Music Theory

You already hear it…

You know when a chord change works. You feel tension and release. You recognize a bridge when it hits. But when someone asks “what key is this in?” or “is that a ii-V?” — you freeze.

This course is where producers, vocalists, and instrumentalists learn to speak music fluently, without needing to read every note on the page. We cover harmony, song structure, and the vocabulary that connects them — no classical background required.

12 chapters of ground covered

• Scales and the language — the building blocks of melody and harmony, and what “key” actually means
• Your first chords — major, minor, dominant, and how they function in a progression
• The 10-Chord Toolkit — a streamlined framework for understanding the chords that matter and how they relate. Two chapters on this because it’s the core of the course
• Song form and arrangement — verse, chorus, bridge, pre-chorus. How to hear and talk about song structure
• Ear training — finding tonic, hearing cadences, and developing the listening skills that connect theory to music
• Borrowed chords and four-chord progressions — how songs break the rules of their key and why it sounds good
• Voice leading — how chords connect smoothly, and the movement patterns that make progressions feel natural
• Rhythm, meter, and feel — counting, time signatures, and the rhythmic side of music that theory courses often skip
• Modes and blues — without the mystique

Do you like talking about music and watching Beat Kitchen theory videos? This class is for you.