Music theory for every instrument

Theory is how music is written and why it sounds the way it does. Start with the basics, which apply to every instrument, then read the page for your instrument. Many pages have a button to hear the example, and the Quick tools button in the corner opens the scale player, circle of fifths and more.

The basics

1. 1Notes and the staveNote names, the stave, the four main clefs, ledger lines, middle C, sharps and flats, and octave numbers like C4.
2. 2Rhythm and metreNote and rest values with UK and US names, dots, ties, time signatures, simple and compound metre, and how to count.
3. 3IntervalsSemitones and tones, interval numbers and qualities, a table of intervals up to the octave, and how intervals turn upside down.
4. 4Scales and keysMajor, minor and pentatonic scales, key signatures, the order of sharps and flats, relative keys and the circle of fifths.
5. 5Chords and harmonyTriads, seventh chords, chord symbols, Roman numerals, inversions and the four main cadences explained simply.
6. 6Expression and tempoDynamics from pp to ff, crescendo and diminuendo, articulation marks, and Italian tempo words with approximate speeds.
7. 7Concert pitch and transposing instrumentsWhy a clarinet, saxophone or horn sounds a different note from the one written, with worked examples and octave transposers.

Your instrument

• Piano and keyboardsHow the piano makes sound, the grand stave, finger numbers 1 to 5, the three pedals and the first theory a pianist needs.
• GuitarStandard tuning E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4, why guitar music is written an octave high, frets, TAB, chord boxes and the capo.
• Bass guitarHow the bass guitar works, its E1 A1 D2 G2 tuning, bass clef reading an octave high, and its job in a band.
• UkuleleUkulele sizes, standard G4 C4 E4 A4 re-entrant tuning, the low-G option and other tunings, plus first theory for players.
• ViolinParts of the violin and bow, open strings G D A E, treble clef, first position finger numbers and notes, high 2 and low 2, bowing signs, pizzicato and arco, tuning and sizes.
• Violin, viola, cello and double bassOpen strings, tuning in fifths and fourths, treble, alto, tenor and bass clefs, and how bowed string instruments make sound.
• WoodwindHow flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone and recorder make sound, plus their clefs and transpositions.
• BrassHow trumpet, horn, trombone and tuba make sound, the harmonic series, valves and slides, clefs and transpositions.
• Drums and percussionPitched and unpitched percussion, the percussion clef, how drum kit notation works, sticking and the first rudiments.
• Drum kitThe parts of a drum kit, how it is played with sticks and feet, how drum kit music is written, a basic rock beat, rudiments, sticking, dynamics and looking after your hearing.
• VoiceHow your voice makes sound, voice types from soprano to bass with approximate ranges, how vocal music is written and voice care.
• Oud and Arabic maqamThe oud, its common tuning, what a maqam and a jins are, the half-flat sign, and four well-known maqamat: Rast, Bayati, Hijaz, Saba.

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