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Go at your own pace
10 Sessions / 1 hours of work per session
Skill Level
Beginner
Topics
Music Theory, Reading Music, Music Notation, Music Education

Not available for purchase in India

Open for Enrollment

Music Theory Level 1: Part Two

Open for Enrollment
You can also start immediately after joining!

Would you like to enroll?

Enrollment for this course has closed. But you can enroll in a future offering (please select)

Enrollment has closed

Go at your own pace
10 Sessions / 1 hours of work per session
Skill Level
Beginner
Topics
Music Theory, Reading Music, Music Notation, Music Education

Not available for purchase in India

Course Description

Welcome to Music Theory Level 1: Part Two

Chords, Scales & Keys


This course introduces you to the basics of chords, scales and keys. You will focus on how notes are arranged in order to make chords, different scales, and how these work together to make keys. This course forms part of the complete Music Theory Fundamentals Guide.


This is a class designed for the average person who is ready to dive into music! Whether you are a beginning musician, an active musician, or an aspiring musician - this class is perfect for you.


For years I've been teaching Music Theory in the college classroom. My approach to music theory is to minimize the memorization. Most of these concepts you can learn by just understanding why chords behave in certain ways. Once you understand those concepts, you can find any scale, key, or chord that exists. Even invent your own. If you've tried to learn music theory before, or if you are just starting out - this series of courses is the perfect fit.


In Part 2: Chords, Scales & Keys, we will cover:

  • My approach to Music Theory
  • Tools you will need to learn Music Theory quickly and efficiently
  • Chromatic and Diatonic scales
  • Ordered Pitch Class Collections
  • The pattern of a Major Scale
  • Scale Degrees
  • Solfege
  • Writing melodies with major scales
  • Analyzing melodies
  • What it means to be "in key"
  • Key signatures
  • How to identify key signatures
  • Popular song analysis
  • Building triads (chords)
  • Diatonic chord progressions
  • Roman numeral analysis
  • Inversions
  • Finding chords by formula
  • The thirds inside of a chord
  • Finding fifths by finding thirds
  • Diminished triads
  • Augmented triads
  • Chords on the guitar
  • Full Analysis: Canon in D (Pachabel)
  • Full Analysis: Minuet in G (Bach)
  • 7th Chords
  • Major 7th Chords
  • Minor 7th Chords
  • Dominant 7th Chords


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Praise for Courses by Jason Allen:

⇢ "It seems like every little detail is being covered in an extremely simple fashion. The learning process becomes relaxed and allows the complex concepts to get absorbed easily. My only regret is not taking this course earlier." - M. Shah

⇢ "Great for everyone without any knowledge so far. I bought all three parts... It's the best investment in leveling up my skills so far.." - Z. Palce

⇢ "Excellent explanations! No more or less than what is needed." - A. Tóth

⇢ "VERY COOL. I've waiting for years to see a good video course, now I don't have to wait anymore. Thank You!" - Jeffrey Koury

 "I am learning LOTS! And I really like having the worksheets!" - A. Deichsel

⇢ "The basics explained very clearly - loads of really useful tips!" - J. Pook

⇢ "Jason is really quick and great with questions, always a great resource for an online class!" M. Smith


Reviews
schedule

This course is in adaptive mode and is open for enrollment. Learn more about adaptive courses here.

Session 1: Getting Started (April 3, 2024)
Before we jump in, let's learn a little bit about how we are going to learn. There are a few free tools I like to use that will help you learn music theory.
2 lessons
1. Overview
2. Tools We Will Use
Session 2: Chromatic & Diatonic Scales (April 10, 2024)
Will start by talking about what scales are. This will be important as we start to learn the patterns of major scales.
4 lessons
1. What Are Scales?
2. Chromatic And Diatonic
3. Ordered Pitch Class Collections
4. Chromatic Scales
Session 3: The Major Scale (April 17, 2024)
We dive in to scales with the most common and popular scale you will encounter: the Major Scale.
4 lessons
1. Whole And Half Pattern
2. Scale Degree And Tonic
3. Solfege
4. Practice
Session 4: Scales and Keys (April 24, 2024)
Knowing major scales will only get us so far. We need to understand how to use these scales before we go any further.
3 lessons
1. Using Major Scales
2. Melody Analysis
3. What Is A Key
Session 5: Major Keys (May 1, 2024)
Key signatures tell us in a really quick and efficient way all the notes in the key. In this section we will work on understanding and identifying key signatures.
3 lessons
1. Major Key Overview
2. What Are Key Signatures
3. Identifying Key Signatures
Session 6: Chords! (May 8, 2024)
The moment you've been waiting for: Time to dive into understanding chords.
8 lessons
1. What Are Chords
2. Song Analysis
3. Triads
4. Building Triads
5. Diatonic Chord Progressions
6. Inversions
7. Roman Numerals
8. Analysis
Session 7: Dissecting Triads (May 15, 2024)
The moment you've been waiting for: Time to dive into understanding chords.
4 lessons
1. What Is Inside Of A Triad
2. The Third Holds The Power
3. Finding Thirds By Half Steps
4. Finding The Fifth By Thirds
Session 8: More with Triads (May 22, 2024)
We still haven't addressed those diminished chords, and there is one other type we haven't talked about at all yet.
4 lessons
1. Diminished Triads
2. Augmented Triads
3. Adding Octaves To Triads
4. Guitar Chords
Session 9: Pieces for Analysis (May 29, 2024)
In this section we will let the rubber hit the road, and do a full analysis of 2 pieces.
6 lessons
1. Analysis Overview
2. Analysis Canon In D
3. Non-chord Tones
4. Minuet In G - Part 1
5. Minuet In G - Part 2
6. Minuet In G - Part 3
Session 10: 7th Chords (June 5, 2024)
There are more chords than just triads. If we add another note, we end up with 7th chords.
8 lessons
1. 7th Chords Overview
2. 4 Types of 7th Chords
3. Major 7th Chords
4. Minor 7th Chords
5. Dominant 7th Chords
6. Blues Chords
7. 56-WhatNext
8. 57-ThanksBye
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Learning Outcomes

Below you will find an overview of the Learning Outcomes you will achieve as you complete this course.

Instructors And Guests
What You Need to Take This Course

Students should be enthusiastic about music, but do not need to be producers or musicians. No prior experience is needed in music - All are welcome!

I'll be using a piece of software in this course that I would like students to get. Don't worry - it's free! And works on Mac and PC computers. I'll tell you more in the first few videos.

Additional Information

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