• Music Theory: from Absolute Beginner to Expert

  • The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Learning Music Theory Effortlessly
  • By: Nicolas Carter
  • Narrated by: Bryan Howard
  • Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (334 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Music Theory: from Absolute Beginner to Expert  By  cover art

Music Theory: from Absolute Beginner to Expert

By: Nicolas Carter
Narrated by: Bryan Howard
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $6.95

Buy for $6.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Discover the beauty of music theory and become a better musician through the power of understanding!

Have you ever wanted:

  • To unlock the mysteries of notes, intervals, music scales, modes, keys, chords and chord progressions and other important concepts in music?
  • To understand where chords and scales come from, all the different types that exist and how they're built?
  • To master your rhythm and time skills and understand how to practice and play easily in any time signature?
  • To know what's behind all the beautiful music and learn how you can (re)create it?

Have you ever been put off by music theory or thought that is too hard to learn?

If you find yourself in any of this, then this book is the answer for you. It covers everything that anyone who plays (or wants to play) music, and wishes to become better as a musician, should know. This is the most comprehensive book on music theory that you can find today.

Not only that, but this book is written in a way that is really easy to follow, understand and internalize all the concepts explained. You don't have to be a college degree music student in order to understand and use this - anyone can do it!

It also doesn't matter what instrument you play (because music theory is universal) and it also doesn't matter what is your knowledge level or playing ability!

This book will give you all the information necessary to become a true expert in music theory without frustration and feeling overwhelmed, and this will have innumerable benefits to your playing!

Download this book now and solve all your problems with music theory!

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 Nicolas Carter (P)2016 Nicolas Carter

More from the same

What listeners say about Music Theory: from Absolute Beginner to Expert

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    183
  • 4 Stars
    81
  • 3 Stars
    31
  • 2 Stars
    20
  • 1 Stars
    19
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    166
  • 4 Stars
    57
  • 3 Stars
    36
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    15
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    142
  • 4 Stars
    62
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    20
  • 1 Stars
    22

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • JS
  • 02-25-17

Title is misleading & no audio examples

The title of this book is very misleading. I think it is too complicated for an absolute beginner and it will not make a listener of any level an expert. I consider myself an advanced beginner and there is very little content with which I was not already familiar. It is a solid summary for someone with some musical experience to help them gain a better understanding of basic theory.

Also, being an audio book, I was expecting audio examples of the concepts, but there isn't a single one. There are a number of places where this would have been helpful. For example, when talking about major and minor scales, it would have been helpful to have an audio example demonstrating why major scales are considered to be happy and minor scales sad. To not go beyond simply reading the text of the book is a big miss on the opportunity to take advantage of the audio medium. There are a number of very good free resources on the internet that provide the same content and include audio examples. For me, there wasn't the 'value add' I expected for the price.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

62 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

To those who are upset about the missing pdf

I know this isn’t a big concern and has probably already been posted but...., if you have a subscription to the Audible app it would stand to reason that you probably have other Amazon-type subscriptions (and you should). This is because the secret fix to the issues of the missing PDF files, lie within in another Amazon app..... kindle! When u purchase the audiobook versions, you are also purchasing the kindle version of the book as well, sooooo....?!Simply go to amazon.com/kindle (or the mobile app) and act like your buying the kindle version and as you will notice, once refreshed, the browser will automatically update the Kindle app library to include the text version. Once done you simply listen to the book until you reach a point where the book has prompted the use of a visual aid, we firstly, navigate over to your kindle app. Then simply open the same book your listening to. There you will find that you can listen and read!! This is not an “excuse”! The audiobook should include all that is supposed to be in the paperback or kindle types without question!! At least now you understand a little more than ya knew before about you Amazon products! P.S....emailing amazon directly about a issue usually gets one something for free or other compensation like full refunds! They’re very nice!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

44 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

lacking PDF

Would you try another book from Nicolas Carter and/or Bryan Howard?

NO

Has Music Theory: from Absolute Beginner to Expert turned you off from other books in this genre?

yes

How could the performance have been better?

Provide the PDF mentioned. It even says in the Audio that there is a PDF to accompany this audiobook.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

Any additional comments?

Provide the PDF mentioned. It even says in the Audio that there is a PDF to accompany this audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

For everyone who is trying to get pdf read below

would like to inform you that you are able to download the accompanying material PDF file on your mobile device, but you can only access it from the full Audible website. Please follow these steps:

1. Go to https://mobile.audible.com/ and ensure you're signed in to the correct account.
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and tap on "Full Site".
3. Tap on "Library" and then "My Books".
4. Locate the title with the PDF file and tap the "View PDF" link located below the "Download" button.

The PDF file will open up on your mobile device.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This is an excellent book

If I had listened to the other reviews I would not have purchased this title..
But I’m glad I did. It’s all in there logically progressing from very simple ideas to more complex. It may require a second third or fourth listen. You may need to take notes and create charts from what this guy says but it’s all in there. Maybe it’s just not a book for lazy people. Hearing some musical examples would be pleasant and fun but it would just be fluff cluttering up these excellent explanations. If you think hearing a chord or a tone is gonna make you suddenly “get it” you are not ready for this book. I’d give it more stars if I could . It is technically rich and concise at the same time . Love it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An Excellent Overview With a Missed Opportunity

Would you consider the audio edition of Music Theory: from Absolute Beginner to Expert to be better than the print version?

No. It could be if pdfs of the charts were provided, but more importantly if the examples were actually played on the piano and incorporated into the audiobook.

What other book might you compare Music Theory: from Absolute Beginner to Expert to and why?

I don't know. I was a music major in college and just listened to this as a little refresher course. All the information was accurate.

Which character – as performed by Bryan Howard – was your favorite?

N/A. It was an instructional guide.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Music - It's Just a Theory.

Any additional comments?

Audio examples would have greatly enhanced the material which was presented competently and completely.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

very hard to follow the concepts on the audio.

for almost everything he keeps saying this will be covered later. which is fine but he keeps using those terms and goes on talking without explaining the terms or concepts he is using..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

I highly recommend this book. I didn't think that an audio book would work very well for this subject, but it does. I'll listen to this again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Requires the Textbook

This book references many tables that require the hardcopy of the textbook, which makes it not suitable as an audio book. Maybe in the future Audible can incorporate a visual feature to display these vital components.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not Great

The information is there, but having purchase this book through Audible, I was not provided with the PDF for references. I also feel that audio examples should have been provided. Talking about music theory concepts such as intervals, scales, chords, and chord progressions and describing how they sound is not the same as hearing how they sound.
I am a high school music teacher trying to find an additional resource for my students and feel that to the untrained or novice musician this book with further confuse them on a topic that is already dry, tedious, and confusing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful