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The Jazz Theory Book Spiral-bound – June 1, 1995

by Mark Levine (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,053 ratings
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Endorsed by Jamey Aebersold, James Moody, Dave Liebman, and others, The Jazz Theory Book presents all the information any student of jazz needs in an easy-to-understand, yet thorough, manner. For intermediate to advanced players, and written by one of the acknowledged masters of jazz, it is used by universities around the world.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    522 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Sher Music
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 1995
  5. Dimensions
    9.75 x 1.12 x 12 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1883217040
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1883217044
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

There's a Mark Levine book called The Jazz Theory Book. I would suggest getting it and doing two pages a day just to study it and learn to read some basic piano, even if you can only pick out one note at a time. As you work through it you'll notice the way you hear and the way you sing will automatically start to change. It's like looking at the world and not knowing it's all blurry — you can make your way through, but then you get glasses and everything gets clearer and clearer. I think that's really important.-Esperanza Spalding

I'm really happy to see so many folks (rightly) acknowledging your books and music [...]. As it should be. The information is all there ~ a gift!-Joe Locke

This could be the single finest music book of any type I've ever seen. It's certainly the best explanation of the mechanics of jazz, and the amazing depth of the content is matched by the care and accuracy of the presentation. An invaluable resource for all improvising musicians regardless of instrument.-Bass Player Magazine

Mark has done it again. The Jazz Theory Book has the clarity that most pedagogical books strive for. This book seems to have left no stone unturned in what one should know about the inner sanctum of jazz theory. The most fruitful information is generally derived from the source and that is the essence of this book. This book is connected to the music of our Jazz Masters. You can't get any better than that. Even the mature musician will find information here. Truly a magnificent accomplishment.-Rufus Reid

Mark has done it again and the music world is grateful. This book will help move the understanding of jazz theory and harmony into the 21st century.-Jamey Aebersold

Mark Levine has done it again, but this time he has created the most comprehensive and complete theory book I've ever seen. It is really user-friendly and is written in a clear and comfortable style. It has excellent musical examples pertinent to the text and is also very inspiring and gives a lot of practical advice you don't find in most theory books. Again, a great job! Highly recommended.-Richie Beirach

As is the case with The Jazz Piano Book, Mark has done a completely thorough job, organizing the material in a very logical and readable manner — highly recommended.-Dave Liebman

Just what the doctor ordered. Insightful and very well thought out.-Donald Brown

Finally, a book on jazz theory and harmony that is very easy to understand yet still covers in great depth just about all of the basics anyone would need to know in order to get started or, in the case of the more advanced player, wonderful information on areas such as playing “outside,” reharmonization, keyboard fundamentals I wish I'd had this book 40 years ago. I think this is the book every musician should own.-Bobby Shew

The Jazz Theory Book should be in every musician's library regardless of the level of their ability.-James Moody

Once again Mark Levine has made an invaluable contribution to the field of jazz textbooks. The Jazz Theory Book covers a wide range of very useful material. It is quite thorough and complete. Even better. Mark never loses sight of the fact that you use theory in order to play and compose music. Simply a great book.-Jim McNeely

This is the best book on jazz theory I have seen to date. The conversational tone of all the text gives the student the feeling of learning from a friend rather than an authoritarian figure. Great stuff!-Ernie Watts

A great book!-Keyboard Magazine

About the Author

Mark Levine was a unique combination of one of the world's greatest jazz educators and a brilliant musician as well. His textbooks are used in universities around the world and have been endorsed by dozens of jazz greats. He played for years with the likes of Cal Tjder, Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson, etc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sher Music; First Edition (June 1, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Spiral-bound ‏ : ‎ 522 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1883217040
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1883217044
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.84 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.75 x 1.12 x 12 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,053 ratings

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Mark Levine

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
1,053 global ratings
The best.
5 Stars
The best.
This is it. This book has all of it in one place. There are no short cuts to performing jazz. Take your jazz as deep as you want to go with this book. Ok, this book has is a reference that I have go back to again and again. How about jazz melodic scale with examples of how the jazz greats of the era used it in there solos and song compositions. What about the major/minor chords used by Horace Silver (my favorite) song Nica's Dream. written short examples of the actual notes Horace played. (so sad when the "Bebop Grandpop" passed away. I got to see him play once (another story).
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Top reviews from the United States

JC M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book. Easy-going writing style. Tons of examples.
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2023
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Great book - well written with a flowing and easy to read writing style. Profuse examples from relevant jazz material. Highly recommend.
2 people found this helpful
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Lawrence Goh
5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and clear music theory book
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2022
Verified Purchase
Even though I don't play the piano or Jazz, this book was recommended to me for its excellent coverage of music theory. As a traditional flutes player (Shakuhachi, Xiao) with just basic knowledge of western notation, this helped me move beyond notes to a better understanding of chords/scales and other ways of looking at music. The book is hefty (I got the spiral bound) but the larger format makes reading easier on the eyes. Effort is needed to patiently go through the content and examples, so it's not a casual read. It's best for someone who is really keen on studying. This book goes beyond what those "dummies" books cover.
4 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Music College or Mark Levine?
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
Coming from a self-taught background and having played keyboard/synth in rock bands for the past 10 years, I thought I would revisit the study of 'piano' properly and with due diligence. There were obvious gaps in my theory and my technique had disintegrated over the years, so when researching a methodology for approaching the piano I came across Mark Levine's 'Jazz Theory' and found the Holy Grail. At the time I even contemplated ironing out my 'education' by enrolling in a Bachelor of Music, however when I saw the content of this book and the robust approach it takes I knew that my plan was to devour this book; study it, apply it, absorb it, but above all, practice, practice, practice. This book is virtually a Music degree in itself. With the advent of Youtube, I can check out each jazz standard example given, played by a multitude of brilliant musicians; this also helps with technique as I can watch the pianists hands/fingers to see what they’re up to. Overall, the deal is this, and I'm applying this to myself at the moment and have done for the last 12 months; if you follow this book, page by page, review periodically, practise your butt off (3 hrs daily minimum) transpose everything into every key, and basically, suck this book like a sponge, you'll be as good as any decent jazz piano major from any music college. Don't believe me? Prove it to yourself by doing the following:
1. Get this book
2. Study it
3. Practise the examples in all keys
You'll then be able to see what the difference is in 12 months’ time; your jazz knowledge and technique will exponentiate and it will blow your socks off, including your fellow musicians in your band/trio/ensemble and you’ll be a well-rounded musician.
99 people found this helpful
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Product was exactly as advertised and arrived ahead of schedule. I will buy from this seller again.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent product
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024
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Product was exactly as advertised and arrived ahead of schedule. I will buy from this seller again.
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Matt
4.0 out of 5 stars This is one of the greatest theory books I have ever read
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is one of the greatest theory books I have ever read. There is sooooo much to the book: you can read it cover to cover and I guarantee you will learn something you did not know. You can take a chapter and read it, review it, digest it, practice it, and I'm sure your improvisation and understanding of jazz will improve. You can grab the book and look up a specific topic to get answers when you need them. Whether as a teaching tool or a reference, the book is outstanding.

Four stars instead of five because I have the Kindle version and no longer own a Kindle.
3 people found this helpful
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H.A.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Thorough Jazz Fundamentals - Compare to Jazz Piano Book
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2013
Verified Purchase
Fantastic book. Answered a lot of questions I had. It is better laid out in terms of sequence than the jazz piano book. The sequence oh this book introduces things more smoothly and in an integrated fashion. There is a lot of the same material as the jazz piano book but there is data in the jazz piano book which is not on thus one (more specific to pianists - like data on chord voicings) and there is data in this one on improvisation, repertoire and practise routines they is not in the piano book. When I went through this one several points about scales and modes I had misunderstood finally clicked.

The great thing about these books is they don't oversell some "method" of "learning jazz quick" and they also do not over complicate things. The basic information is all there and after that it is just up to you to practice and explore and learn for yourself. Don't expect to read it cover to cover and be able to play jazz. It will be a matter of taking these principles and working on them in practice day after day. But I would say this is one of the best launching pads to take off from in terms of encompassing all the basics of Jazz.

For the pianist, I would just buy both of his books and go through them in parallel or go through the chapters on scales and modes from this book first.
17 people found this helpful
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Karen Patton
5.0 out of 5 stars great shape and a bargain
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2023
Verified Purchase
My grandson needed this book for music class and other than the cover having a dogear it looked brand new
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Top reviews from other countries

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Marcio Andrade Dias
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente livro!!
Reviewed in Brazil on July 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
Muito abrangente, organizado e didático! A melhor publicação para estudos de Jazz que já li
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Phil
5.0 out of 5 stars What I needed to review as a returning player
Reviewed in Canada on December 9, 2022
Verified Purchase
Review of Jazz theory and expand my knowledge
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ResidentialTim
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic theory
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2024
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Have just completed chapter 1 and already have learned so much and have corrected some of what I thought I knew 😃
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Atti
5.0 out of 5 stars super !
Reviewed in Germany on May 5, 2023
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very good book - highly recommend….
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RC
5.0 out of 5 stars Libro indispensable
Reviewed in Mexico on November 17, 2020
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Es un libro escrito desde un espíritu muy genuino por compartir y sistematizar un material que se encuentra disperso o muy confuso en otras fuentes. Indispensable para la biblioteca de cualquier estudiante de jazz o de música en general.
One person found this helpful
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