Theory Gym
Weekly. Morning music theory workout. Included with residency.
Start your day at the gym with a morning music theory workout. Scales, chords, intervals, ear training exercises, and guided practice with fellow residents.
Upcoming Sessions
Recent Sessions
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Covered chord extensions and color tones through the lens of polychords — stacking two independent triads or chords to produce richer four- and five-note harmonies. Demonstrated how upper extensions (9, 11, 13, flat 9, sharp 9, sharp 11) can be understood as embedded triads within a single chord, and worked through voicing, inversion, and omission strategies for making those combinations usable. Used "Strawberry Fields Forever" as an analysis example to show how melody-first writing can drive harmonic choices rather than the reverse.
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We worked through a chord-by-chord analysis of a student-submitted song, using it as a vehicle for ear training at the harmonic level. The focus was on identifying borrowed chords, slash chords, and functional voice leading — and on developing the habit of listening from a 10,000-foot functional view before zooming in to specific voicings. We also connected recurring chord progressions to named "tropes" drawn from well-known songs, framing harmonic pattern recognition as a transferable, buildable skill.
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Covered rhythm, meter, and time signatures — specifically how to distinguish between common meters (4/4, 3/4, 6/8, 2/4) and why the differences matter less than knowing where the strong beats land. Used "Happy Birthday," Nina Simone's "My Baby Just Cares for Me," "Here Comes the Sun," and "House of the Rising Sun" as live examples, with particular attention to how the Beatles track moves through what sounds like a meter change but can be counted straight through in 4/4. Introduced the concept of syncopation as a preview for the following session.
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Covered the minor 6 chord — what it is, how it functions, and where it naturally appears in a key — using Matthew Wilder's "Ain't Nothin' Gonna Break My Stride" as the primary study subject. Demonstrated how the song's verse is built around an Eb minor 6 chord functioning as a minor iv resolving to I (in Bb), showed the equivalence between a minor 6 chord and a minor 7 flat 5 (half-diminished) in root position, and traced the song's series of key changes through the verse, chorus, and bridge. Also introduced the reggae rhythmic feel by contrasting a standard downbeat-driven bass/chord pattern with the upbeat-focused "one drop" skank pattern.
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Worked through interval ear training using the Beat Kitchen chord quiz tool, focusing on how to hear and identify intervals within a chord context. Covered the characteristic sounds of major and minor thirds, fourths, fifths, tritones, major and minor sixths, and major sevenths. Introduced the concept of interval inversion and how it affects perceived quality.
All resident events are included with your Beat Kitchen Residency.
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