No note names and no chords in this chapter. Just two things: what music theory actually is, and what the words coming up mean.
When people hear "music theory" they picture a list of rules to memorise before they are allowed to write anything. It happened the other way round.
So what is music theory, really?
A collection of names given, after the fact, to combinations of notes that kept working. The theory did not come first and the music second. People wrote music for centuries, certain combinations kept doing the job, and names got attached to them later.
Theory is not a rule to obey. It is a name added afterwards.
First, just these six words
Of all the vocabulary in this series, only six words are needed to start. With these, everything else can be added one chapter at a time.
- Melody
- The part you can sing. Notes one after another.
- Accompaniment
- What holds the melody up underneath — the strummed guitar, the pianist's left hand.
- Chord
- Three or so notes sounded together. The raw material of accompaniment. Chapter 6 covers it.
- Chord progression
- The order chords are put in, written like "C → G → Am → F".
- Key
- The set of notes a song mainly uses. "In C" means built from seven notes centred on C.
- Bar (measure)
- The unit a song is divided into. Usually four claps' worth. Chapter 4 covers it.
Theory is a map, not a law
A map lets you plan a route through a place you have never been. Theory does the same job: when you can hear something in your head and want it to come out of a speaker, it tells you which way to walk. Nothing anywhere says you may not take a road the map left out.
- "You can't write music without theory." — Backwards. Writing first and learning later is a completely normal order.
- "Theory takes your freedom away." — It adds options. You are still the one choosing.
- "Theory is maths and it's hard." — There is no arithmetic here. In this series you check everything by ear.
I can't read sheet music. Is that a problem?
Not at all. This series does not assume notation and never shows a staff. Pitch is shown on a picture of a keyboard, rhythm on a grid of cells. Both of them play sound when you press them.
Hear the whole point once, right now
Sound gets there faster than words, so let's start there. The two rows below are the same four chords — C, G, Am, F — changing only where the loop begins. Press "Listen" on each.
- Starting on C
C | G | Am | F
- Starting on Am
Am | F | C | G
Same four chords, and yet the first sounds bright while the second aches. The only difference is the order. Theory is the set of names given to why that swap happens — and once it has a name, you can aim for it deliberately.
What this series covers
How to read this series
- One idea per chapter. Nothing is crammed in.
- Every explanation has something you can play right underneath it. Do not just read — make the sound.
- When a term shows up, look at "In plain words" in the same chapter. Every term gets restated the first time it appears.
- Each chapter ends with a button that generates a melody from what you just read. Press it and judge with your own ears.
That is chapter one. The reasoning can wait. For now, take the C, G, Am, F you just listened to and actually write a melody over it.
Generate a melody on this progressionTheory does not decide what is correct. It gives you the words to hit a sound you liked once, on purpose, again.
Quick review
Everything here is answerable from this chapter. Pick an option and the answer appears straight away.
Question 1
Which is closest to what music theory is?
Question 2
What do you actually need to read this series?