How to Rapidly Read Music Like a Pro: What Every Musician Needs to Know About Music Theory

This book is an introduction to reading sheet music and understanding music notation. From his experiences as a Royal Marine Musician, composer, and teacher, the author delivers unique insight into music theory helping to communicate its core principles to all learners. In this book James has developed a two-stage process, breaking music into 1) Tonality (scales and notes) and 2) Time (tempo, note values and rhythms).

Part One will take you through the process of identifying pitch simply by reading the clef of the music. This will be followed by an comprehension of note names and the construction of scales, before stitching it all together to understand the fundamentals of key signatures and tonality.

Part Two considers how (and why) music is chopped up into beats using time-signatures, and how the feel of music can be influenced through beat divisions and rhythmic effects.

Including over 100 examples, 9 quizzes, expert tips, and topic summaries, this book will help you to retain and develop your knowledge as you progress through each chapter. Plus, there’s the link to our bonus content at the back of the book, including access to our online video series to help consolidate your learning!