Music Fundamentals:

A Guide for Learning the Basics about Music at the UNC-Chapel Hill Music Library

SUBJECT searching - In the online catalog, search under Library of Congress subject headings music theory elementary, music terminology and music theory

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Many titles listed in the online catalog are for books that have call numbers in the MT section of the stacks, located in the basement (see map at foot of stairs). There are several shelves of books in the MT6 and MT7 sections that have organized systems for teaching oneself the fundamentals of reading and writing music notation and mastering the basics of music theory. More advanced books about harmony, part writing, and ear training are located in the MT35 section nearby. Books on orchestration and arranging are found in the MT70's. Anthologies of basic music literature with printed scores of works often studied in music literature classes are found in the MT6.5 section. Following is a list of selected books from the MT6 and MT7 sections that are likely to be helpful.

Blande, Leland D. Basic Musicianship. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1989.
MT7.B683 1989

Bufe, Chaz. An Understandable Guide to Music Theory. Tucson, AZ: See Sharp Press,
1994. MT7.B84 1994

Scales, chords. chord progressions, melody, form, instrumentation

Kiely, Dennis K. and Lloyd K. Manzer. Essentials of Music for New Musicians. 2nd ed.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1986. MT7.K456 E8 1986

Wachhaus, Gustav and Terry Lee Kuhn. Fundamental Classroom Music Skills. New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1978. MT6.W12 F8

Includes learning to play the recorder.

Wink, Richard L. Fundamentals of Music. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977.
MT7.W767 F9

Many self-instructional books use a method called "programmed instruction" that was popular in the early 1960s. The learner uses practice exercises for specific skills, advancing in very short steps, never going on to the next level of difficulty until the previous step is mastered. The method can be effective for a very motivated learner, since often one learns music basics while learning to play a musical instrument, mastering musical skills a little at a time. Of the dozens of books in the stacks that use this method, the following are especially well organized.

Barnes, Robert A. Fundamentals of Music: A Program for Self-Instruction.
New York: McGraw Hill, 1964. MT7.B37 1964

Dallin, Leon. Basic Music Skills. Dubuque, Iowa: William C. Brown, 1971.
MT6.D135 B3

Stanley Sadie's Brief Guide to Music. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:
Prentice-Hall, 1993. MT6.S244 S7 1993
Good glossary in back. Better coverage than most of recent music. British.

Zorn, Jay. Music Listener's Companion. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,
1995. MT90.Z67 1995
Includes list of classical music radio stations, section on how to write concert reports, and diagrams of musical forms.

These are shelved in the Reference Reading Room on the main floor.

Lee, William F. Music Theory Dictionary. New York: Charles Hansen Educational Music
and Books, 1966. Ref. ML108.L43 1966

Pronouncing Dictionary of Musical Terms and Composers' Names: A Quick and Convenient
Source of Information on Musical Meanings and Pronunciations. Midland Park, N.J.: University Society, 1976. Ref. ML109.P76

Randel, Don Michael, ed. New Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap
Press of Harvard, 1986. Ref. ML100.N485 1986

Thomsett, Michael C. Musical Terms, Symbols, and Theory: An Illustrated Dictionary.
Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 1989. Ref. ML108.T46 1989
Best choice for the beginner. Very understandable definitions.