Usable Music Theory Part 1: Harmony and Chord Progressions

Explore the major scale, its whole step and half step pattern, and how sharps and flats shape keys like C major, F major, and G major.

Learn how to construct triads from the major scale by stacking thirds to form major, minor, and diminished chords, and explore root position and inversions.

Build triads from the major scale by stacking thirds, showing 1, 4, 5 as major (dominant); 2, 3, 6 as minor; and 7 as diminished, with cadences to 1.

Explore how the major scale expands from triads to four-note seventh chords, detailing major seventh, minor seventh, dominant seventh, and minor seventh flat five with practical Logic Pro demonstrations.

Explore the three primary chords in the major scale—the tonic, four chord, and five chord—and how they function as home base, pre-dominant, and dominant in common progressions.

Explore how the I IV V major-chord progression appears in rock and pop, with song examples and the authentic cadence back to I, plus practice with 4 and 5.

Explore how the tonic, subdominant, and dominant chord families create home base, departure, and resolution in C major, using 1, 3, 6 chords, their inversions, and 5–1 cadences.

Explore circle progressions and how chords resolve to the home tonic via the tonic, pre-dominant, and dominant families, including two to five to one and four to seven to one.

Learn how the Nashville numbering system uses scale-degree numbers to transpose progressions quickly. In any key, the 2 chord is minor, and the 4 and 5 chords are major.

Learn a step-by-step method to figure out a song’s chords by identifying root notes on keys, testing major and minor options, and following common progressions in pop music.

This lecture explains chord inversions and voice leading, demonstrates a six-four-one-five progression in C major, shows how common tones smooth voice leading, and introduces the Nashville numbering system for transposition.

Explore the 6-4-1-5 chord progression and its voice-leading ideas through real-world examples like granade and you and your hand, including second inversions and secondary dominants.

This lecture explains the I-V-vi-IV chord progression, voice leading, inversions, and voicings, with real-world examples like take on me to illustrate harmony.

Demystify the circle of fifths as a visual map of major keys and key signatures, and learn how sharps, flats, and the whole-step, half-step pattern shape major scales.

Explore usable music theory part 1: harmony and chord progressions through chord leading guidelines. Start from the one chord per measure and move to two, three, five in four-four time.

start with the target one chord and work backward to connect to five, two, and four, using reverse progression to reach the desired harmony.