Learn to Read Music

This book is THE most useful book I've purchased and read on how to read music so far. I have just started learning to play the violin (I am in my mid-40s)and although all my life I've sung and music is, and has always been, a huge part of my life(many of my family members are accomplished musicians)I've never played an instrument or had any formal musical theory training. This book is the reference I have gone back to again and again as I progress with my violin and I have questions or areas that aren't clear to me (such as the concepts of major and minor scale, flats/sharps/accidentals and how they came about). . not only does this book take you from the very basics to the complex, Howard Shanet takes the time to explain WHY certain things are the way they are in written music. I was struggling with some concepts and when my teacher explained them to me I didn't get it....I looked it up in a smaller book on music theory and the explanation was there but I still didn't quite get it . . and then I looked up the subject (this happened to be accidentals/flats and sharps and also time meters) in this book and because Howard Shanet explained why sharps and flats are written the way they are, I was able to understand the concept and work beyond it. Just an excellent book and I recommend it to anyone learning to read and play music. It is true, this book will not teach you how to play any instrument, BUT without the basics and theory in this book it would be very difficult for me to progress with my violin playing. Highly recommend it.

A must for all aspiring musicians!!!

I was very anxious that I would never understand how to read music - especially by reading a book, but let me say this -- you can.The first thing that calmed my fear was learning that music is divided into two parts, Rhythm (how long tones last) and Pitch (how high/low tones are). I read that a second time and said...that was easy to understand --The book is well written and I am learning.

I would recommend ‘Learn to Read Music’ to people who already play by ear: perhaps fiddle, mandolin, electric bass or other instruments notated in a single clef, as well as singers.The author’s target audience seems to be people looking to plunk out melodies on the piano, I’m ambivalent about recommending the book to keyboard players or guitarists: On one hand there’s so much specialized material for those instruments you’re better off learning detailed nomenclature in that context.Yet this book covers topics not usually found in guitar/piano books including: vocal beaming of notes, notating repeated notes, alternating notes, and entire measures. While transposition is not explicitly covered, the different clefs are.If you’re a songwriter who wants to arrange for voices or non-transposing instruments, the material will teach you enough to craft basic parts in concert pitch.The language is very conversational and easy to read.Finally I would not recommend the book to anyone looking for thorough orchestral or jazz arranging coverage – see Gardener Read and the Norton Notation Guide for that kind of depth. Nor does the book cover actual manuscript writing (see Mark McGrain).

This book has been invaluable for me. I'm in my 40's with no musical background and purchased this book when I started playing the Violin over 2 years ago. I read the book cover to cover when I received it just to get an understanding about reading music. Over the past 2 years, I've pulled this book out so many times, this book has been a gem for me. I'm now at 2 years 7 months playing and I just pulled the book out again to try and understand the melodic minor, and harmonic minor scales-I get it now. I understand the subject is dry but the topic is what it is and this book helps me to understand the subject.

Good

I ordered this to try to help my daughter when she is playing the piano. She's 8 years old and has been taking weekly lessons for a year. I took lessons when I was her age, but if you don't use it you lose it. I thought this book would help refresh my memory. It's hard to order books online because you can't see what you're getting. I was disappointed when I got it because there is more to read than I'd like. I think I'll stick to ordering books in a store where I can pick them up and look through them. I gave it 3 stars because it's more than I wanted to read. I never read the book, so I can't speak to what's inside. It might be a great book.

I have wanted to take violin lessons and have finally found a fantastic teacher locally. Upon starting my lessons, I realized I did not remember the notes from taking piano as a child. I researched on Amazon and found this book by Howard Shanet on Learn to Read Music, and it is absolutely wonderful! Easy to understand, and my violin teacher just told me I am doing great in my new endeavor. I will be getting one for my grandson who is taking piano and is 7 y/oThe book arrived quickly, well packaged and much appreciated. Thank you Amazon and Amazon sellers, once again you have excelled in providing great service and sellers.