Read Music from Scratch

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View books by Neil Sissons.

A good introduction to the basics. - Rated
The title of this book is accurate i.e, previous music theory knowledge is not required. The text will take the reader through the fundamentals of rhythm and pitch, scale and chord construction and assigning words with music.
The style of the writing is relaxed and easy going with plenty of diagrams. The accompaning CD is of major benefit as it will bring the print to life; this is a major advantage compared to other books covering music theory basics.
This book is ideal for anybody with no previous music reading experience,or people with instrument experience but without score reading ability.

Does exactly that! - Rated
This book is a great introduction to reading music. It is laid out simply, and introduces concepts in an easily understandable fashion. The accompanying CD is a great help, allowing you to hear all the music passages described in the book. This is especially useful when describing the different major scales, etc. I felt that some concepts could have been dealt with more thoroughly, and perhaps more background given to the different instruments of the orchestra. Also, the books is aimed almost exclusively at classical and orchestral music scores, with just once brief section on modern music. Nevertheless, if you want to learn how to read music from scratch, then this is the book for you.