Let’s face it: music theory doesn’t have the most rock ‘n’ roll of reputations. If it were in a band, it’d be the one who goes straight home after the gig and gets tucked up in bed with a good book rather than spending the night on the town then coming back to the hotel and throwing the TV out of the window.
But the irony is that, the more you know about this potentially fuddy-duddyish set of rules, the more you’ll improve your playing, songwriting, and production skills. And, thanks to Theory for Rock & Pop Musicians, Volumes 1 & 2, there’s a practical way of reaping the benefits without having to spend hours thumbing through the pages of a dry, academic textbook.
Written in friendly and accessible language, these books come courtesy of Adam Saunders - AKA The Keys Coach. As well as having a successful YouTube channel, Adam is also a higher education lecturer and the co-founder of the BA Music Performance and Industry programme at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
Rather than blind you with arcane language and jargon, the books teach you the bits of music theory that you actually need to know, taking what can seem like complex ideas and applying them to real-life situations that you’ll encounter in your daily musical life. It doesn’t matter what genre you write/play/produce in or if you’ve never had any formal training: what you’ll learn here are practical shortcuts that actually make sense.
But it’s not just your knowledge that will improve: expect your ear, timing and musical intuition to be levelled-up, too. Rather than proving restrictive, learning the ‘rules’ will actually give you far greater flexibility, and make you a more confident, creative and versatile musician.
You won’t have your individuality trained out of you, either. If you worry that studying theory in a more traditional manner will turn you into a conformist, musical robot, you can rest assured that, with Theory for Rock & Pop Musicians, Volumes 1 & 2, there’s a strong emphasis on self-expression and learning on your own terms. It’s not about making you sound the same as everyone else - it’s about making you a better version of the musician you already are, or want to be.
The two books include more than 350 downloadable audio tracks between them, giving you a fully interactive learning experience. There are downloadable answer sheets, too, so you can get fast feedback on how you’re progressing.
If you’re keen to find out more, head to the Trinity College London Press website, where you can check out samples of the books and order digital and physical versions. As a further bonus, MusicRadar users can get 20% off the ebook versions of Theory for Rock & Pop Musicians, Volumes 1 & 2 - use the code RPTHEORY20 at checkout on the Trinity ebook store to get that special discount.
