Theory Is Fun, Book 2: Piano Book

Book 2 moves beyond foundational concepts to tackle the harmonic vocabulary that students actually encounter in repertoire. The inclusion of inversions, natural and harmonic minor scales, and diminished triads means students can analyze real music, not just abstract exercises. Sight reading pieces at the end give students immediate, practical application of what they've learned.

Book 2 opens up new territory. Where Book 1 established basic reading and note-naming skills, this volume introduces the building blocks of harmony and form. Students recognize the major and minor scales they've been playing, understand why certain chords appear in their favorite pieces, and begin seeing the logical architecture behind music notation.

Piano students progressing through elementary and early intermediate levels who have completed Book 1 and are ready to understand the harmonic language beneath the pieces they play. This book serves students in private studios and group piano settings who benefit from systematic theory instruction aligned with their repertoire.

• Work through the interval exercises systematically before moving to the triads section; students who can hear and identify intervals confidently will absorb chord construction far more quickly.
• Use the sight-reading pieces as weekly performance assignments rather than optional extras. They cement everything learned in the preceding chapters.
• Have students notate their own examples of each chord inversion on staff paper once they've completed the workbook section. The act of writing it out differently locks in the concept.
• Spend time comparing natural minor and harmonic minor scales side by side. The raised seventh degree in harmonic minor creates the strongest possible pull back to tonic, and hearing that distinction matters more than memorizing it.

Assign this book alongside repertoire that uses major and minor keys, triadic harmony, and chord progressions. The sight reading pieces at the end make excellent recital preparation or end-of-year assessment material that demonstrates theoretical understanding through performance.

• identifying and constructing major scales and major key signatures
• identifying and constructing natural minor, harmonic minor, and minor key signatures
• recognizing major, minor, perfect, diminished, and augmented intervals
• building and identifying major, minor, and diminished triads in root position, first inversion, and second inversion
• recognizing tonic, dominant, and subdominant scale degrees and their harmonic function
• reading and performing pieces that integrate harmonic concepts with sight reading