Learn for fun or prepare for exams. Distance learning makes it convenient and easy.
Simply email me scans or pictures of your completed music theory work for marking and feedback.
Clear and detailed explanations provided for any music theory concept you need help understanding.
Clear and detailed explanations provided for any music theory concept you need help understanding.
Please note, I do not do students' music theory homework or coursework for them. I provide feedback on completed work, answer students' queries, and provide explanations.
- One to one tuition by email correspondence.
- Instructions and music theory exercises designed especially for you, (subject to availability).
- Marking service and preparation for music theory exams, any examination board.
- Convenient and easy process adapted to fit your schedule, budget and needs.
Read on to find out more about how online music theory lessons work:
Ruth helped me achieve a high distinction in my grade 8 theory exam. Her detailed, constructive feedback was invaluable. Ruth's ability to explain clearly the principles to be followed in answering composition questions, in particular in 4-part harmony, adding a harmonic bass, and 2-part texture questions, was outstanding. I will definitely be returning to Ruth when I get to work on my teaching diploma.
Alan
Read more reviews about my music theory tuition and teaching in general.
One to one tuition by correspondence.
I teach music theory as one to one tuition online by email correspondence, either as part of my online piano lessons or as a stand-alone course. I am UK based, but offer distance learning world wide. I am fully qualified, and I have many years of experience teaching music theory to students during in-person lessons, as well as online. Consequently I can easily judge how much tuition to provide by correspondence per week, and ensure it is equivalent to the amount of tuition a student would receive during a traditional in-person lesson. In fact my online correspondence music theory students gain a lot more because they are able to read, re-read, think about, digest and process my written instructions. Spoken instructions during a traditional real time lesson are frequently forgotten.
Marking service of music theory workbooks and past exam papers, any exam board.
For the marking service I offer - students send me a scan or picture of their theory work by email (workbooks and work sheets that they have filled in). I mark the work, add any necessary comments and answer any questions the student wants to ask me, then return the marked work by email.
I am happy to guide you through ABRSM past papers and workbooks. I can also help you with any other theory books or papers of your choice, including but not limited to Trinity, LCM, RIAM and AMEB. Please note, I cannot send you free copies of any published music theory resources that are protected by copyright, including ABRSM workbooks. You will need to purchase them from music retailers. I can advise on what to buy and where from if necessary. There is a small selection of free ABRSM practice papers available for download. Trinity also provide some free music theory practice papers here.
I am happy to guide you through ABRSM past papers and workbooks. I can also help you with any other theory books or papers of your choice, including but not limited to Trinity, LCM, RIAM and AMEB. Please note, I cannot send you free copies of any published music theory resources that are protected by copyright, including ABRSM workbooks. You will need to purchase them from music retailers. I can advise on what to buy and where from if necessary. There is a small selection of free ABRSM practice papers available for download. Trinity also provide some free music theory practice papers here.
Tailored courses with music theory exercises designed especially for you.
I also design bespoke music theory courses. Many online courses are "one size fits all", however I tailor lessons, instructions and exercises to suit your individual requirements. If you’re having trouble grasping a particular aspect of music theory, I can guide you in such a way that you gain clarity. I design exercises and questions which break down difficult concepts, direct your thought processes, and reinforce your learning.
On initial consultation, I will discuss with you by email what your aims are, and I will carefully gauge what level of theory knowledge and understanding you have, and whether there are any gaps that may need filling in. As we progress through the course I will adjust my lessons according to what you as an individual find easy or hard.
On initial consultation, I will discuss with you by email what your aims are, and I will carefully gauge what level of theory knowledge and understanding you have, and whether there are any gaps that may need filling in. As we progress through the course I will adjust my lessons according to what you as an individual find easy or hard.
I will supplement detailed instructions with examples of music to listen to, pictures, and sheet music. I will help you put your newly learned theory knowledge into practice by giving you questions to answer so that you can test yourself and see which areas need more reinforcement.
Personal tuition, and interaction with a real person, not an app.
The tuition I offer is personal, so you get feedback on whether you’re doing the theory exercises correctly or not. I will also answer any questions you have. The fact that you can have a conversation with a qualified instructor about any aspects of music theory makes this a more effective way of learning than just following many of the widely available online tutorials which are one sided and lack the option of giving feedback on your learning. The personalised nature of the tuition I offer allows for much more flexibility, and the ability to go down a path that suits your needs rather than following a rigid curriculum which may not be the best course for you.
Sending your work to me for feedback and marking is as easy as taking a picture with your smartphone.
Depending on your level and needs, I will email you music theory worksheets which I have designed especially for you, which you can print off and fill in. Sending them back to me for marking is a simple matter of taking a picture with your smartphone, or scanning. If you choose the option of working through exam papers and workbooks instead of my bespoke courses, the same principle applies - you just need to take a picture of each page of your completed work, and then email the pictures to me. I will email them back to you with marking and comments.
It doesn't matter whether you prefer to take photos of your music theory work, or use a scanner. You can send me your theory work in any format you like - JPG, PNG, and PDF are all fine. You can upload them directly into your email, or use a file sharing platform (e.g. Google Drive). If your image is upside down, sideways or un-cropped don't worry, it's not a problem. Just make sure it's legible.
It doesn't matter whether you prefer to take photos of your music theory work, or use a scanner. You can send me your theory work in any format you like - JPG, PNG, and PDF are all fine. You can upload them directly into your email, or use a file sharing platform (e.g. Google Drive). If your image is upside down, sideways or un-cropped don't worry, it's not a problem. Just make sure it's legible.
Whatever your aim with music theory, I can help you.
My music theory lessons cover a wide range of interests and needs, any ability - beginners to advanced. They will suit you if:
- You want a good all round understanding of music theory.
- You just want a better understanding of how chords and harmonies work.
- You need help learning to read music notation from scratch.
- You want to take ABRSM music theory exams (or music theory exams with any other examination board).
- You are just aiming to pass your ABRSM grade 5 music theory.
- You need help with advanced theory: including harmonisations, figured bass, composition etc.
- You want to cover a more general analysis of musical styles and genres; or study music appreciation. Read more about musical analysis tuition.
...and so much more. Whatever your goals with music theory learning, I can tailor a course to suit you.
I can’t thank Ruth enough, in the space of 3 months I learnt grade 7 and 8 theory and achieved a merit! This method of teaching works so well, you are able to take it at whatever pace suits you and Ruth’s feedback is clear, explained in a way for you to understand and I couldn’t have asked for anything more! I’m so grateful :)
Scarlett
Ruth is an amazing teacher.. i had distance lessons with her by email and video and it worked really well! Ruth is brilliant at seeing what you need and breaking down into into easily digestable chunks.. patient and insightful - i have had to stop lessons for now but will be resuming as soon as i can!
Charlie
How it works, and what you get with each lesson.
Single lesson = one email exchange. £16.50 per lesson.
You email me your completed theory work for marking, and ask any questions. I will mark your work, add comments and answer your questions - all of this will be included in my email response. This email exchange constitutes one lesson.
You have the option to pay as you go, or pay for several lessons in advance if it is more convenient.
You have the option to pay as you go, or pay for several lessons in advance if it is more convenient.
Payment methods:
Credit/debit card or PayPal via secure online checkout. I will send you a link for payment once we have discussed your requirements by email. Bank transfer, Pingit or Paym are also accepted if you are in the UK. PayPal invoicing is another option.
There is no subscription fee or obligation to sign up for a number of months. You can have as many or few lessons as you like, subject to availability.
There is no subscription fee or obligation to sign up for a number of months. You can have as many or few lessons as you like, subject to availability.
Flexibility in scheduling, and convenience for you.
When it comes to scheduling a particular day of the week for you to send me your completed assignment, I can be flexible. If your time constraints make it difficult for you to stick to the same day each week, I can work around that. However it helps to stick to roughly the same time each week, as it gives more structure to your learning process, and gives you something to aim for each week or fortnight. If you need tuition more than once per week, please ask about my availability to see if I can accommodate this.
How much do you get in one lesson?
One lesson is one email exchange, and the amount of tuition and benefits you will receive are comparable to what you would gain from a standard in-person lesson. However as there is no set time for tuition in this manner, due to the communication being time shifted, you do not need to set aside a specific block of time for your tuition. In order to receive a suitable amount of tuition per week, sending me about four pages of your theory work will normally suffice. Of course this is dependent on level, and the student's own personal requirements including any specific difficulties they are having. Higher grade music theory questions take longer to complete and mark, so three pages may be more suitable, lower grade questions take less time, so we may need to adjust the amount of work exchanged accordingly. Also, you need to aim to do an amount of theory work each week (or whatever frequency of lesson you choose) that is manageable for you. Too little and you won't keep the momentum going. Too much and you won't be able to take it all in. You need time to digest and process what you have learned each lesson. However, there is no need to over think the quantity, I always find that after a few email exchange lessons with each pupil, we settle into an amount that works for both of us, and a natural balance is achieved.
I aim to send feedback and marking within a couple of working days of receiving your completed music theory work, depending on the day of the week.
I aim to send feedback and marking within a couple of working days of receiving your completed music theory work, depending on the day of the week.
Music theory exam boards covered.
I offer tuition to cover the syllabus requirements for any music theory exam boards, including: ABRSM, Trinity, RIAM, AMEB, LCM. I also cover any level.
Read more reviews and testimonials about my online music theory tuition and my teaching in general. You can also find free online music theory tutorials here.
Fast and effective music theory learning.
You can become a better musician by learning music theory with professional guidance. If you enjoy doing puzzles, you'll love music theory - it's a great workout for the brain. Music theory doesn't have to be boring and dry, it's actually very interesting once you start to see it in context and that it's all about the language and vocabulary of music. Music is a language, and like any language, you become more fluent at it the better you understand it. I love music theory and enjoy guiding my students so that they also see how fascinating it really is. Music theory can help you understand what you play and hear so much better, to the extent that you learn to play music on your chosen instrument more easily - instead of seeming like a random sequence of notes and chords, you start to see the patterns and how music is constructed, and it becomes much easier to memorise or figure out. My music theory tuition is effective because I show you the context, how it's all related, why you need to know it, and how to learn it more quickly.