I'd like to respond to Pebber and the other members of this forum. Many things have been written since the infamous "free temporary test account" posting and I'd like to follow-up. I realize in hindsight that the previous post violates good forum etiquette and I apologize for that.

First, and probably most importantly, Theory in a Box is not a product of a company looking to get rich. It was built by Bloomingdale School of Music, a non-profit community music school located in New York City. The school has been here since 1964 teaching music to people of all ages from around nyc.

About 4 years ago, we decided to build an internet-based theory program because our students weren't able/interested in attending theory classes. Over a period of three years we developed TIAB from scratch. It became apparent during development, that since it was completely internet-based, it would be easy for students and teachers from anywhere to use it. We "packaged" three different version of the program designed for independent students, studio teachers, and schools.

Theory in a Box is not a moneymaker for the school and probably never will be. It represents a small fraction of the school's budget (less than .01%). We charge for the program to cover the cost of having a person on-staff who is available to help via email or phone whenever a student has a question about the course material. The cost for schools is particularly affordable at $10-$12 per student.

The offer of a "free temporary test account" was in response to Pebber's initial listing of programs that he was interested in reviewing, which included our course. Perhaps "free account" was what I should have written. In any case, it is literally impossible to review TIAB without an account as the course itself requires a username/password. There are tours, information etc. about the course, but to really do an in-depth review, an account is necessary. We were happy to have Pebber review TIAB since it's relatively new and we aren't aware of existing reviews.

It might be that TIAB isn't right for anyone on this forum. It doesn't get into blues or jazz theory which might be important for you as guitarists. It also is not aimed primarily at ear training although there are ear training components. It focuses on beginning through advanced-intermediate theory and is intended for people ages 10 and up. As you all know there are many theory programs available, many of them free, and a lot depends on what you like and how you learn.

I hope this post clarifies where I was coming from in my original post.

Thanks,
Clay