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
- Sep 15 Jon Mattox
- Sep 20 Nathan
- Sep 22 Nathan
Recent Sessions
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We analyzed "Just the Two of Us" (Bill Withers / Grover Washington Jr.) as a vehicle for understanding tritone substitution, secondary dominants, the two-five-one motion as a pivot into the subdominant, and passing chords. The chord progression — identical between verse and chorus — was worked through in the key of C for clarity, with the key bass motion and chromatic inner voice movement identified. We closed by building a set of extended chord voicings (minor 9, minor 7, dominant 13) derived from the song's chromatic passing sequence, with the A minor → A♭ minor → G minor 7 → C pattern as a practical keyboard exercise.
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We worked through the harmonic structure of "Maneater" (Hall & Oates), tracing a chromatic descending bass line through the chorus and identifying the chords that wrap around it — including a first-inversion five chord, a flat-seven major chord, and a secondary dominant functioning as the five of two. The session also covered the Picardy third that appears at the end of the song's A-section, how diminished chords function as rootless dominant seventh chords, and what a line cliché looks like in practice. Ear-training work ran throughout: participants sang and voted on bass motion (up/down, half step/whole step/jump) before identifying chords.
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Covered the harmonic series as the origin of the diatonic scale, then explored what happens when you construct a scale by descending through circle-of-fifths logic rather than ascending — arriving at the Phrygian mode as a "south-facing" mirror of the standard Ionian construction. Used that framework to reframe negative harmony: less as a direct chord-mirroring trick and more as a way to locate distant harmonic colors, particularly the leading-tone relationship in descending scalar motion. Also touched on the Dorian mode as a palindrome (W-H-W-W-W-H-W), tetrachord construction as a tool for building and comparing scales, and briefly demonstrated an online scale/chord reference tool. A chord matrix Josephine had built was reviewed and discussed.
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Covered syncopation as a rhythmic concept — how accenting off-beats and weak beats creates forward motion and rhythmic tension. Traced the concept from Western classical meter through Caribbean clave, reggae, jazz swing, stride piano, and popular music, with listening examples throughout. Introduced passing chords as the planned topic for next session.
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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.
All resident events are included with your Beat Kitchen Residency.
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