Has anyone seen the new Theory books?

Grade 1 is red and no longer peach, there are COLOURS inside

Last time I saw colours in a music book (printed colours that is) was an urtext edition of a Mozart Horn Concerto...that REALLY confused me (apparently Mozart actually wanted to do that when he wrote it for his friend). Suppose it is useful to emphasise some points, and kids probably love it...?

When I started learning the clarinet (as a, cough ahem, mature adult) my teacher asked me why I'd bought a particular tutor book... I had to say it was because it had coloured pictures in it


I used to be grown-up before I took up music... I think

"Mum, when I grow up I want to be a musician"

"Honey, you know you can't do both at the same time"

How true (for me anyway)

I had a (very) quick look in the music shop this morning - it looks as though colour has been used to make the material a bit clearer.

The shop assistant didn't think the material had changed, although I didn't check that. Certainly the page layout was much the same except for one additional colour. Perhaps spaced out a bit more clearly too.

They do look much better, there are more clear examples. Same material but different wording in a few places as far as I can make out, easier to understand English. Oooh, and some tick box questions.

However, after at least 15 years of peach it will take some getting used to!

..I assume the syllabus is the same, just with better books?
I bought the G8 book a few months ago, but haven't got round to working in it yet, will it still be alright?

You'll be fine - the syllabus hasn't changed, and the G6-8 books are only changing cover, not content!

See here: http://www.abrsmpublishing.com/publications/446/news

As long as it hasn't passed its "eat by" date.....!

I've just got my hands on the new Grade 1 theory book. My music shop didn't have any others yet.

I must confess I'm disappointed really. Yes, it's got colour in it which is an improvement but other than that and the fact that some of the text has been modified a bit, it still looks much the same to me.

I thought when there was a great announcement of a re-vamped book we were in for something truly exciting, with pictures/cartoons etc maybe and a more gentle pace of learning that would grab the attention of young students who, despite my best enthusiastic endeavors, persist in describing theory books as "boring".......

I'd be interested to know what other teachers think.

I shall road-test this one with a new oboe student who's a bright 10-year old but one who still doesn't find it that easy to cope with treble clef (and get a sound out of the oboe at the same time), let alone plough into bass clef as well. I'll report back on how we get on!

I stumbled across this bit of information about the theory in practice books this morning - some of it has already been posted but in case anyone's still unsure about what is on sale ...

Music Theory in Practice Grade 1 is now fully revised .....

The revised edition includes:
clear explanation of music notation
straightforward language throughout
many examples and exercises
definitions of important words and concepts
helpful tips for students

Revised editions of Grades 2-5 will follow in April and May.

Grades 6-8 will have new covers, but the text will remain the same.

The older books are still valid - ie the syllabus is the same.