I’d like to start by saying I’m not an expert on this topic; I just want to share a few things I’ve learned and some useful resources.

In the beginning I thought of music theory as a necessary tool for creating music. However, my opinion on this has changed a little. While it’s great for analyzing music and communicating ideas, it’s not a must-have. But Music theory can be helpful in creating your own music and steering you away from a trial-and-error approach.

understanding Keys

Key Formula for Major Keys:

WWHWWWH

W = Whole Step
H = Half Step
start with the note the scale is named after

example:

G Major Scale

G A B C D E F# G

I ii iii IV V vi vii I

Chord Names

The following chord names contain the following notes from the scale:

Major: 1,3,5

Minor: 1,3,b5

sus2: 1,2,5

sus4: 1,4,5

maj7: 1,3,5,7

7: 1,3,5, b7

m7: 1,b3,5,7

m(maj7): 1,b3,5,7

m7b5: 1,b3,b5,b7

Useful Tools

here are some tools I found useful. All of these are free and require no sign up.

  • Tunebat shows you the key, bpm, loudness and various other details of songs. Useful for playing guitar along with songs or finding patterns in key/BPM with favorite artists.
  • Name that key Tell the website the chords in a song and it will help you find out what key it is.
  • Chord Analyzer type in the fretboard positions and find out what guitar chord it is
  • Chord Chord Automatically generates chord progressions
  • All Guitar Chords Find out how to play any chord on the guitar
  • Scaler display all the scales on guitar
  • Hook Theory Display and listen to the melody and chords of popular songs