# Sites/lessons that can guide me through theory?



## Alex6534 (Apr 22, 2012)

Hi guys,

I want to learn more theory based material now. I know the standard Diatonic theory but need help tying up the loose ends and help me get a better grasp on e.g. chord progressions/scales(particularly modes that correspond with the harmonic minor scale etc) A lot of my friends have went to college to study music and I really don't want to fall behind them (damn parents making me choose IT   ) An If I can I want to take music to at least be part of my career but want to know what I'm playing. Also to use the theory to aid me in song writing.

Thanks guys, love this community!


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## Solodini (Apr 22, 2012)

Give the free sample chapters of my book a go. There's a link to it in my sig. The sample chapters may go over things you already know but it will give you an idea of my methods for rest the book. Just PM if you face any difficulties with it.


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## Alex6534 (Apr 22, 2012)

I've downloaded it, I'll give it a look tonight. Thanks man! Reckon I'll buy the full edition soon.


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## Solodini (Apr 22, 2012)

Thanks very much! I hope you like it. I'd be interested to know what you think of it, whether you like it or not. If you buy it, I'd really appreciate if you could request it at a shop. It'd be nice for shops to know that people are interested in it! 

I've noticed your PM, by the way. I'll check it when I'm home from work. I don't want to read it now and have it slip my mind!


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## Aevolve (Apr 22, 2012)

This is tried-and-true for scale basics and some chord detail - Ricci Adams' Musictheory.net


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Apr 22, 2012)

First off, this site has some basic information and exercises regarding tonality, diatonicism, and a little bit of chromaticism: Ricci Adams' Musictheory.net

(Edit: )

Now, I'll attempt to teach you some of the foundations of harmony. We're just going to be dealing with the major scale and the minor scale(s) for now, as that's the easiest way to do it. Specifically, we are going to use a scale to build chords. If you get a hang of this, then we'll take a look at chord progressions.







1.) I'm starting with a D major scale, as I think C is bullshit. The first measure simply gives us the tones of the scale: D E F# G A B C#. These tones are numbered 1-7. Whenever you see "1 2 3 4 5 6 7", that means we're talking about the formula of a major scale. More about that in a little while.

2.) The second measure is where we start harmonizing. This harmonization takes place at an interval called a "third". Thirds are determined by note name. For instance, if we start at D (1), E is going to be 2 and F# is going to be 3. So, D-E is a second, D-F# is a third. By extension, D-G is a fourth and you can continue to get to D-D, which is an octave (an 'eighth', but people will slap you if you say 'eighth'). Likewise, if we take E-G, that too is a third. When talking about intervals, you simply label the lower note as "1", and count up letter names from there. So, E(1)-F#(2) is a second, E-G(3) is a third, E-A(4) is a fourth, and so on. As it happens, there are two kinds of thirds: major (M) and minor (m). A major third (M3) is a span of four half-steps (D-F# is an example), and a minor third (m3) is a span of three half-steps (D-F). Major thirds are represented by the numerals 1-3, and minor thirds are 1-b3. Visually, the third is identifiable on a staff by two noteheads that go line to line or space to space; a note is skipped between them.

3.) The third measure is where things start happening. What's going on now is that we're *stacking thirds*. If you look at the first group of notes, you'll see that we have D-F# and F#-A happening at the same time. When you stack two thirds, you get what is know as a *triad*. This is the most basic type of chord. Just as there are different qualities of thirds, there are different qualities of triads as well. If the chord's construction (from the bottom) is M3-m3, then its quality is major. If it's the other way around, m3-M3, then it is minor. You'll also see m3-m3 (diminished) and M3-M3 (augmented). Triads may also be broken down like this:


```
1 3 5 - Major
1 b3 5 - Minor
1 b3 b5 - Diminished
1 3 #5 - Augmented
```
I've gone ahead and labeled all of the chords by their note name and chord quality. So, G is a G major triad (1 3 5), Em is an E minor triad (1 b3 5), and C#° is a C# diminished triad (1 b3 b5). At the bottom of the staff, we're taking the scale formula from before and turning it into Roman numerals. Doing so allows us to us different cases to distinguish different chord qualities: capital numerals are major (I, IV, V), lowercase are minor (ii, iii, vi), and lowercase with ° are diminished (vii°). 

4.) The fourth measure is an extension of the idea above. This measure stacks three thirds on top of each other to achieve *seventh chords*. This is how we determine the quality of a seventh chord:


```
Maj7 (&#8710;) - 1 3 5 7 - M3 m3 M3 - "Major Seventh"
7 - 1 3 5 b7 - M3 m3 m3 - "Dominant Seventh"
m7 - 1 b3 5 b7 - m3 M3 m3 - "Minor Seventh"
m7b5 (ø7) - 1 b3 b5 b7 - m3 m3 M3 - "Half-Diminished Seventh"
```
You can keep stacking thirds ad infinitum, but there' no need to get into that right now.






Now, we'll move on to the minor scales. There are three minor scale, natural, harmonic, and melodic, and we'll cover them in that order. This one is D natural minor.

1.) There are some fundamental differences between the major and minor scales that we will address. I'll point out now that there are three scale degrees that are different between the two. D major is D E F# G A B C#, D minor is D E F G A Bb C. The non-common tones are F# B C# and F Bb C, with the second set being a half-step flat from the first. Remembering that major scale formula from earlier (1 2 3 4 5 6 7), we'll now adjust it to reflect the flattened degrees: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7.

2.) Since we have altered the notes of the scale, the qualities of the thirds in the second measure are now different. This will be manifested in the rest of the harmony of the scale.

3.) The process of building triads is going to be the same, but we're going to have to take the new qualities into account. You'll see in the third measure that the numerals now reflect different chord qualities and the altered scale degrees (b3, b6, b7).

4. Lastly, the seventh chords in the fourth measure. Nothing new here.






1.) As I mentioned before, there are three minor scales: the natural, harmonic, and melodic minor. The last two are formed by taking a natural minor scale (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7), and altering some of the scale degrees. In the harmonic minor, the seventh degree is raised by a half-step (from b7 to 7). So, the formula for the harmonic minor is 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7.

2.) Looking at the third measure, we have a new chord quality to deal with: the augmented triad(+). I mentioned this guy before, and here he is. Also note that there are now two diminished triads in the scale.

3.) The harmonic minor is known for two seventh chords in particular: V7 and vii°7. Obviously, bIII+&#8710; stands out as being different, but it is generally overlooked for reasons that I'll cover some other time. i&#8710;, vii°7 and bIII+&#8710; are unique in their construction, though, so we'll look at them really quickly.


```
m/Maj7 (m&#8710;) - 1 b3 5 7 - m3 M3 M3 - "Minor/Major Seventh" (A minor triad with a major seventh)
dim7 (°7) - 1 b3 b5 bb7 - m3 m3 m3 - "Fully Diminished Seventh"
aug/Maj7 (+&#8710;) - 1 3 #5 7 - M3 M3 m3 - "Augmented Major Seventh"
```






Lastly, the melodic minor scale. This one is like the harmonic minor scale, in that its seventh is raised, but it also has a raised sixth.

Natural minor: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Harmonic minor: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 *7*
Melodic minor: 1 2 b3 4 5 *6 7*


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## Styxmata (Apr 22, 2012)

Guitar Lessons, Music Theory, Bass Lessons, Scales, Chords it's a very good beginner lesson for a little intro into theory and the grasping of the concept and ideas of it.


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## Osorio (Apr 22, 2012)

SchecterWhore said:


> Now, I'll attempt to teach you some of the foundations of harmony. We're just going to be dealing with the major scale and the minor scale(s) for now, as that's the easiest way to do it. Specifically, we are going to use a scale to build chords. If you get a hang of this, then we'll take a look at chord progressions.



Goddammit, SW! Excellent post... I'm not the OP but holy crap, do I want that next lesson in chord progressions... Hope you can find the time to type it out


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## Aevolve (Apr 22, 2012)

SchecterWhore said:


> First off, this site has some basic information and exercises regarding tonality, diatonicism, and a little bit of chromaticism: Ricci Adams' Musictheory.net
> 
> (Edit: )



Holy fuck.. I ninja'd SW. 

Additionally, SW- could you clarify what "&#8710;" signifies? It's new to me.


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## Solodini (Apr 23, 2012)

The triangle is a major 7, denoting a major chord with a major 7th, or denoting a major 7th added to another chord in the case of symbols like A minor^ (my phone lacks a triangle key!)


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## Aevolve (Apr 23, 2012)

Solodini said:


> The triangle is a major 7, denoting a major chord with a major 7th, or denoting a major 7th added to another chord in the case of symbols like A minor^ (my phone lacks a triangle key!)



So is the triangle used interchangeably to notate the 7th in say.. C7 or E7 (because those are major 7th chords)? Or am I just totally confused?


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## Solodini (Apr 23, 2012)

Yeah, the triangle is the same as M7.

Edit: this was in response to when the post above said M7, not just 7.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Apr 23, 2012)

PeachesMcKenzie said:


> So is the triangle used interchangeably to notate the 7th in say.. C7 or E7 (because those are major 7th chords)? Or am I just totally confused?



Nope. C7 is C E G Bb. C&#8710; (Cmaj7) is C E G B. Compare E7 (E G# B D) to E&#8710; (E G# B D#). 

I like to use the delta symbol because it saves space, although it might not be the most immediately apparent notation in the world.

This is my system for describing triads:


```
Major triad: nothing, ex: G
Minor triad: m, ex: Fm
Diminished triad: °, ex: B#°
Augmented triad: +, ex: Eb+
```
Then, when attaching sevenths, you really only need to know three symbols. Keep in mind that these describe the actual interval and not a specific chord, so "major seventh" refers to a M7 interval and not a Gmaj7 chord.


```
Major seventh: &#8710;
Minor seventh: 7
Diminished seventh: °7
```
Then, with that information, you can slap those onto any of the triads above. I'll exclude diminished sevenths for all except the diminished triad, since it only yields nonsense chords for most triad types.


```
D&#8710;, D7
Abm&#8710;, Abm7
G#°&#8710;, G#ø7, G#°7
B+&#8710;, B+7
```
See how that works? It's completely modular. The only one I have to change things for is the half-diminished seventh chord (ø7), since putting a diminished triad (°) together with a minor seventh (7) yields a symbol that looks like the notation for a diminished seventh (°7). And, no, I don't like saying "m7b5", because in all of its iterations, it's twice the work of "ø7". It's twice the number of characters, twice the amount of space, nearly twice the number of syllables, and twice the amount of scolding that I have to do because it's a diminished triad and not a minor triad with some unnecessary alteration that we already have a word for.  I only included m7b5 in my first post because Finale makes it a pain in the ass to input a superscript ø in chord symbols, and I have to redo it every time I start a new document.








Truth be told, it's not that much more work. However, the fonts are shit and it's not very clear whether you're looking at ø, °, &#8226;, or a smudge unless you do some serious tinkering in the fonts preferences. You got me, Finale. I don't like to compromise, but I'll give into your damned jazz notation. (And don't get me started on the godawful jazz font, wherein "D" looks like "O".)


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## Aevolve (Apr 24, 2012)

Nice Finale rant there man. 

Anyways- so how would this be read?

```
Abm&#8710;
```
An A flat minor triad with a major 7th? Wouldn't that make it an A flat minor/major 7 chord? I can't say that I'm completely understanding this.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Apr 25, 2012)

Yes.

Abm&#8710; - Ab Cb Eb G
Abm/Maj7 - Ab Cb Eb G
Ab minor/Major 7 - Ab Cb Eb G


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## Aevolve (Apr 25, 2012)

SchecterWhore said:


> Yes.
> 
> Abm&#8710; - Ab Cb Eb G
> Abm/Maj7 - Ab Cb Eb G
> Ab minor/Major 7 - Ab Cb Eb G



Ah, I was getting it. Alright, thanks man.


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## BluesPlayer76 (Apr 27, 2012)

Try my website - it's all free and written by me:

http://fastfingersguitarlessons

I need to add categories to all the content (which I did before my site crash).

I have nice 7 part series on intervals, chord theory, etc etc.

BluesPlayer76


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