Music Theory Matters

Authors Brad Osborn and Christine Boone's Music Theory Matters uses popular music as the basis for introducing students to music theory. Osborn and Boone engage students with popular music from page one, then introduce them to more classical terms as the book progresses. Chapters alternate between classical and popular-focused topics, giving instructors some degree of flexibility in crafting a curriculum from a mix of classical and popular repertoire. The book helps students with skills that are part of the traditional theory curriculum, including writing and analysis in common practice style, but also with skills that are part of new theory curricula, including analyzing popular music and songwriting.