Music Theory

Inspiration & Exploration

Music theory sounds intimidating, but it's really just the language musicians use to talk about what they're already hearing. You already know more than you think. Start on YouTube with Adam Neely's channel — he explains music theory in a way that connects it to songs you actually know. The 12tone channel breaks down famous songs chord by chord, which is the fastest way to see theory in action. Try the free musictheory.net lessons, which start at the very beginning with no assumed knowledge. Search Spotify for "music theory playlist" and listen to examples of major vs. minor chords back to back — you'll immediately hear the emotional difference. Browse r/musictheory on Reddit to see what questions real musicians ask. You're ready for the next step when you can listen to two songs and correctly identify which one sounds "happy" (major) and which sounds "sad" (minor).

Tools & Techniques

Get your hands on a piano keyboard — even a free virtual one. Download the free Piano app on your phone or use the Chrome Music Lab's free Piano tool in your browser. A physical keyboard isn't required yet; you just need a visual layout of the notes. On musictheory.net, work through the free lessons on notes, scales, and intervals. The key concepts to nail first: the names of all 12 notes, what a scale is, and what an interval (the distance between two notes) means. Watch Rick Beato's "Music Theory for Beginners" playlist on YouTube — Rick explains everything with real song examples. If you're in Salt Lake, the Utah Symphony offers free educational content online, and SLCC's music department sometimes hosts free theory workshops open to the public. You're ready for the next step when you can name all 12 notes in order and play a C major scale on a virtual or real keyboard.

First Creations

Write your first chord progression. A chord is just three or more notes stacked together, and a progression is a sequence of chords that creates movement and emotion. Learn the four most common chords in pop music: the I, IV, V, and vi chords in any major key. In the key of C, those are C major, F major, G major, and A minor. Billions of songs use exactly these four chords. Plug these into the free GarageBand app or the free Hookpad tool at hooktheory.com to hear them played back. Try writing an 8-bar progression using only those four chords. The Hooktheory Trends database shows you how often these chords appear in popular music — it's free to browse. You're ready for the next step when you've written and played back an 8-bar chord progression using the I, IV, V, and vi chords in at least two different keys.

Style Development

Now add melody and rhythm to your theory toolkit. A melody is a sequence of single notes that fits over your chord progression — it follows the scale of the key you're in. Learn what "diatonic" means: notes that belong to your current key. Practice writing a simple 4-bar melody over your chord progression by staying within the major scale. Then study rhythm: note values (whole, half, quarter, eighth notes), time signatures (4/4 is the most common), and syncopation (accenting the "off" beats). The free app Tenuto (by musictheory.net) gives you rhythm and note-reading exercises. Watch Adam Neely's "Why Does This Melody Work?" videos to understand how melody and harmony connect. You're ready for the next step when you can write a 4-bar melody over a chord progression and explain why each note choice works within the key.

Refine Your Craft

Go deeper into harmony — the sophisticated part of music theory that separates a good musician from a great one. Study secondary dominants (borrowing chords from related keys to add tension), borrowed chords (pulling from parallel major or minor), and the circle of fifths (a map of how all keys relate to each other). The free teoria.com website has interactive exercises on all of these concepts. Watch 12tone's deep-dive analyses of songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody" or jazz standards to see advanced harmony in real music. Learn to read a lead sheet: a single-staff melody with chord symbols above it — this is how jazz musicians communicate entire songs with minimal notation. SLCC's music department offers affordable music theory courses that go this deep if you want structured instruction. You're ready for the next step when you can analyze a song's chord progression, identify at least one borrowed or secondary dominant chord, and explain its function.

Portfolio Piece

Write an original piece of music that demonstrates your theory knowledge — and then analyze it. Compose a short piece (1–3 minutes) using at least one modulation (key change), a borrowed chord, and a melody that uses non-chord tones (passing tones, suspensions, or neighbor tones) intentionally. Write out a lead sheet for your composition using free notation software like MuseScore (free). Then write a short paragraph explaining your harmonic choices: why did you modulate where you did, what effect were you going for? Share your lead sheet and audio recording on r/musictheory and ask for feedback on your harmonic decisions. You're ready for the next step when you have a completed original composition with a written lead sheet and a paragraph that explains at least three specific theory decisions you made while writing it.