A Creative Approach to Music Fundamentals with CD ROM and Keyboard Booklet

Customer Reviews

Good book.

2006-02-25
I think this book is very good for a beginning music class. The CD would come in handy I think, but this version does not come with a CD. I have enjoyed using this book for the college music class I am in and recommend it for beginning and advanced music students.

The best basic theory text available

2002-01-28
Of all the basic theory texts out there, this is the only one that invites the student into a musical exploration of theory. Unlike other basic texts (Damschroder, Conley/Clough, Harder/Steinke), Duckworth's book connects theory with music through numerous musical games and activities. While it is designed for use in a college classroom--many of the activities require an instructor--it can be used for individual study by an advanced beginner. (Someone who has some experience playing an instrument or singing in choirs, for instance.)

I highly recommend this book--for beginners, or for teachers who, like myself, are always looking for a way to bring basic material to life. Duckworth does so marvelously.

A great book on *all* the basics 2000-10-15
I thought this was a terrific book when I had it in college! That was way back and it was the 4th ed., but I doubt it's changed much (I need to buy it myself). This book covers all the "basics" of music. Now, I'm a little biased because I learned the very true basics of music through several years of band as a kid (notes, scales, basic time, etc), but there are still very many things I never learned from those kid days that are contained herein. It is concise and complete, covering many topics and makes it easy to understand everything very quickly. I was devastated when the last WEEK of the semester I left the book somewhere - and when I tried to find it in the likely places that day, it was gone. Some other engineering student (I was taking this as an extra class) probably picked it up and realized what a great source it was. I liked it so much I went back to the school store during the next-semester sale to buy one - only to see the department had given it up for another book! Bummer!

Must have some background in music or it's gibberish 2000-06-28
Duckworth is not a very good writer of educational texts. I was able to follow it fairly well, but this was a textbook for an introductory class, and much of the material is poorly explained, with an assumption that the reader, whom he seems to intend to be a beginner, knows more than they probably do. I found this textbook to be needlessly challenging for the wrong reasons. It is fairly useful, but my professor even hated using this book for an introductory course (the department selected it for her). If you are in step with a lot of music fundamentals, it should help you advance much farther; however, if you are not,, this book will seriously confuse you.

A beginner's approach to music theory 2000-04-06
I hope that no one was scared away by my use of the word theory. Most people seem to fear and laothe music theory but this book offers a simple and easy way to learn the basic elements of theory. William Duckworth has explained everything with the utmost concern for the reader's comprehension of the material. Useful excercises are provided after each lesson. This book is structured like a textbook but it is also a useful learning tool for someone with mere interest.

Review 2007-09-30
I got my product I bought on time and it was what I wanted. Thank you!

. Class Book 2007-09-17
This book was for my daughters class at PJC. She loves it and it seems to help her a lot.

Excellent content - criticism surprising 2007-06-25
Criticism of this text as not good for people with little background is somewhat surprising. It begins rhythm with the idea that music is organized around an underlying pulse, then introduces basic note values and meters. It begins pitch at the level of "this is a staff." How much more basic can you get? I am an experienced music theory professor, and I find this an excellent systematic approach to music fundamentals. If you can learn, you can learn very well from this book; if you can teach, you can teach very well from it.

My only criticism regards the tear-out exercises. This 9th ed. has been improved so that the tear-outs won't take the rest of the text with them--that was a cheapskate, profit-centered approach to book design. Now they are all at the end of the chapter, albeit lumped together so they still don't come out individually. After students and I have all purchased a copy of the text, I still photocopy and distribute the exercises (now termed "Practice Materials") according to my lesson plans and overall course schedule.

The material itself is still presented as clearly and systematically as ever. As with any course content, mastery of material for many students still requires best teaching practices.

Confusing and not very creative... 2007-05-23
I have had to use this textbook to teach both a Theory I course and a music fundamentals course for non-music majors. The explanations in this book are confusing, don't include visual examples, and are too in-depth. For classes that have substantial music experience, the exercises could be helpful in reinforcing concepts they already know. However, for someone with little or no experience this book leaves students feeling quite lost. There is nothing creative about this text, except for possibly the visual use of the keyboard to reinforce a few skills. You would think something creative would use more modern musical examples, a tactile method of applying skills, and include more helpful visual examples. Also- unless a student is planning on becoming a musician, then they will never have a need for the information they learn in this book.

A Creative Approach to Music Fundamentals (with CD-ROM) 2006-07-31
A Creative Approach to Music Fundamentals (with CD-ROM)
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