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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We introduced Interval Bingo — a browser-based ear training game played in multiplayer and solo modes — and worked through identifying intervals within dyads and triads by listening, singing, and reasoning from known chord shapes. The session focused on the practical skill of isolating individual voices inside a chord: hearing the top note first, finding the bottom, and using chord quality (major, minor) to infer the intervals in between.
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We used Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" (written by Rod Temperton, produced by Quincy Jones) as a vehicle for analyzing chord voicing, bass function, and cadence types. Covered the difference between perfect and plagal cadences, and introduced the "super sus" chord — a slash chord that stacks a IV chord in the right hand over a V bass note, combining both cadential motions simultaneously. Demonstrated how this voicing technique appears throughout soul, gospel, and R&B, and how it can be practiced as a movable shape across the keyboard.
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We worked on extracting chord progressions from electronic tracks purely by ear — no instruments allowed during the listening phase. The exercise focused on using the voice as an analytical tool: singing bass notes, tracing scale direction, identifying the tonic, and then doing a final instrument check to confirm. We worked through three tracks, identified their key centers and progressions, and connected the process to harmonic series concepts to explain why certain note relationships are so easy to hear.
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Covered the limitations of traditional music theory when applied to contemporary rock and songwriting, using chord quality recognition and ear training as a practical entry point. Discussed how borrowing chords outside a key's diatonic set is common and useful, and why chasing what sounds good often matters more than fitting strict theoretical rules. Offered guidance on learning songs by ear, alternate guitar tunings, guitar setup and maintenance, and using a DAW to capture and develop ideas.
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We explored secondary dominants using a real-world example: the chord progression from "Hush" by The Marias (A minor 9 – D7 – G major 7 – G7). The central question was how to identify and label non-diatonic dominant seventh chords in a progression whose key center is itself ambiguous. Discussion moved through multiple analytical lenses — five-of-five, five-of-four, modal interchange, and 2-5-1 in a relative major — without settling on a single definitive answer, which itself became part of the lesson.
All resident events are included with your Beat Kitchen Residency.
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