Music Theory

This list was created and is maintained by Alisdair MacRae Birch. If there are dead links or changes needed or you wish to submit a new site (with reciprocal link) please email me at:

General

Music Theory Online
Dr. Brian Blood's comprehensive music theory site with excellent articles and links.  Highly Recommended.

Ricci Adams' Musictheory.net
A very comprehensive music theory site with excellent articles and links. It has online ear trainer and instrument trainers. Highly Recommended.

Tonal Music Theory Examples
Prof. Timothy Cutler of Austin College collection of animated scores and sound files. Highly Recommended.

Java Music Theory
Rob Whelan's Great Java based Drills covering Note Reading, Key Signature's, Scales. Highly Recommended.

Music Theory
A basic Music Theory Site constructed by three high school seniors.

José Rodríguez Alvira's Teoria
José has one of the best online and Free music Theory Web Sites

Basic Music Theory
Larry Konecky's Alcorn State University Music Theory Text.

Star-Theory
Australian Arranger and Composer, Joe Paparone's site with a nice overview of Music Theory.

Resources

The Origin Of Music
A Fascinating site and book reviewing the evidence and attempting to re-construct the processes that brought music into existence. Read particularly the essay on the origin of Do, Re, Mi.

Pentatonic Music Collection
Thomas Robertson's Pentatonic Music Collection consists of songs and compositions in which the notes of the melody are confined to do, re, mi, so, and la. Excellent Beginner's Ear Training Melodies.

Harmony in Tonal Music
Tom Sutcliffe's Thesis analysis of the way composers use root progressions in tonal music. A great analysis. Highly Recommended.

Tonality Guide
Tom Pankhurst's site for university music students. It has been developed to accompany tutorials in 'Musical Techniques' at Liverpool Hope University College.

Functional Analysis
A "Cheat Sheet" Summary of Functional Analysis.

Harmonic Progression & Musical Structure
Dan Gutwein of the college of William and Mary has a number of his course handouts available online. Lots of excellent study material.

Ralph Patt's Jazz Web Page
Guitarist Ralph Patt's site has the "Vanilla Book" detailing the basic chord changes to over 400 standard tunes and tonal center analysis.

Chord progressions for Guitar
Olav Torvund's Pages which analyze rock chord progressions. Great for Rock Guitarists.

Real Book Chord Progressions
Philip A Smith's pages with transposable real book chord progressions.

The Harmonic Language of the Beatles
KG Johansson's study of Beatles harmony and rock harmony in the 1990s in relationship to what makes it possible to play a song by ear.

'Notes On' Beatles Series
Alan W. Pollack's site with analysis of hundred's of Beatles Tunes.