Any recommendations for good theory books/DVDs?

[KaiserSoze]

Looking to learn more about theory.  What resources have you liked? 

 

[Cagey]

A well-qualified teacher is invaluable. Books are nice for presentation of concepts and rules, filling in details and perhaps later on as reference material, but often you really need somebody to tell you why you need to know something and what you can do with it. Books rarely do that for you. For example, a book will tell you what an arpeggio is and all the various forms and executions they take, but a teacher will put it in the context of a Van Halen or David Gilmour tune so you can see/hear what such a thing is useful for.

 

[hannaugh]

I used Everything Music Theory.  It worked well for me.  It's well organized in a logical progression, and it explains how to use the information and why it is useful.  I worked my way through it slowly, took notes, and made flash cards on Quizlet so I could make sure I really remembered and understood everything before I'd move on to the next chapter.  You do need to know how to at least sort of read music though, so keep that in mind.

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Music-Theory-Book-Understanding/dp/B007K4FNHE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1373906333&sr=8-2&keywords=everything+music+theory

Also, musictheory.net is free and does a pretty good job at teaching the concepts, but the book I mentioned is much more in depth and easier to follow.