Collections
OER Commons - Music
OER Commons provides a curated collection of textbooks and resources for instrumental and music studies.
Open Textbook Library
Browse a wide selection of textbooks on music.
Individual Texts
The basic elements of music
Contributor: Schmidt-Jones
Publisher: OpenStax CNX
Music Fundamentals 1: Pitch and Major Scales and Keys
Contributors: Ewell and Schmidt-Jones
Publisher: OpenStax CNX
This collection is the first of five dealing with the rudiments of music.
Music Fundamentals 2: Rhythm and Meter
Contributors: Ewell and Schmidt-Jones
Publisher: OpenStax CNX
Music Fundamentals 3: Minor Scales and Keys
Contributor: Ewell
Publisher: OpenStax CNX
Music Fundamentals 4: Intervals
Contributor: Ewell
Publisher: OpenStax CNX
Music Fundamentals 5: Triads, Chords, Introduction to Roman Numerals
Contributor: Ewell
Publisher: OpenStax CNX
Music: Its Language, History, and Culture
Contributor: Douglas Cohen
Publisher: CUNY Academic Works
Open Music Theory
Open Music Theory is an open-source, interactive, online “text”book for college-level music theory courses. OMT was built on resources authored by Kris Shaffer, Bryn Hughes, and Brian Moseley. It is edited by Kris Shaffer and Robin Wharton, and is published by Hybrid Pedagogy Publishing. www.hybridpedagogy.org/#publishing
Understanding Basic Music Theory
Although it is significantly expanded from "Introduction to Music Theory", this book still covers only the bare essentials of music theory. Music is a very large subject, and the advanced theory that students will want to pursue after mastering the basics will vary greatly. A trumpet player interested in jazz, a vocalist interested in early music, a pianist interested in classical composition, and a guitarist interested in world music, will all want to delve into very different facets of music theory; although, interestingly, if they all become very well-versed in their chosen fields, they will still end up very capable of understanding each other and cooperating in musical endeavors. The final section does include a few challenges that are generally not considered "beginner level" musicianship, but are very useful in just about every field and genre of music.
Understanding Music: Past and Present
Contributors: Clark, Heflin, Kluball, and Kramer
Publisher: University of North Georgia Press
Understanding Music: Past and Present is an open Music Appreciation textbook co-authored by music faculty across Georgia. The text covers the fundamentals of music and the physics of sound, an exploration of music from the Middle Ages to the present day, and a final chapter on popular music in the United States.