Essential Music fundamentals condensed for quick comprehension (2025)

Essential Music fundamentals condensed for quick comprehension (2025)

For too long has the electronic music world dismissed music theory, only scratching its surface. To hopefully change that, I present this comprehensive, in-depth look at music theory and how it applies to electronic music production. I've broken it down into manageable parts to make it as digestible as possible.

• The Fundamentals - This post and subsequent articles, focusing on the basics of music theory relevant to electronic music production.
• Intermediate Ideas and Composition Tricks - Exploring more advanced concepts and techniques to elevate your production skills.
• The Overlap of Theory and Production - Discussing how understanding music theory can enhance your production process and final product.

I'm particularly excited to get to the third point; it's a relatively unexplored area.

Let's dive in, shall we?

Music Theory: The TL;DR Version

Interval

Ignoring music theory is like mixing a song without EQ—it's possible, but it won't yield the best results. Most of us grow up surrounded by Western music, and our ears prefer this type of music—which means we're unconsciously following the rules of Western music, a.k.a. music theory. To truly break the rules, you need to first understand them. It's often said that you can't polish a turd; my personal motto is "grimy gold is worth more than shiny shit." The best mixing techniques and experience won't fix a mediocre composition. Music theory, on the other hand, can.

Distance

Here's what we'll cover:

• The Major Scale
• The Minor Scale
• Interval Basics
• The Minor Scale Expanded
• Pentatonic Scales
• Compound Intervals
• Inverted Intervals
• Triads
• Chords
• Chord Voicing Variations
• Extended Chords
• Partial Chords
• Modes
• How Keys Work
• The Circle of Fifths
• A Tip on Intervals

Unison

The Major Scale

0 steps

The major scale is one of two primary scale formulas. It's built on the concept of "steps," which can be either a half-step (the distance between a white key and the black key next to it on the piano, or the distance of one fret on a guitar) or a whole step (two half-steps). A half-step can also be called a semitone, while a whole step is a whole tone.

Here's what a half-step and a whole step sound like:

Diminished or flat 2

The major scale is made up of five whole-steps and two half-steps. It can be written like this, where "^" means half-step: 1 2 3^4 5 6 7^1.

1 half-step

Notice that the half-steps are between 3 and 4, and between 7 and 1.

The Minor Scale

(Perfect) 2

The minor scale is the second primary scale formula. It's also made up of five whole-steps and two half-steps, but the steps are arranged differently. It can be written like this, where "^" means half-step: 1 2^b3 4 5^b6 b7 1.

1 whole-step

The half-steps are between 2 and 3, and between 5 and 6.

One way to conceptualize the minor scale is by taking a major scale and flatting (lowering by a half-step) the 3, 6, and 7 notes. This is known as the natural minor scale.

Minor 3

Another way to think of the minor scale is by building it using the major scale formula, but starting on the sixth note (flat the third). This is known as the harmonic minor scale, and it sounds a bit different from the natural minor scale.

1 whole-step + 1 half-step

Interval Basics

An interval is the distance between two notes. The basic intervals are: an unison, a minor second, a minor third, a fourth, a perfect fifth, a minor sixth, a major sixth, a seventh, and an octave.

Major 3

Intervals can be raised or lowered. There are two groups of intervals:

2 whole steps

• Group 1: Unison, fourth, fifth, and octave
• Group 2: Second, third, sixth, and seventh

Intervals in the first group are called "perfect" intervals. Raising them by a half-step results in an "augmented" interval (for example, an augmented fourth), while lowering them by a half-step results in a "diminished" interval (for example, a diminished fifth).

Perfect 4

The second group is known as the "major/minor" group. These intervals are also called "major" when they are untouched (for example, a major third), and "minor" when they are flatted (for example, a minor seventh).

2 whole steps + 1 half-step

Here's a table showing the basic intervals, their distance, and whether they're considered perfect, major/minor, or dissonant:

| Interval | Distance | Group ||----------|----------|-------------|| Unison | 0 steps | Perfect || Diminished second/flat second | 1 half-step | Minor || Perfect second | 1 whole-step | Perfect || Minor third | 1 whole-step + 1 half-step | Minor || Major third | 2 whole-steps | Major || Perfect fourth | 2 whole-steps + 1 half-step | Perfect || Augmented fourth/diminished fifth | 3 whole-steps | Augmented || Perfect fifth | 3 whole-steps + 1 half-step | Perfect || Minor sixth | 4 whole-steps | Minor || Major sixth | 4 whole-steps + 1 half-step | Major || Minor seventh | 5 whole-steps | Minor || Major seventh | 5 whole-steps + 1 half-step | Major || Octave | 6 whole-steps | Perfect |

Augmented 4/ Diminished 5

The Minor Scale Expanded

3 whole steps

The natural minor scale formula is: 1 2^b3 4 5^b6 b7 1.

However, there are two variations of the minor scale: harmonic and melodic. The harmonic minor scale sounds better when leading to the root note (the "1" of a scale). The harmonic minor formula is: 1 2^b3 4 5^b6 7^1.

Perfect 5

The melodic minor, on the other hand, sounds better ascending, but its formula depends on whether the scale is going up or down. If you're going up, it's: 1 2^b3 4 5 6 7^1. If you're going down, it's the same as the natural minor scale.

3 whole steps + 1 half-step

Pentatonic Scales

Pentatonic scales consist of only five notes. They are incredibly flexible and sound great in various genres, including electronic music. The pentatonic major scale is: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6. The pentatonic minor scale is: 1, b3, 4, 5, b7.

Minor 6

Compound Intervals

4 whole steps

Compound intervals span more than one octave. The most common compound intervals include the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and thirteenth.

Inverted Intervals

Major 6

Inverted intervals have the root note as the higher note. The formula for converting regular intervals to inverted ones involves adding 9 and flipping the major/minor and augmented/diminished qualities of the interval (major becomes minor, augmented becomes diminished, perfect stays perfect).

4 whole steps + 1 half-step

Triads

A triad consists of three notes: a root, a third, and a fifth. These can be major, minor, diminished, augmented, or suspended.

Minor 7

• Major Triad: 1 3 5
• Minor Triad: 1 b3 5
• Diminished Triad: 1 b3 b5
• Augmented Triad: 1 3 #5
• Suspended Triad: 1 (2/4) 5

5 whole steps

Chords

A chord consists of at least three different notes. The most common chords are triads, sevenths, and extended chords (ninths, elevenths, thirteenths).

Major 7

Chord Voicing Variations

5 whole steps + 1 half-step

Chords can be inverted, with the root note not always being the lowest note. The three main classes of inversion are: 1 (the third is the lowest note), 2 (the fifth is the lowest note), and 3 (the seventh is the lowest note).

Extended Chords

Octave

Extended chords are built by stacking thirds on top of a seventh chord. The three most common extended chords are ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths.

6 whole steps

Partial Chords

Partial chords are chords that are missing a note or two. Taking the third or fifth out of a chord creates a unique texture.

Modes

Modes are the seven different possible patterns that can be derived from the standard major/minor scale pattern. The seven modes and their equivalent starting notes are:

1. Ionian (same as major)
2. Dorian
3. Phrygian
4. Lydian
5. Mixolydian (same as minor)
6. Aeolian (same as natural minor)
7. Locrian

You can think of each mode as some variation of major or minor.

How Keys Work

In Western music, the C major scale is the natural major scale. Other scales are based on this, with certain notes being either sharped (raised by a half-step) or flatted (lowered by a half-step) to fit the major scale formula. The key signature indicates which notes are sharped or flatted in a piece of music.

The circle of fifths is a visual representation of all major keys. It shows how each key is related to the others by fifths (or inverted fifths, which are just fourths, depending on the direction). The circle of fifths makes it easier to understand key relationships and transitions.

The Circle of Fifths

The circle of fifths will make your life much easier, so pay close attention to this section. You can ignore it and stick to the key of C, but that would be like only using the preset EQs that your DAW comes with, without actually understanding any of them.

The circle of fifths is a systematic representation of all major keys. It consists of eight keys, each with a specific number of sharps (major keys) or flats (minor keys). The keys are arranged in such a way that each key is a fifth (or inverted fifth, which is a fourth) away from its neighboring key.

Major Keys with Sharps

1. C Major: no sharps
2. G Major: one sharp (F#)
3. D Major: two sharps (F#, C#)
4. A Major: three sharps (F#, C#, G#)
5. E Major: four sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#)
6. B Major: five sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#)
7. F# Major: six sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#)
8. C# Major: seven sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#)

Major Keys with Flats

1. Ab Major: six flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb)
2. Eb Major: five flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb)
3. Bb Major: four flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Gb)
4. F Major: three flats (Bb, Eb, Ab)
5. C Major: two flats (Bb, Eb)
6. G Major: one flat (Bb)
7. D Major: no flats (natural major)
8. A Major: one sharp (F#)

The circle of fifths also provides a visual representation of the order of sharps (FCGDAEB) and flats (BEADGCF), which can help in understanding key signatures.

A Tip on Intervals

Memorizing the following pattern will help you quickly identify thirds and fifths: C E G B D F A C (and its reverse, C A F D B G E C). It consists of notes a third apart, with the distances between them being thirds or fifths. This trick is especially useful for interval recognition.

1. In the realm of music theory and electronic music production, a solid understanding of different scale formulas, such as the major and minor scales, can significantly improve one's production skills.
2. The minor scale, which is made up of two half-steps and five whole-steps, can be conceptualized as either the natural minor scale or the harmonic minor scale, each bearing a unique sound.
3. Intervals, the distances between two notes, form the building blocks of music, and recognizing these patterns can lead to more purposeful and polished compositions.
4. By examining various scale formulas, chords, and extended chords, music enthusiasts can expand their knowledge of music theory and apply these concepts to their own electronic music productions, enhancing both their skills and their final products.

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