Good Resources For Learning Music Theory Online

When my daughter started learning piano, I knew I had to learn some music theory in order to help her when she wanted to ask some questions. That was when I decided to learn music theory. I learned music theory online on my own, in the comfort of my own home, in my own time. I will share some of the resources I used with you.

Graded Music Exams

First, a little about graded music exams. The two popular ones which I know are ABRSM and Yamaha.

• ABRSM
  What does ABRSM stand for? In case you didn't know, ABRSM stands for Associated Board of Royal School of Music. You can check out the syllabus for the music theory exams at ABRSM if you want to know what is expected of a music theory learner.
• Yamaha Music School
  An interesting thing to note about Yahama is the fact that it Grades its learners starting from Grade 9 to 6 for students, 5 to 3 for teachers and 2-1 for professional performance candidates. Interesting isn't it? As far as I know Yamaha incorpora

An Online Music Dictionary!

• Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary
  I love this Music Dictionary Site. It helps with the pronounciation of all those foreign terms you will be learning in Music Theory. Learning it is fun! I'm sure there are others but this is my favourite because searching for the terms is easy.

Free music theory lessons and exercises, following the ABRSM syllabus

This is my top pick for a place to learn music theory in a structured step by step manner.

• LearnMusicTheory.net
  This site has about 80 free music theory topics grouped into various chapters. A good place to start would be the Music Theory Fundamentals chapter.
• ThinkQuest Library on Music Theory
  This is part of the ThinkQuest Library, an online repository of student-developed learning projects for other students and users. There is an interesting page on the various musical styles including Classical, Jazz, Latin, R & B, Rock n Roll etc (Note: This page has been continued so the link provided is to the archived files which is still very good at the point of writing)
• MyMusicTheory.com
  I like this site very much because my children are learning music theory based on the ABRSM Graded Exam Syllabus. This site follows the ABRSM syllabus. At the moment Grade 1 to Grade 6 is available. The lessons can be followed online for free on if 

Learning Music Signs, Musical Symbols and Performance Direction

Here is a free online site with a very comprehensive list of music signs and symbols

I find this Musical Symbols Chart very useful for Music Theory Learners. It is very comprehensive with diagrams, descriptions and explanations for each music sign or symbol.

My children have just completed Grade 5 of the ABRSM Piano Music Theory exam. Sometimes I refer to this chart when they come to me to ask me the meaning of a certain musical symbol or sign.

If you are a self learner, you will find this musical signs chart and performance directions symbols very useful indeed.

Music Can Lift Your Mood!

Surround yourself with music. Listen, learn to play musical instruments and sing!!!!