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Edley's Music Theory for Practical People TB Study Group

#42
Downloaded the PDF version today. Worked my way through Chapter 2. Sat down at the piano and worked out 1/2 the exercises for that chapter building maj, min, aug, dim, sus triads. None if it was new, but the aug, dim, and sus has never stuck. Neither has the concept of half steps. The layout of the keyboard helped a ton, I get it now. When I finished I grabbed my bass and worked the fingerings out on the work sheet on a few different places on the fretboard. I'll do the other half after I make dinner.

I have played a variety of instruments since I was a kid (sax, guitar, keys, bass, percussion, drums), all self taught (except the sax), none of it particularly good. I have gravitated to drums/percussion over the last 30 years -- I can keep a rhythm. I don't read music. Two years ago, my musical chairs studio crew ran out of bass players and I switched from drums to bass. I started lessons to accelerate my technique, but also my ability to learn songs and communicate with my bandmates (who are all much more musically talented/experienced with bands than me). I teach history in the Fall and Spring, and have spent the last two summers working on my bass game. Summer 2023 was learn the fretboard, Summer 2024 was get stage experience. I was looking for a project for this summer, working through this book with y'all and my bass teacher seems like a good place to start to up my "practical theory" game.

Looking forward to working through this.
 
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#43
Enrique M said:
Downloaded the PDF version today. Worked my way through Chapter 2. Sat down at the piano and worked out 1/2 the exercises for that chapter building maj, min, aug, dim, sus triads. None if it was new, but the aug, dim, and sus has never stuck. Neither has the concept of half steps. The layout of the keyboard helped a ton, I get it now. When I finished I grabbed my bass and worked the fingerings out on the work sheet on a few different places on the fretboard. I'll do the other half after I make dinner.

I have played a variety of instruments since I was a kid (sax, guitar, keys, bass, percussion, drums), all self taught (except the sax), none of it particularly good. I have gravitated to drums/percussion over the last 30 years -- I can keep a rhythm. I don't read music. Two years ago, my musical chairs studio crew ran out of bass players and I switched from drums to bass. I started lessons to accelerate my technique, but also my ability to learn songs and communicate with my bandmates (who are all much more musically talented/experienced with bands than me). I teach history in the Fall and Spring, and have spent the last two summers working on my bass game. Summer 2023 was learn the fretboard, Summer 2024 was get stage experience. I was looking for a project for this summer, working through this book with y'all and my bass teacher seems like a good place to start to up my "practical theory" game.

Looking forward to working through this.
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Welcome to the group ! Same here as far as wanting to make theory my summer project.

I've worked through the book up to "creating minor intervals" pg 25 chapter 5.

This evening I'm going to review chapter 4 and then finish chapter 5.
 
#45
joining late. Just ordered the book. It'll be here tomorrow, but based on the TOC I should have no problems catching up. I had a year of music theory in highschool and another in college. That was over 35 years ago...
 
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#47
lowplaces said:
How's everyone else doing ?

Myself,
On page 19 of chapter 3, the section titled Key Signatures begins by giving us the option of skipping ahead to chapter 4 if we are nonreaders. So I did skip the rest.

For now I'm finished with chapter 4 Diatonic Intervals.

I'll return to chapter 3 now. I figure it can't hurt to learn the content even though sight reading isn't a priority yet.
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Sorry guys, crapped out my computer and lost the book along with a lot of other items. Finally recovered my password today, so I will be jumping back in shortly.
 
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#48
lowplaces said:
How you all doing with the book ?

I'm up to chapter 7...
Click to expand...

Same, just finished Ch. 7.

I have been working through one chapter a day, doing all the exercises. I am not worried about trying to memorize, it will stick if it comes up enough -- in the book, with my music teacher, in my band, through my practice.

Ch. 7 "Diatonic Chords" is the first chapter so far that has given me some trouble. I had to look up major vs. minor 3rds and 6th on the internet, and switch back a forth a few times between sitting at the piano (nice chromatic layout) and holding my bass (know minor vs. major chord based on finger position). The use of Major/Minor to describe 3rds and 6ths is a little confusing to me at this point. But I am assuming it is related to flattened 3rd and 6th that show up in the Minor scales.

I took my worksheets to my music teacher yesterday and we discussed what I was doing.
 
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#49
Enrique M said:
Ch. 7 "Diatonic Chords" is the first chapter so far that has given me some trouble
Click to expand...

I really should acquire a copy of the book before commenting, since I can't see what material specifically is causing confusion.
What I see is chapter 6 is "Diatonic Harmony" While chapter 7 is "Chord Inversion" but perhaps I googled a different edition.

Enrique M said:
The use of Major/Minor to describe 3rds and 6ths is a little confusing to me at this point. But I am assuming it is related to flattened 3rd and 6th that show up in the Minor scales.
Click to expand...
Your intuition is good, it is indeed related.

the 3rd note of a major scale is an interval of a major third from the tonic
the 6th note of a major scale is an interval of a major sixth (from the tonic...)

the 3rd note of a minor scale is an interval of a minor third, ( a half step lower vs maj )
the 6th note of a minor scale is an interval of a minor sixth, ( a half step lower vs maj )


theory wanker notes you can feel free to skip:

It's simply called minor because it's a half step lower vs major and that's it.
When I first learned it, I thought "oh, it's called minor cause that's its quality in a minor scale"
But minor scales get complicated and eventually may fight this intuition.

us wankers try to be clear when discussing chords vs intervals
English "minor 6" can mean entirely different things in context

we can get picky about using English "flattened" (or "sharpened" ) to describe the difference
and feel that "lowered" and "raised" is less likely to be confused with notation symbols
 
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#50
Enrique M said:
Same, just finished Ch. 7.

I have been working through one chapter a day, doing all the exercises. I am not worried about trying to memorize, it will stick if it comes up enough -- in the book, with my music teacher, in my band, through my practice.

Ch. 7 "Diatonic Chords" is the first chapter so far that has given me some trouble. I had to look up major vs. minor 3rds and 6th on the internet, and switch back a forth a few times between sitting at the piano (nice chromatic layout) and holding my bass (know minor vs. major chord based on finger position). The use of Major/Minor to describe 3rds and 6ths is a little confusing to me at this point. But I am assuming it is related to flattened 3rd and 6th that show up in the Minor scales.

I took my worksheets to my music teacher yesterday and we discussed what I was doing.
Click to expand...
I mis-spoke, I'm on chapter 6.

I have the hard copy book and chapter 7 in the book is titled Chord Inversion.

Does the PDF version have a different table of contents ?

This toc is in the hard copy (3rd edition)

Edly’s Quick Guide to Notation
1 The Musical Alphabets: Natural & Chromatic
2 The Major Scale
3 Major Keys & Key Signatures
4 Diatonic Intervals
5 Chords: Triads
6 Diatonic Harmony
7 Chord Inversion
8 Chromatic Intervals
9 I, IV, V & The Twelve Bar Blues
10 iim, iiim, vim, & vii°
11 Minor Scales & Keys
12 The Circle of Fifths (& Fourths)
13 Chords: 7ths (& 6ths)
14 Diatonic Chords & Functions
15 Interval Inversion
16 Intervals for Ear-Training
17 Secondary Chords
18 Transposition
19 Cadences
20 Tritone Substitution
21 Natural Modes
22 Pentatonic & Blues Scales
23 More Scales
24 Chords: 9ths, 11ths, & 13ths
25 Chords: Summary & Exceptions
26 Diatonic Modal Chords
27 Blues Structure Part 2
28 Some Other Common Song Forms
29 Improvisation Ideas
30 By Ear

Prelude To The Remaining Chapters
31 Choosing Extensions & Alterations
32 Ingredients of Voicings
33 Categories of Voicings
34 Voice Leading
35 Harmonizing a Melody
36 Analyzing Chord Progressions
37 Reharmonization

Just trying to verify the toc is the same in the hard copy and pdf so when we mention a chapter # we'll all know.
 
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#52
PDF Version, (revised and expanded 3rd edition, 2012) downloaded last week, has Ch. 2 listed as "Quick and Easy Chord Construction for Impatient People" from there to Ch.20 it looks like things are shifted up (+1) a chapter. I believe that would be an "augmented" T.O.C. For example, in my copy "Cadences" is Ch. 20.
 
#54
These TOCs are in the PDF copies, 3rd revised and expanded edition, 2012 and 2013 respectively for Level 1 and Level 2. I have placed the chapter numbers from the TOC hard copy 3rd edition, listed above, in (parenthesis). If there are no ( ), I believe that is a new chapter to the 3rd edition, revised and expanded 2012, 2013.

Edly's Music Theory for Practical People
Level 1
revised an expanded third edition, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0-9661616-1-8

Edly’s Quick Guide to Notation

1 (1) The Musical Alphabets: Natural & Chromatic
2 Quick and Easy Chord Construction for Impatient People
3 (2) The Major Scale
4 (3) Major Keys & Key Signatures
5 (4) Diatonic Intervals
6 (5)Chords: Triads
7 (6) Diatonic Harmony
8 (7)Chord Inversion
9 (8)Chromatic Intervals
10 (9) I, IV, V & The Twelve Bar Blues
11 (10) iim, iiim, vim, & vii°
12 (11) Minor Scales & Keys
13 (12)The Circle of Fifths (& Fourths)
14 (13) Chords: 7ths (& 6ths)
15 (14)Diatonic Chords & Functions
16 (15)Interval Inversion
17 (16) Intervals for Ear-Training
18 (17)Secondary Chords
19 (18)Transposition
20 (19) Cadences

Edly's Music Theory for Practical People
Level 2
revised an expanded third edition, 2013
mobi ISBN 978-0-9661616-3-2

Level 2

Edly’s Quick Guide to Notation

1 Secondary Dominants and Beyond
2 Further Adventures in Transposition
3 (20)Tritone Substitution
4 (21) Natural Modes
5 (22) Pentatonic & Blues Scales
6 (23) More Scales
7 (24) Chords: 9ths, 11ths, & 13ths
8 (25) Chords: Summary & Exceptions
9 (26) Diatonic Modal Chords
10 (27) Blues Structure Part 2
11 (28) Some Other Common Song Forms
12 (29) Improvisation Ideas
13 (30) By Ear

Prelude To The Remaining Chapters

14 (31) Choosing Extensions & Alterations
15 (32) Ingredients of Voicings
16 (33) Categories of Voicings
17 (34) Voice Leading
18 (35) Harmonizing a Melody
19 (36) Analyzing Chord Progressions
20 (37) Reharmonization
 
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#55
I think I see what's up.

The prelude doesn't have a number to the left. Page #'s are to the right of each section of the prelude.

Edly's Quick Guide to Notation is the same. Starts on page 5. No number on the left.

The actual chapters are numbered on the left of each chapter title as seen on post 50 above. ( In the hard copy)
 
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#57
Enrique M said:
PDF Version, (revised and expanded 3rd edition, 2012) downloaded last week, has Ch. 2 listed as "Quick and Easy Chord Construction for Impatient People" from there to Ch.20 it looks like things are shifted up (+1) a chapter. I believe that would be an "augmented" T.O.C. For example, in my copy "Cadences" is Ch. 20.
Click to expand...

lowplaces said:
My hard copy notes 2009 for the 3rd edition. Also labeled revised & expanded third edition

Is your pdf titled Edly's Music Theory for Practical People ?
Click to expand...

lowplaces said:
Looks like the pdf has more added to the hard copy dated 2009.

Thanks for the toc pdf version @Enrique M !
Click to expand...
My hard copy didn’t arrive today, then I saw these posts and got the pdf just now. I’m off to the races.
 
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