Open Music Theory
Open Music Theory provides an online open educational resource and workbook for undergraduate music theory.
About Open Music Theory
Open Music Theory is a natively online open educational resource. Version 2 (OMT2) is intended as the primary text and workbook for undergraduate music theory curricula. It is collaboratively authored and edited by Mark Gotham, Kyle Gullings, Chelsey Hamm, Bryn Hughes, Brian Jarvis, Megan Lavengood, and John Peterson, with editing by Erin K. Maher.
The book covers a traditional core sequence: fundamentals, diatonic harmony, chromatic harmony, form, and 20th-century techniques. It also includes units on jazz, popular music, rhythm, counterpoint, and orchestration. Chapters embed video lessons, audio, interactive notated scores with playback, and small quizzes. OMT2 adds a complete workbook of assignments, with worksheets for almost every chapter, and some fundamentals chapters collect additional assignments from other websites.
You can read the book online, download a digital PDF, or download Pressbooks XML. The work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0, except where otherwise noted. The homepage states the book is completely free and always will be. It suits undergraduate music theory students and instructors, and others who want a free, online text and workbook for the same topics.
Key features
- Serves as primary text and workbook for undergraduate music theory curricula.
- Covers fundamentals, diatonic and chromatic harmony, form, and 20th-century techniques.
- Includes additional units on jazz, popular music, rhythm, counterpoint, and orchestration.
- Embeds video lessons, audio, interactive scores with playback, and chapter quizzes.
- Offers a complete workbook with worksheets for almost every chapter.
- Can be read online or downloaded as a digital PDF or Pressbooks XML.
- Completely free and openly licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.
- Natively online with embedded video, audio, interactive scores, and quizzes.
- Covers a core undergraduate sequence plus jazz, pop, rhythm, counterpoint, and orchestration.
- Includes a complete workbook with assignments for most chapters.
- Intended primarily for undergraduate music theory curricula, not general music appreciation.
- Available as a web resource, PDF, or Pressbooks XML; no dedicated mobile app is mentioned.
Open Music Theory at a glance
- Category
- Lifestyle & Hobbies › Hobbies & DIY
- Type
- Website
- Pricing
- Free
- Platforms
- Web
- Open source
- Not stated
- Language
- English
- Last checked
- Oct 5, 2026 · Online when checked
- Listed
- Oct 5, 2026
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