Learn Theory of Music

Knowing music theory never hurt anyone—not Bach, not Chopin, not Schoenberg. Even if you fancy yourself a musical iconoclast, the better you know the rules of music, the better equipped you'll be to break them down the line. In this free video music theory lesson, you'll learn ...more

Knowing music theory never hurt anyone—not Bach, not Chopin, not Schoenberg. Even if you fancy yourself a musical iconoclast, the better you know the rules of music, the better equipped you'll be to break them down the line. In this free video music theory lesson, you'll learn ...more

Knowing music theory never hurt anyone—not Bach, not Chopin, not Schoenberg. Even if you fancy yourself a musical iconoclast, the better you know the rules of music, the better equipped you'll be to break them down the line. In this free video music theory lesson, you'll learn ...more

Knowing music theory never hurt anyone—not Bach, not Chopin, not Schoenberg. Even if you fancy yourself a musical iconoclast, the better you know the rules of music, the better equipped you'll be to break them down the line. In this free video music theory lesson, you'll learn ...more

Knowing music theory never hurt anyone—not Bach, not Chopin, not Schoenberg. Even if you fancy yourself a musical iconoclast, the better you know the rules of music, the better equipped you'll be to break them down the line. In this free video music theory lesson, you'll learn ...more

This two-part video tutorial series presents a breakdown of applied music theory on the ukulele. In the key of C major you have the notes CDEFGABC. The notes C to C give you C major(or Ionian). The notes A to A give you A minor (or Locrian). The notes G to G give you Mixolydi ...more

Learn music theory and learn to write songs from music instructor Mark W. Black, owner & founder of "Promethean Studios" Dallas, as he teaches advanced topics of music theory and songwriting for beginners in this video series. Mark covers such topics as: lyrics, rhyming, mood ...more

Learn music theory from music instructor Mark W. Black, owner & founder of "Promethean Studios" Dallas, as he teaches basic essentials of music theory for beginners in this video series. Mark covers such topics as: the staff, treble clef, bass clef, how to identify notes on th ...more

Being a musician, whether experienced or just starting out, if you don't know your basic music theory, then you're selling yourself short on a wealth of knowledge! If you're just getting started and have never learned theory, this is where you begin. In this video you will get ...more

Music theory, for any musician, is EXTREMELY important to know if you expect playing in any form of professional capacity. But if you can't afford to go to Berklee College of Music or Musician's Institute, then you can get almost the same education in this great video! In this ...more

Rapper Lil' Wayne has admitted he can't read, instead citing that his musical prowress comes naturally to him. While this may work for the musician, most piano players, singers, and sax players can benefit from a lesson in music theory or two. We know that just the term "musi ...more

In this piano music theory lesson you'll go over something of a more advanced piece of music theory: compound intervals. Compound intervals is basically jargon for the distance in pitches bewteen two notes. Learn how to distinguish compound intervals as well as how to invert ...more

An enharmonic equivalent doesn't sound like fun, but in fact the term is fancy jargon for a rather simple concept: it is the duplicate of a note, key signature, or interval that is spelled differently. So two notes are enharmonic if they have the same pitch but are named diffe ...more

Learn how to cheat like hell to produce realistic sounding piano flourishes, amazing rolls, and perfectly harmonious music in FL Studio. This tutorial uses examples from other FL tutorials on this site so you may have to watch more than just one. Check out this advanced music ...more

It's music theory time with Andrew Furmanczyk. With this in depth and informative lesson, Andrew will show you four various music score types, (Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Bass). You'll learn how to write them, how to read them and what they mean in the world of music composition a ...more

If you're transferring from Guitar to Ukulele or if you're just starting with Ukulele and kind of want to understand how the notes on the fretboard, the music theory behind everything and also some techniques for remembering each of the fret letters and how to build chords.

If you're a beginner piano student looking to improve in both music theory and practical piano playing skills, then this tutorial on how to play tetrachords is perfect for advancing your skills beyond playing single finger melodies. A tetrachord is a series of four notes with ...more

One of the most basic starting points of music and music theory is the individual note or tone. In this tutorial you will learn some of the basics of working with notes or tones when making beats in FL Studio.

Watch this piano tutorial video to learn how to play the Christmas classic "Christmas Time is Here" by Vince Guaraldi on piano. This helpful how-to video contains detailed instructions that are great for beginner pianists who have some knowledge of music theory. You'll be play ...more

Watch this piano tutorial video to learn how to play Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" on the piano. The instructions in this how-to video are best suited for beginner piano players who have some knowledge of music theory. This instructional video is very helpful and will have you pla ...more

Open chords are pretty simple to understand. They're basically notes in a chord that you don't play or finger. Closed chords are notes of a chord that are stacked on top of each other (vs. open chords, where the notes are apart from one another). If you'd like to get better ...more

A suspended chord is a chord in which the third has been omitted to be replaced by a perfect fourth or a major second. Because there is no minor or major third in the chord, the result is a suspended, or open, sound. This means a previous chord is carried over to the next chor ...more

If you're serious about playing an instrument well, especially the piano, then you need to know your Italian music terms. Whether you need to play a note staccato or legato or don't recognize what all those tiny abbreviations on your sheet music mean, this tutorial will be a g ...more

The 12 bar Blues is something that EVERY musician should know how to play. It may be "simple music" but as they say, "simple music is the hardest kind of music to play". Understanding the theory behind the 12 bar Blues is crucial to feeling measures and also gives you a chance ...more

No matter how great you are at playing the piano, and even if you're a natural who can strum out Rachmaninoff perfectly simply by listening to it once, music theory should still be a vital part of your music learning process. Whether you're a beginning piano player or an advan ...more

Don't you dare touch that piano until you've watched this helpful lesson in piano music theory! While practicing scales alongside your piano teacher is super important to becoming a master piano player, you can't skimp on the music theory. Music theory helps you not only unde ...more

Knowing music theory never hurt anyone—not Bach, not Chopin, not Schoenberg. Even if you fancy yourself a musical iconoclast, the better you know the rules of music, the better equipped you'll be to break them down the line. In this free video music theory lesson, you'll learn ...more

Knowing music theory never hurt anyone—not Bach, not Chopin, not Schoenberg. Even if you fancy yourself a musical iconoclast, the better you know the rules of music, the better equipped you'll be to break them down the line. In this free video music theory lesson, you'll learn ...more

Unless you're a music theory buff or taking AP Music Theory in school (forced or otherwise), then the only word in "diatonic circle chord progressions" that makes sense to you is "circle." But the fancy schmancy term is just an elaborate way of saying you're playing chord prog ...more

This how to video describes how to play basic piano chords. The author begins by explaining musical intervals and how they build chords. He then shows you how to play major and minor chords and how they relate to melodic and harmonic intervals. This video is perfect for those ...more

This music theory lesson covers intervals, some basic musical signs, as well as staccato and legato playing on the piano. These techniques are essential to reading music as well as good piano playing. Watch this how to video and you will be able to play the piano with better k ...more

This music theory tutorial teaches you how to read sheet music, the names of the clefs, the names of the notes on the staff. Learning how to read music is essential for any serious musician. Watch this music how to video and you will be reading sheet music in no time.

A fermata (also known as a bird's eye)is an element of musical notation indicating that the note should be sustained for longer than its note value would indicate. This music theory how to video teaches an easy shortcut in order to understand and use 'fermatas' in music.

This FL Studio tutorial is actually a music theory lesson that teaches you how to read Chord progression notations (intervals), such as (I-VI-ii-V), and an easy system to keep track of them all within FL Studio. If you are new to music and want to learn music production and wo ...more

This piano lesson is both a music theory approach to playing and an actual working piano lesson, which offers you a great chance to apply what you've just learned. Follow along with the video to learn how to understand and construct triad chords and, later, 7th chords. This i ...more

Learn how to play pizzicato on the cello with this tutorial. This lesson teaches you music theory basics. Watch this how to video and you will be able play pizzicato notes on your cello.

Learn how you can play and count eighth notes on the violin with this tutorial. This lesson covers music theory and violin techniques. You will be able to learn rhythms and how to play them on the violin with this how to video.

This music theory tutorial gives a basic intro to chords and using them in FL Studio (Fruity Loops).

This how to video clears up why there is a tone and a half in a harmonic minor scale, and goes into detail about leading tones, and what harmonic and melodic scales are used for. These are very important concepts in music theory and piano playing. Watch this how to video and y ...more

This how to video covers sharps, flats, and also introduces the circle of fifths. A fun way to remember the circle of fifths is "Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle" for sharps and "Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father" for flats. This tutorial is essential for every ...more

This how to video talks about 4-note arpeggios and shifting from major to minor triads on the piano or keyboard. These techniques are essential to playing more advanced piano pieces where there are key changes. You will have a better grasp of music theory with this easy to fol ...more

Ties and slurs look very similar but are not the same musical notation. This music theory how to video teaches you the difference between ties and slurs and how to play them.

Sharps, flats and naturals are musical notations called accidentals which indicate whether the pitch is raised or lowered with in a given key. This music theory how to video explains where the sharps and flats are on the piano keyboard and how to play them.

In music theory, the circle of fifths (or cycle of fifths) is an imaginary geometrical space that depicts relationships among the 12 equal-tempered pitch classes comprising the familiar chromatic scale.

This is instructional guitar video that shows you how to build chords on your guitar fretboard using music theory. Check out this simple guide to chord theory on the guitar, using the D major scale as a basis for creating chords from notes of the scale. No guitar playing in th ...more

In this video, Andrew, from Creative Guitar Studio, explains how to translate sheet music, (not tablature), to notes on the guitar. You will learn how to finger the notes and chords you see in sheet music on the guitar fret board. Beginning guitarists, and experienced players ...more

The circle of fifths sounds like some sort of "Lord of The Rings" council of high elves, but all this term really denotes is how major and minor scales are connected on the piano (a lot more boring than the high elf stuff, we know). Either way, if you're a piano player who's ...more

Getting to know your scales are important to understanding music theory, learning your fretboard, improving your technique and training your ear. Check out this instructional acoustic guitar video that shows how to play C major scale in first position. Playing a scale on one s ...more

If you are looking to improve your classical piano technique then this how to video is the place to start. You will learn how to practice and study Chopin's nocturne opus 48 number 1. This nocturne should be played in the style of a Bel Canto opera piece, with the main melody ...more

Want to learn how to improvise and play jazz piano? Well first you have to learn techniques from the jazz greats of yesteryear. This piano lesson teaches you how to play "Misty" by Erroll Garner. With some practice and basic understanding of music theory and harmony you will s ...more

Want to learn how to improvise and play jazz piano? Well first you have to learn techniques from the jazz greats of yesteryear. This two part piano lesson teaches you how to play "The Christmas Song" by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. With some practice and basic understanding of mus ...more

Want to learn how to improvise and play jazz piano? Well first you have to learn techniques from the jazz greats of yesteryear. This piano lesson teaches you how to play "A House Is Not A Home" by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. With some practice and basic understanding of musi ...more

Want to learn how to improvise and play jazz piano? Well first you have to learn techniques from the jazz greats of yesteryear. This piano lesson teaches you how to improvise in the key of D Major in Ionian mode. With some practice and basic understanding of music theory and h ...more

Want to learn how to improvise and play jazz piano? Well first you have to learn from the jazz greats of yesteryear. This lesson teaches you how to play "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" by Charles Mingus on piano. With some practice and basic understanding of music theory and harmony yo ...more

Would you like to be a soul master? Learning to be an R&B and soul bassist has never been easier with these free videos on music theory. Part 1 of 16 - How to Play soul music on the guitar. Play soul music on the guitar - Part 2 of 16. Click through to watch this video on expe ...more

If you are looking to improve your classical piano technique then this three part how to video is the place to start. You will learn how to practice and study Chopin's nocturne number 20 in C# minor. This detailed lesson goes over where to place the accents, analyzes the dynam ...more

Bottleneck slide guitar is based on an early one string folk instrument called the Diddley-Bow, and the traditional playing style of Hawaiian Guitar. The early Blues Masters of the 1920s and 30s, would place a bottleneck from a wine bottle, or a short piece of metal pipe on th ...more