Reccomend me a music theory book/CD/whatever

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I'm looking to expand my knowledge of music theory. I'm completely self-taught, and have a fairly good understanding of the basic concepts, but I'd like to delve into the more complex stuff.

I know enough that you could tell me to play a song in a particular key and I could do it. I know basic chord structure; I can recognize a basic major or minor triad, and a very little beyond that. But I'm looking to get some more solid knowledge of the more complex elements.

Any reccomendations?

[Kanthos]

I recommend this. It's the theory book my school uses. I'm guessing you probably want to learn about more chords and voicings mainly, as well as get an idea of what sounds good and what doesn't for melody. In addition to what you already know, this book will also cover the various 7th chords, modulation, basic 4-part voice writing (even if you don't need 4 voices, you can extrapolate a lot about fitting a melody over chords as well) and a bit about forms (binary, ternary, rounded binary, sonata allegro form, I think). It's still useful for a non-classical musician.

There's also a volume 2 that covers a lot more stuff, including an introduction to counterpoint (2-part voice writing), a lot more advanced chords which are most useful in classical or jazz but can be used elsewhere if you know what you're doing, and a lot of history of classical music (i.e. what theory and harmony styles and techniques were used in each era).

[po!]

The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine

http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Theory-Book-Mark-Levine/dp/1883217040/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-8710198-7153507?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180554357&sr=1-1

it's not basic or classical theory, but it's a great book for jazz

[JJT]

The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine

http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Theory-Book-Mark-Levine/dp/1883217040/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-8710198-7153507?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180554357&sr=1-1

it's not basic or classical theory, but it's a great book for jazz

seconded. seriously.

[BardicKnowledge]

I'd highly suggest (assuming that you are proficient at reading and writing sheet music, which will help you a ton) looking at a counterpoint book of some kind -- I realize that it won't be as much fun as some others, but it gives you a grasp on a whole lot of things that can be applied elsewhere.

[dannthr]

PREPAAARR YOURSELF FOR DA MAASSTAH OF DISASSTAH!

Arnold Schoenberg:

Theory of Harmony

[Alexis]

It's hard to read, but it's very thorough

The Complete Musician

Steven Laitz

You can get a workbook and CDs but most of the recordings aren't very good. The book, however is an excellent reference.

[Zephyr]

I'm going through RCM (royal conservatory of music) in piano and I'm learning a ton of stuff from the theory courses. Maybe you could find a teacher and go through those courses. Those courses are worth something too, (if you take the exam...)