---
title: 'The ULTIMATE Music Theory Crash Course (in under 25 minutes)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=vjIv4Gbmnj8'
video_id: 'vjIv4Gbmnj8'
date: 2026-06-28
duration_sec: 1495
---

# The ULTIMATE Music Theory Crash Course (in under 25 minutes)

> Source: [The ULTIMATE Music Theory Crash Course (in under 25 minutes)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=vjIv4Gbmnj8)

## Summary

This video is a comprehensive music theory crash course for producers, covering everything from basic notes and intervals to scales, chords, chord progressions, and melodies. The instructor explains how to build major and minor scales, construct triads and seventh chords, and use chord progressions to evoke specific emotions. It also covers musical time, inversions, and scale relativity to help beginners write melodies that fit their chord progressions.

### Key Points

- **Melody, Chord, and Harmony Defined** [0:22] — A melody is a series of single notes played in succession to create a phrase that conveys emotion. A chord is three or more notes played at once. Harmony is when melody and chords play together simultaneously.
- **Notes and Octaves on the Keyboard** [1:36] — White keys are natural notes (A-G). Black keys are sharps/flats (e.g., C sharp = B flat). An octave is the distance from one note to the next same-note (e.g., A to A).
- **Whole Steps and Half Steps** [2:45] — A whole step is two keyboard notes away; a half step is one note away. Example: five half steps from D equals one whole + two whole + half = two and a half steps.
- **Major and Minor Scale Formulas** [3:46] — Minor scale pattern: whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. Major scale pattern: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. Major = brighter, minor = darker.
- **Building Triads: Root, Fifth, and Third** [7:53] — To build a triad: root note, then a fifth (7 half steps up), then either a minor third (3 half steps) or major third (4 half steps). Major chords sound brighter; minor chords sound darker.
- **Chords from Scale Degrees and Seventh Chords** [10:00] — In any scale, each degree has a chord. You can build chords by counting scale degrees (e.g., 1-3-5 for a triad). Adding a seventh degree creates a seventh chord, common in jazz/blues.
- **Musical Time: 4/4 and Bar Structure** [12:34] — Most Western music uses 4/4 time: four beats per bar. Chord progressions are typically 4 or 8 bars long. Downbeats are the first beat of each bar.
- **Common Chord Progressions and Their Emotions** [15:12] — Examples: 5-6-1-7 in minor = uplifting/dancy; 1-3-5-4 in minor = deep house vibe; 6-7-1-3 in minor = uplifting (used in 'Firestone').
- **Chord Voicings: Open, Inversions, and Doubling** [17:29] — Open voicing spreads out chord notes (e.g., moving the third up an octave). Inversions move the third or fifth down an octave for a smoother feel. Doubling notes (e.g., root or third) adds emphasis.
- **Scale Relativity for Melody Writing** [20:14] — Every minor scale shares notes with a relative major scale (e.g., A minor and C major). To find relative major, go up three scale degrees from the minor tonic. Rooting a melody on the tonic (e.g., A in A minor) gives a serious feel; rooting on the relative major tonic (C) gives a brighter feel.

## Transcript

if you're a music producer this is the
last music theory tutorial you will ever
need we're going to cover the basics of
Music Theory and everything you need to
create really good chords and Melodies
let's get started this is a
note this is a
melody or in other words a series of
single notes played in succession to
create a phrase that conveys emotion
tells a story or forms the backbone of a
song Here's a
[Music]
chord or three or more notes played at
one time now here's a progression of
[Music]
chords now here's our chord progression
playing simultaneously with our Melody
and together they create Harmony Harmony
is when more than one line of Music in
this case our first line of music is our
Melody our second line is our chords
play together simultaneously so how do
we get here or in other words how do we
have a Melody with a bunch of notes that
work together with these chords to form
a harmony let's break down what's going
on here so we have a better idea music
theory is broken down into these pitches
we call
notes on our keyboard we have all these
white notes these are the natural notes
and they are labeled from
[Music]
a through G and then they repeat from a
through G again until the end of the
keyboard from a to to a is called an
octave and that's the same for every
other note so from E to e is also an
octave octaves go down as well so from a
to a is also an octave on our keyboard
we also see this repeating pattern of
black notes these notes represent the
white keys so for example if we take
this black note that's right above the C
that's called C sharp however each black
note has two names this black note also
touches this B so it is a B flat here's
another example we have this black note
here it's up from the G so it is a G
sharp and it's down from the a which
makes it an A flat as well now that we
covered pitches and notes we have to
understand two types of movements
throughout the keyboard one is whole
step movements the other is half step
movements for example let's look at this
C note here one whole step from this
C goes right here or in other words a
whole step step is always going to be
two keyboard notes away a half
step is always going to be one Keyboard
Note away here's a quiz for you if we
take a d note let's place a note five
half steps away try to pause this video
and guess 5/ half steps away would be 1
2 3 4
5 right here another way to look at this
distance is that it's one whole step two
whole steps and a half so two and have
whole steps now that we understand steps
let's talk about scales scales help you
strategically put notes together to form
a desired emotion and a scale is just a
group of notes that sound good together
now there are two main scales that
you're going to have to know and that's
the minor scale and the major scale
let's first make the minor scale we'll
start on any note and then we add a
whole step a half step whole whole half
whole whole now we have the minor scale
that alone sounds like a melody now
let's make the major scale which is the
other popular scale now for this scale
you start on any note then you add a
whole step whole half whole whole whole
half now the words major and minor come
from the quality that is generated from
the notes within that scale for example
the major scale generates a more
positive or brighter tone and we can
hear that just by flaring the scale like
this and now here's the minor scale
which generates a more serious
[Music]
tone hear
that is that kind of cool now keep in
mind when you know the formula to build
a certain scale you can build that scale
on any key for example this black note
here is called an fshp if I wanted to
build the minor scale within the key of
f we would start there and build out our
scale we start on the F and we go whole
half ho ho half whole
ho and now we have the Minor Scale based
on the F or in other words the F minor
[Music]
scale now that's how to write a scale
but how do you use a scale you use a
scale by first picking a scale that will
help guide you toward a specific emotion
and then you limit yourself to only
using the notes within that scale so for
example if I want to write a melody for
my horror movie score something dark
I'll need to pick a scale that'll help
guide me toward that emotion remember we
said the minor scale carries a darker
mood and now to make a Melody within
this scale we can use any of these notes
but we can't place any Melody notes on
these blank spaces otherwise that's
called stepping out of key stepping out
of key does not sound natural let's make
our Melody
[Music]
let's add a little bit of Reverb to it
because we are producers after
[Music]
all that's pretty creepy but hold on a
second you remember earlier we discussed
the concept of octaves just because we
wrote Our scale here doesn't mean we're
stuck to these seven notes we can add
some salt and pepper to our Melody by
using different octaves to add more
notes We'll add a couple notes up
here then if you want to get a really
creepy effect you scroll down to a
really low
octave and put one of
[Music]
them now the world of scales is pretty
expansive there's the popular scales
like the major and minor scale in
western music but there's also the blue
scale the pentatonic major
scale there's even these seven weird
things called modes one of which is
called the lockran mode which is known
for its uncanny unstable
[Music]
character and my favorite scale which is
the harmonic minor
scale and every scale or mode is
designed to help you aim toward a
specific spefic emotion story or mood
for your music so when you're studying
make sure to practice and learn the
sound of each scale so you can really
figure out which scale will help you
develop your own unique sound now with
that being said let's go ahead and shift
our Focus onto chords scales help guide
us toward a broad emotional Direction
but chords help refine that emotion into
something more specific now to build a
chord you can pick any note to make it
easy we'll start on this a we're going
to make this a the bottom note of our
chord which is a great place to start
when you're practicing the bottom note
of the chord is called the root note the
second note you add is a
fifth the fifth is always going to be
seven half steps up from the root 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 the third note your chord
gets is either the minor
third which is three half steps up from
the root or the major third
major chords have a brighter tone to
them then their chord
sibling which are minor
[Music]
chords do you hear the difference
now these chords are called Triads
because they have three notes and the
way you name a Triad is based on the
root note and the position of that third
so here our root node is a so we have an
a major chord here our root node is also
a but we have that minor third so we
have an A minor chord now technically if
we get rid of these fifths we still have
a major third right here and a minor
third right here and these are called
intervals intervals are two notes played
at once then when you add that third
note they become that major Triad or
that Minor triad now that you know how
to make a chord you have to know how
chords relate to scales as this will
give you what you need to write chord
progressions and that's where the fun
stuff starts now how do chords relate to
scales by the way I'm switching to logic
here's the a minor scale again just to
make things easy and in any given minor
or major scale you have not only seven
notes but you also have seven chords one
chord for each note one note for each
degree of the scale in every scale each
degree of the scale is numbered from 1
through seven so the chord on the first
degree of that scale you could also call
the one chord in that scale that's the
same for the second third and so on and
so forth with that being said another
way to make chords is just to count the
degrees of the scales instead of doing
all this whole step and half step stuff
for example if you're in the a minor
scale and you you want to make the one
chord which in other words is the tonic
the first chord of the scale and then
add your next note 3° up the scale and
then you add your fifth which is 5° up
the scale and there's our Triad now the
other cool thing about using degrees to
build your chords is that you can go a
little farther into the chord system for
example this is a
Triad because it has three notes but you
could also add a seventh degree to your
Triads to make a seventh chord
in other words you could take any chord
in your scale add the third 3° up go 5
Dees up from the root and add the fifth
and then we can add the
seventh and that's how we would build
our seventh chords wherever we want in
the scale now seventh chords give off a
different energy than just basic Triads
they used to be more common in genres
like jazz and blues but now producers
are using these chords in any genre
to add that very Jazzy and bluesy flavor
to anything now check this out here's a
little dance beat I made with basic
Triads I'm going to play it back and I'm
going to add the sevenths to each chord
and we'll see if you could hear the
difference here's the Triad
[Music]
version I'll take each of these
chords We'll add the seventh degree to
each chord
now that you understand notes scales
steps and chords it's time we talk about
chord progressions chord progressions
are the emotional backbone of any song
now in order to make chord progressions
you have to understand two things the
first thing is musical time like how
music moves the second thing which is a
little harder and that is how to string
chords together in order to create the
desired emotion that you're going for
let's first discuss musical time most
western music is written in a time
signature called 44 this is the most
common time signature in songwriting and
understanding 44 is essential for
writing core progressions the way to
understand 44 is to look inside your
software of choice I'm in logic and
you'll notice these numbers across the
arrangement grid these numbers are bars
or measures you can call them and you'll
notice there's four lines before every
bar counts up a number those lines are
Beats so 44 means four beats per bar
play it with the metronome on so you
could hear
it if I increase the tempo our musical
time will go faster but we will still be
in
44 and that latter beat which happens on
these thicker grid lines are called down
beats this is when that fourth beat
resets and it starts over again now
because of this 44 time signature most
core progressions that you make or here
will be four bars long or some multiple
of
four another common length for chord
progressions is an eight bar progression
like
this you notice it moves a a little
slower eight bar progressions are still
common in most music although slightly
less common than the four bar
progression now let's talk about the
most important part of chord
progressions which is writing chord
progressions that actually sound good
and that generate the right emotion for
the song you're trying to create so to
make a cord progression pick any scale
I'm going to use the a minor scale
remember that there are seven chords
that we can choose from in the a minor
scale we can use any octave our starting
point is to make a progression with four
chords that is four bars long you can
obviously make your chords however long
you want but this is a good starting
point here's the first progression that
I came up with it is the 1 7 4 and 6 in
the a minor
[Music]
scale now when you're practicing and
randomly piece pieing together different
chord combinations you want to listen
for the emotion that that chord
progression is giving off because as you
get better at this you will start to
remember which chord combinations
generate certain emotions here's a
couple examples of go-to progressions
that I like to use to generate certain
emotions for this first one it's the 5 6
1 and 7 in the minor scale this gives me
a very uplifting Vibe and it's good for
Dancy kind of cheesy EDM music
here's an eight bar progression I like
to use in deep house songs because of
its deep Vibe it's the
1354 in the minor
scale here's a 7145 56 in the a minor
scale this is the chord progression that
Fred again used in adore you it's a fun
group of chords to play around with in
dance
[Music]
music here's one of the most popular
chord progressions in all of music it's
the
6713 in the minor scale and this is how
it was used in kao's Firestone
it's very uplifting happy progression
now I can show you all day different
chord progressions that I use to
generate different emotions when I'm
writing songs however there are still
different things that you could do to
your chord progressions to make them
sound interesting as well for example
downward moving progressions tend to
give off more of a serious or sad tone
[Music]
upward progressions or upward movements
will tend to give off a more uplifting
or positive
[Music]
tone another thing with progressions is
that you can move the notes and the
chords around to get a smoother more
satisfying sound when your chords are
constructed from the root to the third
to the fifth that is called root form or
in other words their most basic form
when all your chords are in the most
basic form you might get a pretty basic
sound at times so what you can do is you
can select some notes in the chords for
example we'll take the
third you can spread out the third this
is called open
[Music]
voicing here's the chords without open
voicing
[Music]
same chord slightly different sound
another thing you can do is double the
notes in the chord that you think are
more important or helping the song the
most so what I like to do is take the
base notes of my
chords and double them and see if
that'll work and I'll also maybe double
a high
[Music]
note that's my chords with a doubled
root and a doubled third there's also
these things called inversions and
that's when you can either take the
third or the fifth or
both and put it an octave down to give
your progression a more tucked in linear
feel a lot of times these inversions
sound smoother and easier on the
ears that's a pretty unique sound oh
yeah one more thing don't forget
rearticulate your chords at times to
either add energy to them for a
different part of the song or make them
more suitable for the genre you're
working in I like to make house music so
I might do this a
[Music]
[Applause]
lot I love these chords why didn't I
ever use these chords before for this
final section of the video I want to
talk about Melodies melodies are the
most creative part of Music Theory
because there are infinite possibilities
for how you can write melodies the
reason for this is that every other part
of Music Theory whether it's chords
scales and every other thing we touched
on in this video all those things have
Frameworks like for example to make a
chord you have a root a third and a
fifth to make a minor scale there's a
formula you follow to make that scale to
make a major scale there's a formula you
follow to make that scale Melodies are a
little different because they are less
def find which makes it a little bit
more tricky but it also gives you
infinite possibilities to really express
yourself as a musical artist to write
good Melodies I think you have to
understand one thing and that is scale
relativity so let's start here every
minor scale shares the same notes with a
relative major scale for example here
are all of the notes in the a minor
scale notice that all of the notes in
the a minor scale are the white keys if
we write out the c major scale again
it's all the white keys this is because
a minor and C major are relative scales
to find the relative major scale of your
minor scale that you're in you would go
to the third degree of that scale and
that is your relative major if you're in
a major scale and you want to find the
relative minor you would go to the sixth
degree of that scale and that would be a
relative minor so how do we take that
information and apply it to building a
Melody well with Melodies you can
technically start anywhere you want and
just go and see where the music takes
[Music]
you but I think that idea makes it
tricky especially if you're a beginner
because again you don't have that
starting point so you're kind of just
throwing darts at a dartboard hoping
something will stick and when you get
good you're going to do that a lot it'll
work for you but when you're just
starting out you can use music theory to
help give you a starting point for
writing your Melodies step one is you
want to start with the set of chords it
gives you some kind of emotional
Foundation to build on I'm going to use
the F major G major a minor back to G
major they sound like
[Music]
this now this is a good neutral chord
progression in the scale of a minor C
major has a mix of minor and major
chords so we can use our Melody to
either enhance its major side or enhance
its minor side with a Melody technically
you can start on whichever note you want
but here's what I recommend go to the
tonic of the scale that you are in or
the relative tonic so we're in a minor
I'm just going to put a note on a and
step one I always do this
I write a repetitive note on the tonic
and then I play it back to help
calibrate my emotions and get myself in
a musical
[Music]
mood so we kind of get like a serious
Vibe all right so now I'm going to build
My Melody based on this tonic note every
Melody focuses on One Singular note no
matter how many notes is included in
that Melody that Melody is always
focused on a singular note usually it's
the tonic of the key signature that your
song is in so I'm just going to move
these notes
[Music]
around I'm going to keep the first note
on that tonic and then we'll get
[Music]
This Isn't that cool you kind of get
like that
emphasized serious Vibe drilled into
your head now watch this remember I said
every Melody is going to have its focus
note in this case it's that tonic that
we started the melody on if I take this
melody now I take this tonic and I put
it on the relative major which is the C
it's going to emphasize the major side
of these chords but I also have to
rewrite this
melody in the major scale then we get
[Music]
this See's like more uplifting happy
positive that is a big difference from
the minor rooted
[Music]
Melody but that's how I relate Theory to
writing Melodies Melodies are going to
be a little bit trickier because they
are less defined than everything else
but if you use that as a starting point
like rooting your Melody on a certain
tonic I think you'll pick it up pretty
quickly that is a video for you thanks
so much for watching for more resources
like coaching programs courses and
soundpacks visit my website at the top
of the description below and stay tuned
for the next video