Hey all,
It’s been a long time since I studied music theory. I know there are some gaps in my knowledge and things I never delved into. I’m very interested in learning theory geared towards composition, key changes, chord substitution, slash chords, melodic and harmonic minor harmony etc etc
So ideally a good book or course that I can do that will help me fill in the gaps on things I’ve probably forgotten by now and expand from there.
Any help greatly appreciated!
How about something from Rick Beato? I don’t have any of his stuff but I know he is an excellent teacher and knows all the (practical) theory worth knowing.
The good news is: You have a lot you can choose from.
The bad news is: You have ALOT you can choose from.
I think it all depends on what aspect you want to start with and what genre of playing you want to approach it from at first.
Lol! Well stated! The double edged sword of the age of information we live in.
This is very true, and it’s why I thought I’d ask the question here. After some searching, I found myself lost in a sea of books, courses, videos etc etc.
I’ll have to have a proper think about exactly what I want first, and then I can search more specifically.
I was looking at the Beato book and it certainly is full of well… everything haha.
Check out The Jazz Harmony book by Berkham.
I really enjoyed this book as it starts quite simply and then builds into concepts that are more and more exotic. The book also comes with CDs (or a digital download if you prefer) with musical examples so you can hear the effect of various reharmonizations while you’re reading the text. For those of us that are terrible piano players I found this quite helpful as it’s usually quite slow for me to play through the examples in such books.
Great thanks, I will check it out!
here is another one that they had us use in school. its available for kindle as well.
Nice one, I’ll give it a look! Thanks
There is an old series by Richard Daniels that worked back in the day. One of the books was called “Be Dangerous on Rock guitar” but he has others.
Great, I’ll have a look for it!
Gary Burton teaches this excellent (free) crash course on improv. Covers the most important scales/modes to learn, what chords they work over, identifying guide tones, how to play through changes, etc.
Gambale has a similar approach in “The Frank Gambale Technique Book (1+2)”, if you want to see direct guitar applications for this improv system. He has a big course on his online “guitar school” that explores these ideas in depth. It is expensive, but goes on sale frequently 
I also really like the Ted Greene “Chord Chemistry” and “Single Note Soloing” books, no tab but wonderful ideas if you are willing to dig deeper.
Great stuff, I’ll check them out. I’ve heard good things about Gambale’s courses, but unless there is a sale it’s currently a little too steep for me!
If you want something interactive I really like the HookTheory I and II apps. It uses real songs you can hear to learn music theory.
Nice, I hadn’t heard of those, I’ll give them a go this evening!
The old Mel Bay books. But honestly theory is really learned through listening in conjunction with what yiu want to learn.
Learn what a major scale is: whole/half step pattern
Know all the chords in a major key. I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-viio
Learn relative keys: how scales relate to the “one” starting on different scale tones. Good start.
I’ll check them out. I do know a lot, but it’s been near two decades since I studied. I just want to brush up initially and then after that it’s more just an interest in study, rather than a necessity for me
I have been collecting and digitizing guitar related books, videos, courses etc…for about 25 years. If you need something, send me a dm