>>120117A few resources for the serious student of music. In order of simple to complex (not fundamental to specialized.) Favor mastery of counterpoint, always.
Brief, concise introductions to basic terms and categories of music theory (do not spend too much time here, the 'chapters' tend to become increasingly redundant as it goes on.)
https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/MusicTheory.html A highly pedagogical overview of many musical ideas with a particular focus on CPP voice leading ideas, CPP formal ideas/analysis, and four part keyboard style accompaniment. A particularly good introduction to form and idiom in music.
https://openmusictheory.github.io/contents.htmlPartimento, solfege, common practice harmonic language, bass schema, realized counterpoint. (For the "beginner" I'd strongly suggest you begin with the first few 'chapters' of Giovanni Furno, Lavigna's counterpoint studies with Master Fenaroli. This particular site is overflowing with valuable resources for those who've got the means of utilizing them.)
https://partimenti.org/From the personal stash. If you're able to get to a level of comprehension where you can appreciate what this man has to say then his work will be a rare treat for you. His thesis "Thoroughbass, Chorale, and Fugue: Teaching the Craft of Composition in J. S. Bach’s Circle." is in a league of its own.
https://derekremes.com/Essential texts:
Counterpoint in Composition by Salzer & Schacter (Very hard for the beginning contrapuntalist, deep species study required to get into the meat of it. Going from two-part textures to three-part textures within each species, as the book suggests, might not be advisable.)
Analyzing Classical Form by William Caplin (Try to get the classroom version, this book is suitable for both beginner and the veteran)
Reharmonization Techniques by Randy Fetls (Suitable for the beginner in as far as the techniques are readily applicable to any composer, not suitable as understanding a lot of them requires quite a bit of insight into modern 'Jazz harmony'. Note that it's an unusually nice gem from the Berklee Press, don't expect such quality from most of the texts they publish.)
Handel's Exercises for Princess Anne (Brilliant exercises in the basics of harmony, will require a basic understanding of voice leading principles but not much beyond baby's first 4 part harmony rules as taught in high school music theory.)
Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments by C.P.E Bach (Fascinating book, great for keyboard players and music nerds alike. Do note that C.P.E is somewhat of a tyrant of idiom and that he shows his true colors in most of his examples, his harmonies are far from fundamental or 'neat' so do not expect that from him.)
These resources might seem somewhat 'anachronistic' to you but if it counts for anything I'll tell the reader this: I'm trained as a jazz musician, I hope you'll believe me when I tell you that this 'anachronistic' mode of pedagogy outlined above is simply far more effective in educating competent, versatile musicians. Sing, play, and improvise every day. And if you're looking to become a better instrumentalist then simply take anything from these resources and 'translate' it to your instrument, no method of training will be more effective.
