Music Theory: The Essential Guide offers musicians of all ages and levels a practical and relevant guide to music theory today. Written and structured to make content as easily digestible as possible, this indispensable guide introduces key musical concepts such as pitch, tempo, rhythm, harmony, scales, instruments, musical forms, and structure. This guide also outlines the conventions governing music notation, demonstrating their relevance to the musical language of the twenty-first century, as well as provides interesting facts and real music examples to contextualize music theory. Lastly, Music Theory: The Essential Guide offers practical tips on how to identify intervals, make up melodies and rhythms, set words to music, and much more. Supports all aspects of the ABRSM Theory examinations (grades 1 to 5) and includes an introduction and theory in practice notes by renowned educationalist Paul Harris. This magnificent book contains quick-reference tools including an appendix, list of further repertoire examples, table of instruments, periods of music history, table of scales and modes, and summary keys and time signatures.