Endorsements

I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve spent many years trying to get even just a little bit of understanding of musical theory and your book, in the first few chapters, has been more understandable and taught me more than anything I’ve ever read before.

I am going to be a High School sophomore. Your book is just what I was looking for. It makes it easier and goes a lot deeper than our theory class did. Your book is wonderful and should be shipped to high schools around the country. Thank you for writing it.

I’m a mostly self-taught 75-year older who was looking for something understandable on chords etc., and about a year ago I found your book. Wow! I just wish I had had it several decades ago. I showed my teacher the book, and last week he bought a copy for himself. Thanks to you I think I am on the way to becoming a self-confident pianist.

The book is great! It has provided a much-needed refresher to get me up to par for Analytical Techniques class. I must say, your book is much more fun than Schenker!!

I was filling out college applications and found I had to take a music theory test. I went right to the bookcase and pulled out my copy of Edly’s Music Theory for Practical People. It saved me.

I was trying to wade through a course in jazz theory at the Conservatory, and it was about eight times harder than law school. When I found your book, at least some of it began to make sense, and I kept a few strands of hair.

I’m a 40-year-old writer, trained in classical guitar as a kid, now writing songs for theater. Your books are not only accelerating my grasp of the keyboard, they’re also loosening me up, helping me feel potential sounds and patterns through my fingers and in my ears. What great books! I’m telling everybody about them. I teach writing at the college level. You’re a terrific writer. That’s rare and much appreciated too. Really good instruction books, in any art, are such a find. And yours are tops—useful, clear, stimulating, and engaging. Congrats!

Your book was an incredible aid for me in preparing for my masters program in liturgical music. I would praise most your accessible language coupled with a logical, funny and practical approach.

Imagine my surprise when my guitar teacher showed me your book and it was all done in my font! A lot of people use my typeface, but your book rocks my world! Not only is it a dream to see it used so thoughtfully, but the content unlocks a world of music theory I thought I would never understand without dropping big bucks at Berklee. It’s an honor to have my handwriting grace your pages!

All the best!

After 29 years of playing guitar, I am finally able to tie it all together. THANK YOU!!

You can’t believe how much your book is encouraging me and helping me. I never even considered learning any music theory because people always told me theory was very difficult to learn. HA! Not with your method! In short, you’ve managed to pull a bit of heaven closer to earth in this book! And I want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU for publishing it.

With best regards, Brenda C.

A music theory book that’s hard to put down (Imagine that!)
This is by far the most entertaining book on music theory I have ever read. It is one of the most understandable and easy to read, too. I would wholeheartedly recommend that anyone new to theory read the book cover to cover. Experienced musicians will find it useful as a reference.

I feel like ‘Bones’ from the old Star Trek episode where he has to put Spock’s brain back together. Some how or other he finds this big round metal hat with lights all over it and rods shooting out here and there. Well, this hat contains all the knowledge in the universe. Yes. And you know what Bones says as he’s got his fingers in the middle of Spock’s noggin, still wearing the funny cap?
“Of course… it’s so simple,” he says.

I remember a two inch thick theory text from college–it was absolutely onerous reading. Edly’s is fun, light reading, but all the information is still there. I recommend it to all my musical friends when the T-word comes up. Thanks! You’ve made me a better musician.

I will be attending Berklee this fall for singing. I absolutely love your book. I love the way it is written–so easy to understand–and I must say even though I’m only up to Chapter 17, I hear music in a totally different way. Thanks to you I will be a bit more ready for Berklee.

I read chunks of your book on a flight last week and found myself hoping the return flight would be delayed, so I could spend more uninterrupted time in the airport reading it. Now even I can use terms like “diminished seventh” in casual conversation. I used to fear that musical knowledge, or the aptitude to acquire it, was something you had to be born with. Now I know I can learn this stuff, and have fun in the process. Thanks for demystifying the whole subject.

I am a self-taught tenor banjoist, and need all of the help that I can get. I just purchased your music theory book and think that it is great.

I love your theory book. I’ve tried several others and couldn’t get through them but really enjoy the combination of your rigor, humanity, and silliness. Thanks for creating it for us!

A grateful adult piano student, Joan H.

I have recommended this book to everyone I know. It has been my guide to linking everything I have done over the past 17 years in music. I just wish I would have read this a long time ago. I never thought I would need music theory, and after reading it, I don’t know how I could live without it.

Edly has taken on the daunting task of teaching music theory to those who don’t read musical notation, all the while gently chiding them to learn to read music. It is an interesting effort, filled with exercises that use the letter names of notes, CDEFGABC, instead of the little marks on five lines and four spaces of a musical staff, to teach theory. (He has the same exercises in music notation in each section for those who can read notation.) All you [non-notation-reading] wankers out there might consider giving this book a try.

So unusual and fun, even an ex-grad student can get excited…. could make all the difference to the student whose eyes glaze over at the mention of theory.

A whimsical look at theory somewhere between Dr. Suess and PC for Dummies.

What ‘Dummies’ would have been had the editors been a little hipper.

Now here is the music theory book that I’ve been looking for! The author has found just the right balance—not too basic, but not to academic or complex either. He also adds a bit of fun and humor to the presentation so that the material is not too dry. I’ve never recommended, or even reviewed, a book on music theory in the thirteen years that we’ve been publishing this magazine because I never found one that I felt like I could recommend highly. However, I do highly recommend this book. It is the best general presentation of music theory that I’ve seen to date and a great read no matter what your current level of music theory knowledge.

Roseman has written a book so bouncy and colloquial it’s hard not to smile while reading it. Rife with a double helping of adorably geeky ‘Can you believe this guy?’ professor humor, Edly’s is about as engaging as can be. Time and time again, he reminds us of the fascinating relevance and cosmic importance of understanding the innards of music theory. In so doing, he takes the teeth out of a topic that for many people is too intimidating to approach.

Useful to classical and modern musicians alike, the book is intensely practical, its tone breezy, and the author keeps you on your toes… you don’t just read this book, you interact with it.

If I had something like Edly’s when I was growing up it would certainly have become a bible.”

… a must-read for everyone who wishes to be an informed musician.

… an informal and often funny approach to… what is often a dense subject.

Edly’s love of music and teaching shone through on every page. Witty text and amusing pictures clearly convey complex ideas and keep the student involved and wanting to learn more… a wealth of knowledge in a small space, and always with encouragement and a grin.

Conversational and colloquial… we love Edly.

… a clear, inviting style that really draws you in… makes learning not only doable, but exciting and fun.

Edly made a book about theory that isn’t cold and boring. Hooray! Now I don’t have to look for a book to teach my kids!

… not run-of-the-mill: an engaging and detailed exploration… a very chatty style with lots of humour… blends effortlessly with simple eloquent explanations punctuated by cartoon characters and diagrams for the more pictorially minded – helpful to those not yet comfortable with music notation. I found myself totally absorbed… a must-have for [readers] of any age or level.

So bouncy and colloquial it’s hard not to smile while reading it. [With] a double helping of adorably geeky professor humor… it takes the teeth out of a topic that for many is too intimidating to approach.

Edly’s teaches the building blocks of musical literacy in plain language, a step at a time. Veterans of college music theory courses will find Roseman’s approach disarmingly frank, refreshingly irreverent. Underlying the banter is plenty of solid information and down-to-earth advice. Helpful rules of thumb abound. A highly useful contribution to the literature.

This book proves that music theory needn’t be dry. The informative tome is fun, peppered with witty asides and lightened by playful drawings.

The breezy, humorous approach and whimsical cartoons add to the book’s appeal.

This practical approach to music theory is refreshingly easy and fun to use. The author’s scholarly yet light-hearted narrative goes directly to the meat of the subject with no-nonsense explanations, clear examples, historical references, and even funny cartoons. This terrific book removes the stuffiness and mystery from the study of music theory and serves as an inspiration for any music student, performer, composer/arranger, or teacher. 

A most useful and entertaining book; covers the basics in a language so clear and simple that even guitar players will understand!