BASIC MUSIC LITERACY: Teach Yourself

Teach Yourself Basic Music Literacy is a ‘must have’ book for both beginners, who simply want to learn and have fun with music, as well as professionals, who want to improve their reading, their playing, their grip on chords and their general musicianship.
If you are a singer or an instrumentalist and have a little talent and are intent on learning more about the basic ins and outs of music, how to read it, how to write it, how to build chords and many other valuable music components, this book will become your user-manual and new best friend.
Many musicians and singers are unable to read music and thereby face serious challengers when they first start doing gigs. However, the more you get booked, the more music literacy is expected of you. Learning new songs becomes part of your daily job. You soon discover you cannot learn every new number by heart. You simply have to become musically literate. End of story.
This book will teach you all the basics of music literacy and much, much more in an easy, flowing manner.
Many aspirant musicians and singers lack even the most elementary knowledge of the universal language of music and some amateur beginners find it difficult to rise above a certain level without the necessary tools. This book sets out to provide most of these tools to guide you closer to overall music literacy.

Teach Yourself Basic Music Literacy is a book that is easy to read and understand.
Structured in a user-friendly format, the modules presented contain several illustrations and examples to support and assist the student. The information in each unit is conveyed in a friendly, conversational style. Questions are anticipated and answers given in an easy-to-understand way. Repetitions and cross-references to reinforce certain points, are used throughout the book.
You will learn some interesting, little known facts about music. These are shown in information boxes, which appear in various places throughout the text.
In addition, practical Clap Charts and Keyboard Print-outs are provided as separate PDF files for a more ‘hands-on’ learning experience.

By teaching yourself, you learn quicker than by being taught. This leads to a firmer understanding of music. You are also setting a solid foundation for further in-depth study of classics and jazz. This in turn will advance your music education and career. If all the above is what you’re after, then this is the book for you.
In the world today, there are many areas where the very basics of certain disciplines such as music literacy remain out of reach of the ordinary everyday person who simply want to learn a little more about music. Many music textbooks seem to be wrapped up in difficult to understand assumptions and technical jargon.

There are numerous practical exercises that appear throughout this book to get you used to thinking in music terms. Instructions with all the necessary background information relevant to the point in question are provided in easy to understand language. The text is easy to grasp and comprehend. Have fun. Michael du Preez