The Chord Wheel. Workbooks.: The Ultimate Tool for All Musicians Paperback – Music Book, 31 Dec. 1899

I've bought a few quality music theory books over the last few years, inc.~Music theory for computer musiciansLearn to play keyboards - Steve AshworthThe Keyboard Scale Manual - Leonard VoglerKeyboard guide / Chords, Scales and Modes - Voggenreiter~All of the above have given me a good understanding of music theory, but none have really given me the tools to put the acquired information into practice, that is until now.The Chord Wheel booklet may only contain 12 pages but it clearly and concisely puts all the relevant information right infront of the reader, and clearly explains the function of the chord wheel.I am not the sharpest tool in the kit, and to me, written music will always look like tadpoles sitting on a fence, but I now feel confident enough to not only start improvising my own musical ideas, but actually now know what it is that stitches music together.I must say that if the Chord Wheel was the first theory book I had bought, I probably would have felt a little bit lost, but with some pre-knowledge of basic chord structures, scales, and how these two forms are divided into degrees, using the Chord Wheel will give anyone the means to start creating impressive sounding musical textures.When you understand how powerful this simple tool is, you will appreiciate that it is money well spent.

An exceptional book, this not only has the fastest ready reckoner for the related chords in any given key but also has valuable information on composition, chord progressions and the like, all at the interface between the practical and the theory. Not designed for beginners, it is handy for both guitar and keyboard musicians and worthwhile even for people with advanced knowledge of music.

I really liked the book. It is succinct, accessible and straight to the point. I am a former amateur musician taking music up again at a mature age. So being able to have a readily available reference for chord progressions was really handy, as I flexed my musical muscles again. Nothing advanced, yet very useful for the novice-to-intermediate level reader. And it’s a quality print and materials, which means it should last for some time.It does have some incongruences and inaccuracies though, which prevent me from giving it 5 stars:1) It only applies to Major chords. There are legions of people composing and playing predominantly in minor keys (myself included) and it would be easy to adapt the mask to work for both minor and major scenarios (I actually did it as a DIY project). So I don’t understand why this wasn’t done.2) The wheel lists the viiº degree as Tonic and the vi as Dominant. This is very different from how I learned degrees but that has been a long while ago so I decided to check. Although there is a bit of controversy on these (musical functions are a bit of a subjective topic) most sources (including Riemann’s prestigious ‘Funktionstheorie’) point to the vii as Dominant and the vi as Tonic.3) The Composition section lists the chord progression Am - C - F as fitting in the key of F, but this can’t be: that key contains a Gm chord not G. I suppose the author the was considering the V of V degree (which is G in F) but I’m not sure that’s valid, after all the chord is not diatonic to the key.We live in a world of digital solutions, with plenty of apps doing the same thing for a fraction of the price on our phones and tablets. So I’m not sure if there is enough demand for a physical chord wheel to justify a revised edition. But if the author would address the issues above, I would happily buy this book again and give it a 5 star review :)

I've had this book for over four years at the time of writing this review and have been playing guitar since 1991 (30 years). Although most musicians rely on their ears first and foremost, in my opinion, "The Chord Wheel" still offers the easiest way to visualise chord groupings. My son is learning to play the saxophone and is becoming interested in popular music and the chord wheel front cover was the first utility I turned to in order to explain the structure and writing style of well known song writers. I applied it to the songs that Brian May and Freddie Mercury wrote for Queen and considered the different instruments they primarily use to compose music and their different musical backgrounds. This helped me contextualise why there are lot of flat minor chords in Freddie's music, for example, and the structure of simplicity of certain popular guitar power chords and rock progressions.

....as it will help build a visual picture of what can be horrendously complex for beginners when written out as a wall of text. It will show you visually how each note fits together with others to produce a chord.

this book is thin, but gave me many Aha moments.In just 20mins of reading this book, I grasped techniques and a greater understanding of how Chords work,Which goes well with which and even what notes make up the chord, so you can play a solo,or transpose instantly.its visual rather than theory because there is a dial on the front of the book,turn it to the desired Chord, and it lists which other Chords work with it, Major, Minor C7 etc etc.but even more than that if you decide to play a chord that goes with the original, then turn the dial to that,you get more chords that fit.it means no more "Strum de strum de strum" on the Guitar until you get bored, now I can switch in various sequencesto add interest.a great book