Music Theory, Made Obvious
You do not need to read sheet music, and you do not need to know a single technical term. One idea per chapter, with a sound you can play right there to check it. When you finish a chapter, you can generate a melody with the same settings.
A 25-chapter series. 5 chapters are published so far.
Part 1 — The whole picture first
Notes, length, meter, scales. The raw materials, by name.
- Chapter 1What music theory is (and what it is not)Music theory is not a rulebook you have to obey. It is shared vocabulary for music that already exists. Let's start there.
- Chapter 2Pitch and note names — Do-Re-Mi and C-D-E are the same thingDo-Re-Mi and C-D-E-F-G-A-B are two names for one set of notes. Play the keyboard and tie the names to the sound.
- Chapter 3Note length and rhythmThe same pitch, at different lengths and densities, becomes a different piece of music. Note values and the beat, checked by ear.
- Chapter 4Time signatures — what actually differs between 4/4, 3/4 and 6/8A time signature is how beats group up. Play 4/4, 3/4 and 6/8 side by side and hear that equal length is not the same music.
- Chapter 5Scales — where "bright" and "dark" actually come fromMajor and minor scales differ only in how the steps are spaced. Play them back to back and learn it by ear.
Part 2 — How chords work — What happens when notes are stacked, taken apart step by step.
Part 3 — Chord progressions — The order you put chords in decides the feeling. Why the standards are standard.
Part 4 — Melody — How a line has to move over chords before it feels good to sing.
Part 5 — Beyond — Odd meters, other musical systems in the world, and what to learn next.