by David Doty
I like free stuff, don’t
you?
If you want to learn basic
music theory, there’s a blog you should check out. It’s called Learning and
Loving Music Theory by Robert (Bob)
Reno. The blog offers basic instruction on Western Tonal music theory and
most of its resources are free.
On the right side of the
webpage beneath the search box is a box that reads, “Everything you need to
know about music theory is here.” This is, of course, a link to the Reno‘s PDF
music theory textbook. Downloading the textbook will set you back about $40 (at
the time of writing). Since I’m not familiar with the book, I can’t say much
more about it, but in a way the whole blog is geared toward selling the
book. (For other music theory books, click here
).
).
The Lessons Tab
The Lessons tab takes you to
posts on the elements of music, notation, major and minor scales, key
signatures, intervals, rhythm and meter, and harmony. Clicking the tab
“Lessons” will take you to a page listing these options, or you can select the
category from a drop down menu.
The Notes Tab
The Notes page shows that
Reno writes well. I especially appreciate his thoughts in this section, which
he describes as “a collection of articles on various topics related to music
theory but aren’t necessarily a part of a normal music theory curriculum.”
The Resources Tab
Under the Resource tab
you’ll find the previously mentioned music theory textbook PDF for
sale/download and some free PDFs of chord progressions.
Other Considerations
Most of the website was
pretty straightforward and easy to navigate. I got a little frustrated with one
of the drop down menus that kept disappearing before I could click on it, and I
didn’t like advertisements appearing in the middle of posts. Overall, though, the blog
had a nice appearance and was well planned.
Final Thoughts
Reno’s Learning and
Loving Music Theory blog offers a
good entry point for learning Western tonal music theory. It would take someone
up to and perhaps into the first year of music theory training in university,
at least in the United States. It could be useful also to the college freshman
needing to do quick review before a music theory entrance or placement exam. To
see the blog for yourself, click here.
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