MusicWheels music theory tool - Music Marketplace - Brief Article

American Music Teacher, August-Sept, 2003

MusicWheels, P.O. Box 1093, Nailsea, Bristol BS48 4ZB, United Kingdom; 011-44-1275-854311; duncan.betts@musicwheels.com; www.musicwheels.com. Price: 1 MusicWheels module, 26.50 [pounds sterling] sterling $43.37; 5 modules, 79.29 [pounds sterling] sterling $129.78; 10 modules, 135.68 [pounds sterling] sterling $222.07 (all prices including packing and international economy postage).

The MusicWheels music theory module was designed by Duncan Betts, a British businessman, to ease the learning of music theory. It comprises three plastic wheels that are mounted in a CD case; one wheel has the colors of the rainbow and the other two display all the notes of the musical alphabet. Each color is used for a specific function such as finding scales, chords or triads.

For instance, to find all notes on the C-major scale, the user needs only to line up the RED (the color used for major scales) section of the middle circle on the letter C of both wheels. All the other colors on the wheel will fall on D E F G A B--the other notes of the C-major scale.

Each MusicWheel comes with an instructional manual that clearly explains the theory of music with words and letters instead of traditional symbols. According to the company, the system is equally valuable to both beginners and working musicians. It has been endorsed by musical directors at the Junior Academy of the Royal Academy of Music, the Bath Spa University College and at the Registry of Guitar Tutors.

MusicWheels are available via the company's website, www.musicwheels.com. For more information contact MusicWheels.