06-467168-2
Has review questions and exercises.
Regards
Mark
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Author: Meri
Date: 2004-02-23 21:09
Try "Theory For Young Musicians"--really great theory books for young students.
Meri
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-02-24 16:21
I also have John's mentioned "Idiot's" book and find it has helped me more than some others. I have often felt that music theory termininology was developed by people who didn't want others to understand the subject.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2004-02-26 16:19
One thing that these newer books illustrate well is the fact that you can change much of the terminology to be far more practical. In the process, you may find that practical musicians have already been thinking along these lines.
One chief area is the description of scale degrees and the chords which are based on them.
Do Re Mi, or even worse, Tonic, Supertonic, Mediant, etc.
You can still teach theory quite well substituting 1-2-3 etc. while simply pointing out that systems like Do-Re-Mi or Tonic-Supertonic-Mediant are equivalent. Pop musicians have done this for years, with the effect of more closely associating scale elements and their associated chords, making on-the-spot transposition more practical, and more aptly describing cadences, and other standard types of chord movement.
As a teacher or a student, you should keep in mind that music is not based on the rules, but that the rules are simply observations of how music works. Don't be afraid to adapt what you find. Just ask yourself if it will make things clearer for the student, and can the adaption be made without witholding information that the student needs. If the answer to both is yes, you're probably moving in the right direction.
I generally examine a new 'popular' theory book whenever it pops up. They are getting smarter and clearer all the time. Music Theory for Practical People shows particularly great strides in the struggle to verbalize the quality of various chords and chord changes.
The toughest thing about materials for formal instruction is academic tradition, but I've found that slight adaptions get me what I want from Master Theory without disrupting its flow.
Allen Cole
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