Learning and Loving Music Theory

Learn Music Theory

If you want to learn music theory, you’ve come to the right place! You may be visiting because

You love music and want to understand music better.
You want to learn about chords and chord progressions.
You would like to understand rhythm, or improve your rhythmic skills.
You would like to learn to read music, or improve your music-reading skills.
You would like to learn how to improvise.
You’re a songwriter looking for tools to improve your craft.

What is Your Music Theory Need?

Music Theory Beginner

If you are a beginner and want to learn music theory from the ground up, visit the Music Theory Lessons table of contents and start from the top. Every lesson is free and builds upon the previous one. Don’t be intimidated! The only requirement for learning music theory here is a love for music and a desire to learn! There are plenty of examples to see and hear. If something is not clear, use the comments section to ask questions or make suggestions. A new lesson usually is posted weekly. Please subscribe if you would like to be notified when new music theory lessons are available. (We respect your privacy; your email address will never be sold or shared.)

Music Theory Topics

We cover every music theory topic from high school through university-level courses, but in a friendly, accessible way. If you are studying music theory already, please use us as a resource. Perhaps you’re a teacher looking for lesson ideas, teaching methods, or examples. Browse the main topics below to get an idea of the content that is available. There are plenty of graphics, audio examples, as well as flash slideshows demonstrating various music theory concepts:

Music Theory Resources

We have a wealth of free music theory resources, and more are being added all the time: music manuscript paper, major and minor scales, interval chart, circle-of-fifths chart. You will find all of these on the free music theory resources page.

Harmonic Progressions

Every harmonic progression imaginable from simple to complex is written out in every major and minor key. These are free pdf files that you can download at the Harmonic Progressions page. We are always adding new progressions, so please subscribe to be notified when new items are available.

Music Theory Articles

Notes is a collection of articles on various topics related to music theory but aren’t necessarily a part of a normal music theory curriculum. Some of them are “how-to” articles, others are more philosophically oriented. Hopefully you will find them helpful and interesting as well. If you are interested in contributing your own article, please contact me. But please keep in mind that music theory must be the primary focus of all articles. Additionally, this site is geared toward general music lovers and students. Therefore, the articles should be focused on helping one to love and understand music theory to a greater degree. Some featured articles are:

Music Theory Text and Workbook

If you need a standard two-year university-level music theory textbook at a great price (sorry, this one’s not free!), check out Materials of Music. You can download it or order it on CD. It comes complete with exercises, a workbook with audio examples, a complete clickable index, and several extras in the appendix. The download cost is $39.95.

Understanding Key Changes

The concept of changing keys, or modulation, was introduced in this music theory lesson. Here we’ll see how it works in actual music.

The best way to explain modulation is to demonstrate it. We’ll do that with a simple example. But be sure to turn your ears on and listen. Changing keys is something you should hear. Once you hear it, then it’s easier to see it on the written score.

Listen to the following chord progression in D major. When it completes, sing what you hear as the tonic, or home key. If you’re not sure, click the play button below the score.

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Play tonic:

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Next, listen to the same chord progression, only this time it’s in A major. Again, sing what you hear as tonic.

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Play tonic:

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Now we’ll connect these two progressions with a couple of chords, thereby creating a passage of music that modulates from D major to A major:

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Determining if a Passage of Music Modulates

Do you hear how, in the foregoing example, the passage clearly starts in the key of D major, but when it concludes it cadences in the key of A major? As I said above, the best way to determine if a modulation has occurred is to use your ears.

Here are some other factors that help us to identify a modulation. We will continue to refer to the example above (modulating from D major to A major):

Recurring Accidentals

Notice that the passage does not change key signatures. You will discover that much traditional music will change keys but not change key signatures. Instead, the composer will use accidentals. (See further comments on this at the end of the lesson.)

On the third beat of measure 4 and onward, all of the G’s are sharp (there are no G naturals). In other words, the music from measure 4 until the end has 3 sharps (the key of A major), not 2 sharps (the key of D major).

Emphasis on the Dominant of the New Key

This fact, of course, is related to the recurring G-sharp, which is the leading tone of A major. And because these G-sharps are always part of a dominant harmony of A major, our ears are drawn to hear A major as the new key.

Cadential Pattern in the New Key

Finally, another good clue that the music has changed keys is a strong cadence (usually some type of authentic cadence) in the new key. In our example above, the last two measures contain a strong TSDT progression, ending with a perfect authentic cadence (PAC) in A major.

Pivot Chord Modulation

The example above (modulating from D to A) is one of the simplest and smoothest ways to change keys. It’s called a pivot chord modulation, and is quite common in traditional tonal music. The B minor chord on the third beat of measure 4 has a dual function: it is a vi in D and a ii in A, hence the term pivot chord. We will discuss pivot chords in detail in the next lesson.

The chord progression we’ve been using in this lesson is actually a simplified version of a passage from the third movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata in D Major, K 284:

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A Note on Key Signatures and Modulation

When students first encounter modulation, there is often confusion. I am frequently asked something like this: “How can the music be in the key of A major (3 sharps in the key signature) when the key signature is D Major (2 sharps)?” The answer to that is simple:

The key signature does not always tell you the sounding key

As you begin to study more complex music (such as music with one or more modulations), you have to get used to the fact that the key signature does not always indicate the actual sounding key. Music literature is filled with pieces of music that wander around in several different keys without changing the key signature.

At this level of music theory, I tell my students that, when you see a key signature, you cannot assume that it is indicating a key. All the key signature is telling you is that, for example, all of the Fs and Cs are sharp. You have to figure out the key using other methods (those we studied in this lesson: sound, recurring accidentals, dominant chords, and cadential patterns). Only then, do you know for sure what key the music is in.