Practical Music Theory

The 12 Musical Notes, Explained

An overview of the 12 notes in Western music. These are the building blocks of everything!

Major Scale & Notes in Each Key

There are 7 notes in each major key, which melodies and chords in that key are built with – and there's a simple pattern that each key follows.

Scale Degrees & Intervals

A quick primer on scale degrees, which are the building block of scales, chords, and melodies within any key. I'll also touch on intervals, a related concept that describes the distance between any two notes.

Chords in Each Major Key

An overview of the 7 chords built upon the notes in each major key. Again, it's all based on one simple pattern!

Roman Numeral Chord Notation

An explanation of the Roman numeral numbering system often used to refer to the chords in each key.

Major vs. Minor Chords

A quick overview of major chords (1-3-5) vs. minor chords (1-b3-5) — including a simple explanation of how they're built.

Circle of Fifths

Of all the music theory charts & diagrams you may encounter, the Circle of Fifths is perhaps the most useful! Here's how it works.

More Lessons to Come!

I plan on adding to this course over time. Is there a music-theory topic you’d like to see explored? Let me know!