Learn music theory in 10 minutes in my condensed video explaining the foundation to music theory; scales and chords! In this video you’ll learn the basics of music theory in under 10 minutes. Note names, scales, intervals and to create chords in all scale degrees…in ANY KEY! It’s time to expand your universe and ascend into a broader spectra of musical colors.
Hope you enjoy this first basics episode on music theory for beginners!
Learn music theory in 10 min
The first thing you need to know as a beginner in your music studies is the major and minor scales.
More importantly the major and “natural” minor scale!
How do you know what notes to play in a major scale?
First pick a root key. Your tonic. This is your grounding note. Then you use the music theory “step system” to count the notes of the scale.
Whole Steps and Half Steps: The Basics of Musical Scales
The basic building blocks of chromatic and diatonic scales are half steps and whole steps, the two smallest intervals between notes in Western music.
In the language of music theory, a step is the distance between notes of different pitches. A half step, or semitone, is the smallest interval between notes in Western music. Notes that are directly next to each other—such as E and F, or A sharp and B—are a half step apart. Two half steps equal one whole step. The notes G and A are one whole step apart, as are the notes B flat and C.
What Are Whole Steps?
A whole step is the distance between two notes that have one note in between them. In other words, a whole step is equal to two half steps or two semitones. If you play the note C on the piano, the note D is one whole step above it, and B flat is one whole step below it.
Any scale that proceeds in whole step intervals is a whole tone scale. This type of scale sounds unstable and almost ethereal. If you have ever heard an old film score evoke the sound of “dreams” or “time travel” you may be familiar with the sound of the whole tone scale.
Half Step and Whole Step Pattern in Major Scales
The building block of Western music is the major scale, which consists of seven notes. Starting from the lowest note—the root of the scale—and going up, all major scales progress in the following pattern, regardless of key signature: root, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step (back to the root an octave higher).
Steps in the MAJOR Scale
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Steps in the MINOR Scale
W-H-W-W-H-W-W
