Beginner Music Theory Course

Lesson 1 • Reading the Staff and Clefs

Teaches the five-line staff and the treble and bass clef systems. Enables students to locate and name written pitches accurately.

Lesson 2 • How Sound Becomes Music

Covers the physics of sound waves and how frequency creates pitch. Grounds all future music theory in the physical reality of sound.

Lesson 3 • The Musical Alphabet

Introduces the seven letter names used in Western music and their repeating pattern. Provides the naming system used throughout the entire course.

Lesson 1 • The Beat and Pulse

Defines the beat as the steady pulse underlying all music. Connects note values to real-time duration through counting and tapping exercises.

Lesson 2 • Time Signatures Explained

Explains the top and bottom numbers of a time signature and their meaning. Students correctly group beats into measures in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4.

Lesson 3 • Compound Meter Fundamentals

Introduces 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 as compound meters where the beat divides into three. Expands rhythmic literacy beyond simple duple and triple meter.

Lesson 4 • Ties, Slurs, and Syncopation

Distinguishes ties from slurs and introduces off-beat rhythmic patterns. Prepares students to read more complex rhythmic notation accurately.

Lesson 1 • Natural, Harmonic, and Melodic Minor

Presents the three forms of the minor scale and their distinct interval patterns. Students distinguish each form by sound and written structure.

Lesson 2 • Relative and Parallel Minor Keys

Clarifies the difference between relative minor and parallel minor relationships. Students find the relative minor of any major key and vice versa.

Lesson 3 • Key Signatures and the Circle of Fifths

Explains how key signatures eliminate repeated accidentals and introduces the circle of fifths as an organizational tool. Students identify all 15 major key signatures.

Lesson 4 • Pentatonic and Blues Scales

Introduces the major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blues scales as practical melodic tools. Connects scale theory to widely used musical styles.

Lesson 1 • Interval Inversion

Teaches the rule that inverted interval numbers sum to nine and qualities flip between major and minor. Students quickly identify inversions without recounting.

Lesson 2 • Interval Numbers and Half Steps

Defines intervals by counting letter names and half steps between two pitches. Establishes the numeric naming system for all subsequent interval work.

Lesson 3 • Consonance, Dissonance, and Ear Training

Categorizes intervals as consonant or dissonant and links each to its characteristic sound. Develops the ear alongside the theoretical framework.

Lesson 4 • Minor, Diminished, and Augmented Qualities

Explains how lowering or raising intervals by a half step changes their quality. Completes the full interval quality system from diminished to augmented.

Lesson 1 • Triad Inversions

Explains root position, first inversion, and second inversion using figured bass notation. Students identify and notate all inversions of any triad.

Lesson 2 • Diatonic Triads in Major Keys

Builds a triad on each scale degree of the major scale and assigns Roman numeral labels. Students identify the quality of every diatonic chord in any major key.

Lesson 3 • Diatonic Triads in Minor Keys

Derives diatonic triads from the natural and harmonic minor scales. Students compare minor key chord qualities to their major key counterparts.

Lesson 4 • Triad Structure and Stacking Thirds

Defines a triad as three pitches built by stacking two thirds and names the root, third, and fifth. Connects interval knowledge directly to chord construction.

Lesson 1 • Adding the Seventh to Triads

Explains how a seventh interval above the root creates a four-note chord. Connects triad knowledge to the richer sound of seventh chords.

Lesson 2 • Diatonic Seventh Chords in Major

Assigns seventh chord types to each scale degree of the major scale using Roman numerals. Students identify the seventh chord quality at any diatonic position.

Lesson 3 • Introduction to Ninth Chords

Introduces the major ninth and dominant ninth as extensions beyond the seventh. Provides a conceptual bridge to jazz and contemporary harmony.

Lesson 4 • Seventh Chord Inversions

Extends figured bass notation to cover all four positions of a seventh chord. Students notate and identify root position through third inversion.

Lesson 1 • The Authentic and Half Cadence

Explains cadences as harmonic punctuation and focuses on V–I and ending on V. Students identify and write authentic and half cadences in four-part style.

Lesson 2 • Common Chord Progressions

Analyzes frequently used progressions such as I–IV–V–I, I–V–vi–IV, and ii–V–I. Students recognize these patterns in popular, classical, and jazz contexts.

Lesson 3 • Plagal and Deceptive Cadences

Introduces IV–I and V–vi as alternative cadential resolutions. Expands students' ability to recognize and use varied harmonic endings.

Lesson 4 • Secondary Dominants

Introduces the concept of tonicizing non-tonic chords using V/x notation. Students add secondary dominants to progressions to create harmonic color.

Lesson 1 • Score Reading and Full Analysis

Applies all course concepts to analyze a complete short piece for melody, harmony, rhythm, and form. Serves as the capstone integration of all prior learning.

Lesson 2 • Melodic Contour and Phrase Structure

Examines how melodies rise, fall, and arch and how phrases create musical sentences. Students identify antecedent and consequent phrases in written examples.

Lesson 3 • Motives and Melodic Development

Defines the motive as the smallest melodic unit and explores repetition, sequence, and variation. Students identify motivic development in short musical excerpts.

Lesson 4 • Rondo, Theme and Variations, and Sonata

Surveys larger formal structures used in classical and popular music. Students label sections and describe the function of each part in extended forms.