Peer Review

Understanding Basic Music Theory

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Mar 25, 2021 by Music

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

This online textbook provides the basics of music theory chunked together into topic areas. In addition to the standard parts of music (pitch, rhythm, melody, harmony, etc.) the book also provides basic information on musical notation, ear training, and acoustics.This book is not exhaustive, but provides good basic information that would aid a beginner in getting started with the material from an intellectual standpoint.

Type of Material:

Open Access Textbook available through Openstax

Recommended Uses:

Best used as content source material for beginning and/or intro level music courses
Individual homework assignments

Technical Requirements:

Site works best on a full sized device screen as opposed to a mobile or cell phone screen

Identify Major Learning Goals:

This material includes introductory-level units on many musical topics including music notation, music theory, musical form and style, tuning and temperament, acoustics, and the physical properties of musical instruments.

Target Student Population:

High School (Choir, Music Theory, Music Survey)
College Lower Division/General Ed (Music Theory, Music Appreciation, Music Survey)

It is difficult to imagine this as a textbook for a standard high school or college-level music course, given that such courses are usually compartmentalized as music theory, music history, or musical acoustics. However, it would be an excellent source for an independent learner who is interested in multiple topics that relate to the art of music.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Ability to navigate the computer-based platform through links

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

Provides an excellent overview for the beginning learner
Useful resource for those with some knowledge of concepts
Well laid out and clear in the presentation of content

Concerns:

The organization could be improved. I noted that basic information on half steps, whole steps, scales, and keys, came after some more advanced material.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

Learning objectives may be assumed from the content presentation
Summary provides overview of learning to take place and the knowledge expected
Learners may engage with materials out of order if desired
Learners may engage with content rich pages in short chunks to maximize learning

Concerns:

Although listed as a course in the summary, there are no specific learning objectives (LOs) laid out in the initial pages
Because no Los are specified, there is no way to ensure learners will meet them
Because the materials may be taken in or out of order, there is no required scaffolding of materials
Some broken links to music examples in Section 3.8 Ethnic Music

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

Platform is attractive and fairly intuitive
Content presentation is clean and sectioned with minimal scrolling on each page

Concerns:

Images are not accessible and lack alt-tags
Doesn’t appear to be a visual design of content beyond that provided by the platform
Minimal “interactivity” with clicking to sections as the only actions available to learners

Other Issues and Comments:

Good open access text for beginning music theory learners
Good reference material for learners with some existing knowledge
Excellent resource for high school learners and/or private studio students

Creative Commons: