Transcript for:
Quick Guide to Music Theory Basics

This is shred and today I'm going to teach  you music theory in 10 minutes....which   is a lofty goal to be sure. The music theory  professor says, come on, it's not rocket   science. The rocket scientist says, come on,  it's not music theory! In this video you'll   learn the core concepts necessary to make music  theory your b%$#@. Muhahaha. Names of the notes,   Major and minor scales, Intervals, chords and key  signatures. The standard notation and tabs will   be at my patreon page below. Just meet me at the  crossroads at midnight and hand over your soul...   that gets you hundreds of youtube video  lessons, topical playlists, scale bible,   chord bible and more. Now put on your thinking  caps and let's learn music theory Muhahaha  First up, let's learn how  to identify musical notes.   The musical alphabet starts on  A and ends on G...A-B-C-D-E-F   and G...there's no Zed or W notes mhmhmhm  (Piano demo). Here they are on guitar.   Now, in between each note there are sharps and  flats, except in between E and F and B and C.   A-A#-B-C-C#-D-D#-E-F-F#-G-G# and back to A.   When you descend a scale try using  flats. A-Ab-G-Gb-F-E-Eb-D-Db-C-B-Bb-A.   Now here's the trick...this F# note is the  same as a Gb. By raising an F, we get to F#.   By lowering a G, we get to Gb. Same note, just  two ways to label it. You can do this with   any sharp or flat... it's called  enharmonic equivalents. Mind blown  What is a scale? I'm not talking about  checking to see how fat you are, (666 pounds)   I've become quite large. A musical scale is  just a series of notes connecting an octave.   Here's the C major scale.   The C major scale contains the notes,  C-D-E-F-G-A-B and back to C. The formula   is W-W-H-W-W-W-H. Here's how it works....A half  step is from C to C#, or 1 fret on the guitar.   A whole step is from C to D, or  two frets on the guitar (Demo).   Use this formula starting on any note to make  a major scale. Start on the note G to make a   G major scale. To make a minor scale, use the  formula W-H-W-W-H-W-W. Here's the A minor scale.   How about a minor scale in  the saddest of all keys,   D minor? The sadness causes WAP  water to well from my eyes (crying)  An interval is the distance between two notes.   As I mentioned earlier, from C to C# is  a half step, or a minor second interval.   And from C to D is a whole step or major second  interval. The most important intervals to know   are thirds because they define the tonality of  chords. If you're in a happy mood, try a major   third....too much optimism for me though. Let's  dash those dreams with a minor third. Muhahaha,   that's better. By the way, you can now get my  evil laugh as a ringtone on gumroad....link in   description wink. For the overachievers,  here's all the intervals in the octave.   Chords are 3 or more notes played together.   I'm a huge fan of chords because they communicate  a powerful range of emotions. Major chords   produce an uplifting quality (C major). To  make a major chord, play the 1, 3 and 5.   In other words, C is the 1, the 3 is the  major third E and the 5 is a perfect 5th   G. Spoil the party with some doom and gloom  by playing a minor chord (HB in minor).   All you have to do to a major chord to make  it minor is flat the third. . Now....there's   two more basic chord shapes to know about.  The diminished chord....oooooh, very scary.   Flat the 5th of a minor chord to make  it diminished. This is a very important   chord in metal and classical music. And  finally we have the augmented chord....very   creepy sound used in horror movies. Just  raise the 5th of a major chord to score an   augmented triad. You can hear this chord in  Richard Wagner's "Ride Of The Valkyries."   Key signatures tell you what notes are in  a key. The circle of 5ths is a diagram that   illustrates each of the 12 musical keys.   Before I understood keys, I used to sound  like this (wonderwall)....but now that   I've learned the circle of 5ths  I sound like this (0-3-5) muhaha.   Here's how it works, at 12 o'clock, you have  the key of C with no sharps or flats. Each   time you move clockwise you go up a 5th  in the musical alphabet....C-D-E-F-G, So   our next key after C is G. After G, find the  next key by going up another 5th, G-A-B-C-D.   And thus, D is the next key...and that's  why it's called the circle of 5ths. Because   each key is 5 notes apart. The sharps found  in each key are also a 5th apart. F#-C#-G# and   so on. Once you internalize this circle, making  sense of the music you hear becomes much easier.   Reading music doesn't make you a real musician  or anything, however, it does make it easier to   absorb musical ideas. And that's why I'd recommend  all musicians should work on their reading chops.   If you ever want to learn how someone  like Igor Stravinsky or John Williams   orchestrates their music, reading is a must.  Now, here's the notes on the staff. E-G-B-D   and F are the notes on the lines. Try using  the acronym Evil Guys Bring Danger Fun   to remember them.....(looks around)....muhaha.   The notes on the spaces are F-A-C and E, spelling  the word face. As in, I want music theory all up   in my face bro. Now let's practice reading an  evil version of twinkle twinkle little star.   You can get more exercises for reading in my music  theory course below. It only costs $666 dollars.   And that pretty much covers the basics of music  theory. It's definitely not rocket science but   it does take some time to wrap your head around.  My music theory teacher used to say, write it,   sing it, say it, play it. Shout out to Phil  Shackleton. And I really think that's true.   Confirming your musical knowledge from  different angles makes it stronger.   Get the full tabs and transcriptions for this  lesson at my patreon page below. Access to my   scale bible, chord bible and all my youtube  lessons are also below....let's be honest,   I'm talking way below muhahaha. Until  next time, stay evil my friends muhaha