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Music Theory For Producers

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This publication is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable
international, federal, state and local laws, and all rights are reserved, including resale
rights; you are not allowed to give or sell this guide to anyone else.

Please do not share or distribute this guide. We worked hard on it, and we're using the
money to fund our hopes and dreams- private jets, Lamborghinis, massive parties, and
paying off student loans. Do us a favor and keep this one off the torrent sites. In return,
we'll donate a portion of the profits to those in need.

Please note that much of this publication is based on personal experience and
anecdotal evidence. Although the author and publisher have made every reasonable
attempt to achieve complete accuracy of the content in this guide, they assume no
responsibility for errors or omissions.

Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to be
the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no
implied endorsement if we use one of these terms.

Copyright © 2014 Trap Door Publishing and Spencer Lawrence. All rights reserved in
perpetuity throughout the Universe.!

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Contents
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Introduction
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I. Tools.………………………………………..……7

II. Basics……………………………………………10

III. Rhythm……………………………….…………17

IV. Harmony………………………………….……..29

V. Melody.…………………………………….……55

VI. Full Song Analyses..……………………….……62

VII. Cheat Sheet…………………………………..….74

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Why Do I Need Music Theory?!
! You don’t, as long as you have no interest in making a career out of
music. That’s not to say that everyone who makes money by producing,
beatmaking, or even playing an instrument is an expert on theory, but
rather that your life will be much easier with a solid musical foundation.
Have you ever gotten an incredible idea for a rhythm or melody, only to be
unable to express your imagination through the speakers? With a basic
knowledge in music theory, this will not be a problem anymore. If you are a
creative person, people will listen. Unfortunately, unless you know how to
express that creativity, people just won’t feel your stuff and you will be
frustrated. Music theory will enhance your ability to communicate your art
with others. Isn’t that the real purpose of music? !

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Is It Difficult To Learn?!
! Well, the answer to that question is up to you and your attitude. If
you approach learning music theory with the idea that it is strange, super
technical, and just plain hard, it will certainly be difficult. However, if you
start the process with a positive mindset and realize that it is more than
possible to become proficient, it will not be tough. Do you remember being
very young and not knowing how to ride a bike? Did it seem difficult?
Probably, but I bet you could hop on a bike right now and ride without a
problem at all, couldn’t you? Music theory can certainly be challenging at
times, but it can be done and it will be worthwhile. !

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I Have No Experience!
! You don’t need experience to learn something. No one was born with
knowledge of how music works, and every artist you love and respect was
once a beginner. Know this- there was a time when Stevie Wonder had no
clue how to play piano. It would be a hefty mistake to let inexperience keep
you from ever trying, be it learning music or anything else in life. Don’t
create limits around yourself. Wake up early, work hard, and you can
accomplish great things. !

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Do I Need To Play An Instrument?!
! This book was written with those who do not play an instrument in
mind. If you would like to learn to play an instrument, this guide will
certainly be useful to in forming a solid foundation in music theory. Still, it
isn’t crucial. Of course, you should also realize the distinction between
“playing” an instrument and “performing” on an instrument. In a few weeks’
time you could certainly learn to form some basic chords on a piano or
keyboard, and even play along to a click track. In such a short time frame,
however, you probably wouldn’t be ready to play on stage with a band.
That’s another ballgame. The aim of this book is not to get you to
performance-level ability. The purpose is to give you a basic foundation in
music theory so that you can produce great music.!

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What Genre Is It Good For?!
! Pretty much any and all styles. You could use music theory in a dub
step track to make sure the bass and the synth lines are in the same key,
or you could use music theory to add instruments to sample-based loops in
a 90s hip hop track. We’re going to go over lots of tricks and aspects of
music theory that apply to many different styles of music. If you want to be

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a pop producer, you can use this book. If you want to produce indie and
alternative bands, this guide will be a major help. Of course, if you want to
make hip hop beats, you’re going to find a lot of useful stuff in here.

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Tools!
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What You Need!
Some things you must have, and some things would be nice to have
but aren’t entirely necessary. You need to have a good attitude about the
process of learning music theory. Yes, it sounds pretty corny and
existential, but if come in with the idea that it is a “chore” or “boring” or
whatever, it will be an unenjoyable experience. Music should be fun, right? !

! Since you’re a producer, it is probably safe to assume you have some

sort of DAW on your computer (Ableton, ProTools, FL Studio, Logic,
whatever). If not, you should consider investing in one. You could learn
the basics of music theory by study alone, but you won’t have a firm grasp
without some sort of sonic medium, be it a DAW, keyboard, piccolo, or the
like. Plus, most DAWs nowadays have a piano roll of some sort, which will
allow you to click in notes with your computer’s mouse and form chords or
melodies. !

! Speaking of keyboards, you should get a keyboard. You don’t need

one, but it will be infinitely useful in both learning music theory with this
book and your career moving forward. Fanciness is not required, and even
the small ones will work for the purposes of learning and music production-
you could pick up a usable MIDI keyboard from eBay or Craigslist for under
$100. A lot of the music theory discussion in this guide deals with keys,
chords, and chord progressions, and it will be much easier to understand
with a keyboard. If you can’t spring for a MIDI keyboard, perhaps you can
find a cheap Casio from the 80s at Goodwill or a pawn shop. !

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Can I use another instrument?!
! Sure. Music theory applies to just about any instrument, and this
guide will be helpful with whatever you choose. Still, this was written using
a piano keyboard to show examples, because it is the simplest to
understand and familiar to most people. You can certainly use this guide
with a guitar or a saxophone, but in order to keep it short we won’t be going
over the fretboard or note fingerings or anything like that.! !

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II
Basics!
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 Music can be very complex or very simple, but either way it can
usually be broken down into a few basic concepts. This (short) chapter is
going to discuss those concepts. Even if you feel that you already know
this stuff, at least give it a review.!

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Building Blocks!
Most songs, and popular songs especially, can be broken down
into three major components: Rhythm, Harmony, and Melody. !

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Rhythm, or the “beat”, is the (usually) steady part of the song that
provides the drive and keeps the groove going. Drums and bass usually
comprise the rhythm section, although many other instruments can play a
part (guitar, keys, other percussion, etc.)!

Harmony: to describe harmony in the most basic way would be to

say that it provides the support and musical motion of the song. Think of it

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as chords and chord progressions. Almost any instrument can provide the
harmony, including background vocals.!

Melody is a unique series of notes, typically played one at a time.

The melody is almost always the catchy part of the song that gets stuck in
your head. It can be played with just about any pitch-based instrument,
and sometimes the vocal provides the melody. !
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Time Signature!
Sometimes called “Meter”, the time signature is like a bare-bones
template for the rhythm. The most common time signature in popular
music is 4/4. The top number (4) describes the number of beats per bar; in
4/4 there are four beats per measure. The bottom number (4) describes
the note value of a beat. In this case, 1 beat = 1 quarter. (Note: a measure
and a “bar” mean the same thing.) !

Confused? Think of it this way: in 4/4, the pattern might go Kick-

Snare-Kick-Snare. Each drum hit is a beat, and they add up to equal four
beats. Each hit will be a quarter-note in length, but that’s not terribly
important when making a simple drum beat on your computer, since you
can’t exactly “hold” a snare for a longer period of time like you can a note
played on guitar or whatever. The most important thing is to know that 4/4
means there are four beats in a measure. !
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Tempo!
Tempo is probably familiar to most up and coming producers, even if
you’ve only been at it for a little while. Tempo is measured in BPM, or

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Beats Per Minute. A higher BPM means the track is faster, and a lower
BPM is a slower song. Easy enough. Hip Hop is usually going to be
somewhere between 70bpm and 120bpm. Electronic Music tends to play
up around 100-160bpm, with the exception being slower stuff (Chillstep?)!

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Whole Steps and Half Steps!
To understand how to build chords in the next section, you’ll need an
idea of half and whole steps. The best way to learn this is by using a
keyboard, or at least a picture of one. A half step is basically the musical
distance from one key to the next. For example:!

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C is one half-step above C!

D is one half-step below D!

F is one half-step above E!

What about E#? As you can see on the keyboard, there isn’t a black
key in between E and F, so there isn’t really an E#. If you ever see E#

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written anywhere, just know that it is exactly the same note as F. Same
deal for B to C.!

A whole step is two half steps. If pick a key on a keyboard, skip one
key and the next will be a whole step in whichever direction you went.
That’s about as tough as it gets.!
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A is a whole step above G!

C is a whole step below D!

F is a whole step above E !

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Structure!
Luckily, most popular music has a simple song structure. Here’s what
it looks like:!

Intro !

Verse !

Chorus !

Verse Two !

Chorus !

Bridge !

Chorus !

The number of bars for each section varies by song, but it’s usually in
multiples of four. The intro usually isn’t much more than 4 bars, the verse
is typically 8-16, and the chorus is probably 8. The bridge is almost always
8 bars.!

! Next, and for the rest of the guide, we’re going to take popular songs
and break them down according to the principles we learn. The best thing
you can do to become a great producer is to become a great listener; make
a playlist of your favorite songs and write out an analysis. Start simply: how
fast is the song? Is the music dark, or happy and bright? What are the most
interesting parts? What gets stuck in your head? By learning to listen
critically, you’ll be able to approach your music from the listener’s
perspective and make the best tracks possible.

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Song Analysis!
Elevators (Me & You)!
OutKast!
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This song is even more simple than the previous example. The beat
stays pretty much the same throughout, so you have to listen to the vocals
to distinguish between verses and choruses. Find the song on YouTube
(assuming it’s not in your library already) and listen along. It’s about
85bpm, and the structure is as follows: !

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Intro: 8 bars!

Verse 1: 20 bars (first 12 are André, then 8 for Big Boi)!

Chorus: 8 Bars!

Verse 2: 16 Bars (Big Boi)!

Chorus: 8 Bars!

Verse 3: 12 bars (André)!

Chorus: 16 bars and fades out!

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Not bad, right? It can get more complicated, but not much more. Hip
Hop is usually the easiest structure-wise, and pop isn’t too far behind. Any
song you hear on the radio will more than likely be very easy to figure out.
Try to write the layout of a few on your own, and then move on to the next
chapter: Rhythm.!

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III
Rhythm!
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Why Is Rhythm Important?!
The rhythm is the beat itself; it is what makes you bob your head and
hit repeat. A catchy beat is sometimes all it takes to have a hit song,
especially in Hip Hop. Quality music in all genres (Jazz, ‘60s rock, modern
hip hop, electronic, etc.) nearly always has a solid rhythm. Rhythm is the
foundation of the song- without a solid one, your track will crumble.!

Before we get into actual kicks and snares, we should discuss a few
basic concepts. If this stuff seems like a foreign language to you, fear not.
You only need to understand the simplest version of these ideas in order to
use them to better your music. !

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Drums!
Drum lines in modern music almost always have a kick, snare, and a
high hat. It is also common to hear cymbals, toms, and maybe some other
percussive instruments such as tambourines or hand claps.!

! The kick will usually fall on beats 1 & 3. The snare will likely be on
beats 2 & 4. The high hat can go pretty much any and everywhere, but in a
super-simple it will be on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4. From here, you have a lot of
freedom to get creative. Here’s what it looks like on paper: !

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Swing!
Fortunately, all drum tracks aren’t as boring as the aforementioned
example. A very common musical concept is the idea of a “swinging” drum
part. This simply means that there are some additional “ghost hits” (usually
a kick) played at a lower volume or velocity right before a hit on the 1st, 2nd,
3rd, or 4th beat. It would look like this:!

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[Remember that the second kick is going to be much quieter than the kicks
on 1 & 3.]!
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! Most sequencers within DAWs will allow you to adjust the velocity of
individual hits. Play around and experiment with it. You could easily figure
out how to get a solid groove going within about 30 minutes. [velocity]!
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Points To Remember!
If you are trying to create an authentic-sounding drum loop, be
realistic. It sounds like common sense, but unfortunately it is not common
practice. A drummer in real life cannot hit seven different drums at once,
because he only has two hands and two feet. He or she would also have a
difficult time hitting the crash, snare, and hi hat together for the same
reason. Of course, if you’re going for some outer-space type stuff, anything
goes, but if you want your drum parts to sound like a live player, keep this
in mind.!
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 Keep it simple. Again, don’t limit yourself creatively, but while
sequencing your drums remember that there will be several more parts
(keyboards, guitars, vocals, etc.) that will go on top of them. The fact is,
most non-drummer listeners don’t listen to music for the drumming; they
are in it for melodies, vocals, and/or lyrics. The best drumming is that
which holds the funk down without being a huge distraction. !
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Song Analysis!
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The OtherSide!
The Roots!
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When it comes to drumming, Questlove can do no wrong. His beat in
The OtherSide is a prime example of simple drumming that makes itself
known without taking away from the keys or the vocals, and it’s almost
impossible to keep your head still while listening. The tempo is right
around 83bpm, and of course it’s in 4/4 time. Try counting along (1,2,3,4)
at first, and then take a shot at recreating it your DAW. Here’s the pattern
for the verse: !
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Here’s what it looks like in a sequencer:!
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Blow My High (Members Only)!
Kendrick Lamar!
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! Ah, this drum pattern is classic hip hop. It’s nice and sparse, and
leaves plenty of room for the keys, synth parts, vocals, and background
vocals. The producers kept this beat simple throughout the whole song,
and just added a high hat fill every once in a while. !
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Here’s the step sequencer for Blow My High:!
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Apache Rose Peacock!
Red Hot Chili Peppers!
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! Here’s another classic drum pattern that holds it down steady while
the funk-esque guitar part and rhythmic vocals are are laid overtop. Again,
nice and simple.!
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Bass!
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Bass. You don’t hear a great low end part; you feel it in your loins.
Bass lines can range anywhere from quick machine-gun slapping to long,
thick, and greasy vibrations that rattle the window. The bass is a crucial
part of the track, whether it is rock, rap, or dubstep, and luckily it isn’t too
difficult to put together something solid. !
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Bass Instruments!
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You can get a nasty bass sound with a variety of instruments. Of
course, bass guitar is a natural go-to. Beyond that, you can get the low
tones you desire from an upright bass, piano, or even cellos and orchestral
basses. If you’re producing on your computer, you’ll have some instrument
sound banks with a healthy variety of choices. The only way to find out
which is right for you is to mess around and experiment. !
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Writing The Bass Part!
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We are going to start simple and write a bass part in the key of G
Major, which has the notes G, A, B, C, D, E, and F# (don’t worry if you don’t
know what this means; we’re going to go over it in depth later).!
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Here’s the swinging drum part we did earlier:!

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Now, let’s add G, D, E, D, and C for bassnotes:!

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It’s not that exciting, but it’s a start. Once you get the basics of
writing the bass part down, you’ll be able to get as creative and crazy with it
as you want. !
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An important thing to remember is that the bass note is usually the
root note of whatever chord is being played. We won’t dive into chord
progressions just yet, but in the above example the chords could be Gmaj,
Cmaj, Emin, and Dmaj, corresponding with the bass notes.!
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Song Analysis!
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Xxplosive!
Dr. Dre!
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! This is a great bass line because it’s a bit unique from other hip hop
songs, but it still keeps it very simple. Bass is meant to be the foundation
of a song, not the centerpiece, and this is an excellent example- you can
appreciate the bass without being bored by it. !
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Here’s the piano roll (listen and play along if you’d like):!
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Call Tyrone!
Erykah Badu!
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! Sometimes, the bass can actually be the melody. Call Tyrone is one
such instance; depending on which version you listen to, the song is just
drums, rhythm keys, bass, and vocals. It stays pretty consistent throughout
the song, and actually doubles the chorus vocals. This type of bass part
may or may not work for hip hop arrangements, but it is perfect for R&B or
neo-soul songs. !

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Let Me Watch!
MF DOOM!
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! While the bass has long notes (half a bar each), as is seen in many
different types of music, this part is a bit different than the previous two
examples. Instead of repeating over one or two bars, it repeats every five
bars. This is somewhat uncommon, as most popular songs have rhythmic
structures that repeat every four bars (or at least at multiples of two).
DOOM may be unconventional in a lot of ways, but you can definitely learn
from his work. !

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! A note about tuning: If you play along with Let Me Watch, it will sound
a little “off”. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the notes are wrong, but
rather that the bass in the song is a slightly out of tune. This is not a bad
thing. Many producers and beatmakers choose to detune certain
instruments in order to maker the tracks more interesting. If you’re using
live guitars, you would detune using the tuning pegs on the guitar itself
(obviously), but many DAWs and plugins have specific “detune” controls
that allow you to pitch an instrument up or down as much as you’d like. As
always, experiment and use your ears. !
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Other Instruments!
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! You’re probably going to want to use some other instruments in the
rhythm section to give your tracks a full and lush texture. Some great
choices are guitar, keys, horn or string ensembles, etc. We’re not going to

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delve into part-writing for these instruments, since it will be covered in detail
in the Harmony chapter. Just know that pretty much any instrument can
contribute to the rhythm section (even background vocals). !
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IV
Harmony!
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 Harmony can mean several things, but for the purposes of this guide,
we’re going to cover keys, chords, and chord progressions. Harmony
creates movement and is essentially the groundwork for the instruments.
Learning keys and chords and all that goes along with harmony may seem
a bit intimidating at first, but once you form a solid foundation you’ll be able
to express yourself musically and communicate your art to other people.
Without learning at least the basics, making music will be a struggle and
you’ll likely suffer from “producer’s block” much more often than necessary. !

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Keys!
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Major!
! Have you ever heard someone say something like, “It’s in the key of
D Major”, and wondered what the hell they were talking about? Wonder no
more. For the sake of simplicity, a key is basically a combination of musical
notes that sound nice when played together, whether part of a triad (three-
note chord) or played in melodic succession (one at a time). Here’s the key
of D Major:!

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 And here’s what it looks like on a piano roll:!

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If you have a keyboard, play the notes in order and listen to how it
sounds. If you’re working from a DAW interface, click in the notes and
listen to them played individually. Sounds pretty good, right? Now, do the
same with these notes:!

Does the F sound a little off? That’s because F is not in the key- F#
is. If you want to get the happy sound that goes along with a major key,

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you’ll have to keep it in key. That’s it, basically. While there are twelve
different keys, the good news is that you don’t have to memorize them all.
Here’s a handy chart called the Circle of Fifths- it shows you the notes in
every major key: !

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! Ok, here’s how you read the Circle of Fifths: First, pick a key. We’ll
use A Major for this example. A is on the right side of the circle, and it says
that there are 3 sharps (#) in the key. Then, we go to the “Order of Sharps”
at the bottom and take the first 3 sharps- F#, C#, and G#. So we know that
the key of A Major will have:!

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A! B! C#! D! E! F#! G#!

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! Make sense? The order of sharps and flats will never change. All
notes on the outside of the circle represent that particular Major key (Bb is
Bb major, etc.) The Circle of Fifths with the relative minors is in the next
section. !

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 Minor !
! Minor keys work the same way as major keys. Luckily, the Circle of
Fifths is also useful, if we add in the relative minors:!

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! You read this the same way you did the previous chart. To find a
minor key, just pick one of the letters within the circle. For example, G
minor. According to the handy circle, G minor has 2 flats. So, proceed
down to the order of flats and take the first two. G minor will have:!

G! A! Bb! C! D! Eb! F!

“Relative Minor” just signifies the minor key that will have the same
notes sharped or flatted. For example, G Major just has F#, making it:!

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E Minor is the “relative minor” of G Major, meaning that it will also
have just F#:!

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 The only difference between the Major Key and its relative minor is
which note it starts on. It will have the exact same notes and the exact
same chords. You can also use the Circle of Fifths to identify minor keys:!

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Chords!
! Alright, now we’re going to get into the fun stuff. Using any given key,
we can form chords and chord progressions to go over our rhythm section
and give the track a full-sounding body. A chord will contain two or more
notes played at the same time, but the most common variety is called a
“triad”. A triad simply means three notes played at the same time. Easy
enough, right? Let’s check it out. !

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Major!
! Major chords are happy and bright-sounding, and it would be very
hard to find a popular song without at least one major chord. Using the key
of G Major, let’s construct a G Major chord:!

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G! A! B! C! D! E! F#!

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To build this three-note chord (triad), just start at G and play the 1st,
3rd, and 5th notes of the scale (key):!

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!

For every major chord, the second note will be two whole steps
above the first. For every major or minor chord, the distance between the
first note and the third note will be seven half steps. That being said, it is
much easier and more productive to think of chord construction as 1-3-5,
rather than in terms of half steps. If you keep a copy of the Circle of Fifths
with you, you’ll always know what notes are in what key.!

Minor!
! Minor chords have a distinctly dark sound. If you’re watching a movie
and someone dies (in the movie), you’re going to hear some minor chords,
unless that character was a total ass. Despite their brooding tone, minor
chords can be quite beautiful and add to the richness of your tracks. Using
the same 1-3-5 formula, let’s use the key of E Minor to construct a good ‘ol
E minor chord:!

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E! F#! G! A! B! C! D!

1! ! 3! ! 5!

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 !
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! So, an E minor chord is E G B. The reason we went over half and
whole steps earlier is so that we can now understand the difference
between a minor and a major chord. The distance between the first and
second notes (1 and 3) in a minor chord is three half steps, rather than the
major chord’s four half steps (two whole steps). The distance between the
first and last note (1 and 5) is still seven half steps. So, if you’re playing
minor chord, all you have to do is move the middle note up one key and
you’ve got a major chord. !
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Inversions!
We’re not going to go into great detail about inversions, but you
should know what they are to avoid confusion. A chord inversion simply
means playing a chord with the notes in a different order. For example, you
can play E minor as:!

E G B!

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You can also play E minor like this: !

!
!
or!

!
!

39
 You’ll notice that in the B E G example, the distance between the first
note (B) and the second note (E) is five half-steps. Don’t let this confuse
you. It is still E Minor, because there isn’t really a B chord like that; B major
is B D# F#, and B minor is B D F#. Playing around with inversions can
spice up your progressions, so go ahead and try them out once you get
comfortable. The notation for inversions is pretty easy to understand. For
the example above, E minor would be written as Em. For the “G B E”
inversion, we would write Em/G. Sometimes these are called “slash
chords”, which just means that the note after the slash will be the root. The
“B E G” example above would be written as Em/B. !

Diminished!
! Diminished chords are very off-sounding (dissonant). We’ll explain
them, so you can experiment, but they’re pretty rare in popular music and
you probably won’t need them. Using the key of G major again, we’ll build
an F# diminished chord using the same 1-3-5 formula:!

!
G! A! B! C! D! E! F#! G! A! B! C! !

! ! ! ! ! ! 1! ! 3! ! 5!

!
The distance between the first note (1) and the second note (3) is
three half-steps in a diminished chord, just like in a minor chord. The
difference with a diminished chord, however, is that the distance between
the first note (1) and the last note (5) is six half-steps, not seven. !

!
!

40
How do I know whether a note within a key will have a major,
minor, or diminished chord?!
!
There are three simple ways to figure out the chord type of a specific
note within a key.!

! 1. You can play it. Once you’re familiar with major and minor-
sounding chords, you’ll have no trouble hearing the difference. !

! 2. You can count half-steps. For example, if you are working in the
key of G major and want to play the A chord, you would play A C E.
Remembering our half and whole step descriptions from earlier, you would
count three half-steps from A to C, and seven half-steps from A to E.
Therefore, it would be a minor chord. !

! 3. You can memorize chord order. Memorization can seem a bit

intimidating at first, but it’s actually the easiest way to learn the types of
chords within a key. Here’s the chord order for any major key:!

! ! 1. Major!

! ! 2. Minor!

! ! 3. Minor! !

! ! 4. Major!

! ! 5. Major!

! ! 6. Minor!

! ! 7. Diminished!

!
!
!
41
For example, the key of G major has:!

! ! 1. G Major!

! ! 2. A Minor!

! ! 3. B Minor!

! ! 4. C Major!

! ! 5. D Major!

! ! 6. E Minor!

! ! 7. F# Diminished!

!
But what about minor keys? Since the relative minor has the same
notes as its corresponding major key, it will also have the same chords.
That’s not so hard, is it? Going back to E minor, which is the relative major
of our friend G major…!

!
! ! 1. E Minor!

! ! 2. F# Diminished!

! ! 3. G Major!

! ! 4. A Minor! !

! ! 5. B Minor!

! ! 6. C Major!

! ! 7. D Major!

42
! Guess what- you don’t even have to memorize the chord order. You’ll
find it in the cheat sheet at the back of the guide. Print it out, stick on your
wall, and no one will know the difference.!

!
7th Chords!
! Knowing about 7th chords isn’t a total necessity, but you can definitely
use them to add variety to your music. There are three different types of 7th
chords:!

Name! ! ! Common Notation! ! Example!

Major 7th ! ! ! maj7! ! ! ! Gmaj7! ! ! !

Minor 7th! ! ! ! min7! ! ! ! Emin7! !

Dominant 7th! ! ! 7! ! ! ! D7 !

!
To play a 7th chord, all you have to do is add the 7th note to the major or
minor triad. Let’s build a G major 7: !

!
G! A! B! C! D! E! F#!

1! ! 3! ! 5! ! 7!

!
So, Gmaj7 is G B D F#. You can also leave out D, the 5th note, if
you’d like. It would still be a major 7th. A minor 7th works the same way.
Here’s Emin7:!

E! F#! G! A! B! C! D!

1! ! 3! ! 5! ! 7!

43
 Emin7 is E G B D. Finally, let’s construct a dominant 7th, D7!

!
G! A! B! C! D! E! F#! G! A! B! C! !

! ! ! ! 1! ! 3! ! 5! ! 7!

!
D7 is D F# A C. Once again, you’re more than welcome to leave out
the third note (5) in any 7th chord. !

!
!
9th Chords!
! Like a 7th chord, a 9th isn’t necessarily essential, but it can be
interesting. 9th chords are used a lot in neo-soul type songs, so keep that
in mind if you’re into slow jams. Just like with a 7th chord, a 9th chord can
be a major 9th, minor 9th, or dominant 9th:!

!
Name! ! ! Common Notation! ! ! Example!

Major 9th ! ! ! ! maj9! ! ! ! ! Gmaj9!

Minor 9th ! ! ! ! min9! ! ! ! ! Emin9!

Dominant 9th ! ! ! 9! ! ! ! ! D9!

!
! !

!
!

44
! To build a 9th chord, all you have to do is start with the 7th and add the
9th. Here’s Gmaj9:!

!
G! A! B! C! D! E! F#! G! A!

1! ! 3! ! 5! ! 7! ! 9!

!
! Gmaj9 is G B D F# A So, the formula is 1-3-5-7-9. Feel free to drop
the 5 if you’d like, which would make it 1-3-7-9. Same deal for Emin9:!

!
E! F#! G! A! B! C! D! E! F#!

1! ! 3! ! 5! ! 7! ! 9!

!
Emin9 is E G B D F#. This is pretty simple stuff, but for the sake of
practice we’ll go ahead and do D9:!

!
G! A! B! C! D! E! F#! G! A! B! C! D! E!

! ! ! ! 1! ! 3! ! 5! ! 7! ! 9!

!
D9 is D F# A C E. Here’s some handy formulas that will make
building 9th chords a breeze:!

maj9th = maj7th + 9!

min9th = min7th + 9!

(dominant) 9th = (dominant) 7th + 9 !

45
Chord Progressions!
Once you’ve figured out how to form chords within a key, you can
start the creative process of building chord progressions. This can be both
the most fun and most challenging, but with practice you’ll be banging out
masterpieces in no time. !

! Let’s take our chords from the key of G Major:!

! ! 1. G Major!

! ! 2. A Minor!

! ! 3. B Minor!

! ! 4. C Major!

! ! 5. D Major!

! ! 6. E Minor!

! ! 7. F# Diminished!

You have seven chords from which to choose, and therefore

thousands of possible combinations. If that seems daunting, don’t worry.
Most popular songs have predictable chord progressions, so you can start
there while you’re learning and branch out as you see fit. The most
common chord progression in popular music is 1, 4, 5. All major chords.
Here’s what it would be in the key of G Major:!

!
G Major! C Major! D Major! G Major!

!
Play it on your keyboard or click it into the piano roll and take a listen.
It probably sounds familiar. Another one you’ll hear a lot in popular music

46
is 1, 5, 6, 4. The 6 is a minor chord, so it is a nice added flavor. Here’s the
progression in G Major:!

!
G Major! D Major! E Minor! C Major!

!
Of course, you can switch up the order and the starting place (5, 1, 4, 6):

!
C Major! G Major! D Major! E Minor!

! !

Gee, that one sounds an awful lot like “Let Her Go” by Passenger. I
guess you don’t need to be a creative genius to get played on the radio
thousands of times a day.!

To get better at chord progressions, practice and experiment. Start

with 1, 4, 5, and then expand. Throw a couple minor chords in there if
you’d like, or maybe even a diminished. Since you’ve learned the technical
parts (keys, chord order, etc.), you’ll now be able to actually express your
musical ideas. !

!
!
!
!
!
!
!

47
Putting It All Together!
! Alright, so you’ve read the chapter, and you’re ready to starting
writing hits. Here are three simple steps to jump start your music making:!

!
! ! 1. Pick a Key!

! ! 2. Write out the Notes & Chords!

! ! 3. Experiment with the Chord Progression!

!
Pretty straightforward, right? Let’s give it a try. For step 1, let’s pick
the key of A Major. For step 2, we’ll use the Circle of Fifths to find out that A
Major has the notes:!

!
A! B! C#! D! E! F#! G#!

!
Using our chord order cheat sheet, we know that the chords will be:!

!
! ! 1. A Major!

! ! 2. B Minor!

! ! 3. C# Minor!

! ! 4. D Major!!

! ! 5. E Major!

! ! 6. F# Minor!

! ! 7. G# Diminished!

48
 !
Now that the technical part is done, let’s play around with some
progressions. We can start with the standard 1, 4, 5:!

!
A, D, E!

!
[Note: If a chord is just a letter, that means it is the basic major chord. You
won’t see anything like “Amaj” unless it is Amaj7 or Amaj9.] !

! That sounds OK, but it’s a little boring. Let’s throw in a C#min and
expand the progression a little bit:!

!
A, D, C#m, A, D, E, A!

!
That’s about it. There’s no need to get super fancy when creating
chord progressions, unless you want to. Some of the biggest and best
songs of all time were just 3 or 4 simple chords. Also, when writing
harmony parts, don’t forget to leave room for the rhythm section, melody
part, and vocals (if you have a vocalist). If you get too crazy, playing lots of
chords very quickly, it will be distracting to the listener. Subtlety is your
friend; the audience should be able to hear the harmony, but not
necessarily notice it. !

!
!
!
!

49
Song Analysis!
!
Get Lucky!
Daft Punk!
!
! This is an interesting chord progression. Instead of being in a major
or minor key, it’s actually in a B dorian mode. “Modes” go beyond the
scope of this book, but it just refers to different types of musical scales (like
major or minor). B dorian has:!
!
!
B! ! C ! ! D! ! E! ! F ! ! G ! ! A!

!
Therefore, we know that it will have these chords:!
!
! ! B minor! ! !
!
! ! C minor! ! !
!
! ! D major! ! !
!
!
! ! E major! ! !
!
!
! ! F minor! ! !
!
! ! G diminished! ! !
!
! ! A major!
!
The progression for Get Lucky is 1, 3, 5, 4; or Bm, D, F minor, E. Here’s
what it looks like on the piano roll: !

50
!
!
Ms. Jackson!
OutKast!
!
! This is a classic song with a classic beat that made Big Boi and Dre
heaps of cash. The progression is pretty simple and repeats every four
bars throughout the track: E, F , G m. In your DAW, it looks like…. !

!
!
!
!
51
Poundcake!
Drake!
!
! Another hip hop song, albeit more recent, with a nice and smooth
chord progression. This time, we have some 7 chords, which give the track
just a slight neo-soul feel. The verse portion of Poundcake is Am7, Bm7,
Cmaj7, Em, D. !

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
52
Pursuit of Happiness!
Kid Cudi feat. Ratatat!
!
! Ratatat is always a go-to for examples of great chord progressions in
popular music. Since this song has Kid Cudi rhyming over Ratatat, it’s a
nice instance of hip-hop electronic fusion. The specific chord progression
in this song we’re going to look at is the “rolling” piano part on the verses,
which repeats over 8 bars. The first 4 bars are, C/G, Am/E, Em, repeat:!

! !

Then, the chords for bars 5-8 are C, F/C, Am, repeat: !

53
! Remember, the forward slash in the chord means that it is an
inversion. So, when you see “C/G”, you know that it is C major with G as
the root. Refer to the piano roll for a visual representation and try it out on
your keyboard at home. !

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
54
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
V
Melody
!
!
!
!
!
!

55
 Whereas a chord is several notes played at the same time, melody is
just a series of notes played one at a time. The melody is often the catchy
part of the song that gets stuck in your head (you don’t really hear people
humming chord progressions). A melody gives the song character, and
makes it unique. There could be dozens of songs that have the exact
same chord progression, but they will all (usually) have different melodies.
Also, you can copyright and protect a melody that you write, rhythms and
chord progressions cannot be copyrighted. !

!
!
Why is it Important?!
Melody is important because it keeps the song interesting and
likeable. It is part of the experience of music- you might tap your feet to the
rhythm and hum or whistle the melody with even noticing. Melody is
important, but not necessarily essential, especially if you’ve got a vocalist
on your track. Many times, in hip hop especially, the vocals constitute the
melody, rather than an actual instrument lead. !

Constructing Melodies!
Constructing a melody might be the part of music creation that relies
the most on creativity. You could get away with using formulas for the
rhythm and harmony parts, but there is no formula for melody. All you need
to do is play notes within the key over the chord progressions and see what
you can come up with. !

! The best way to learn how to write melodies is to listen to songs you
like and pick apart the melodies. So, we’re just going to analyze songs for
the majority of this chapter.!

56
Song Analysis!
Hol’ Up!
Kendrick Lamar!
!
This is a great example of a hip hop song with a prominent melody.
It’s on YouTube, so listen and play along if you can. It’s in the key of F
Major, which has:!

!
F! G! A! B! C! D! E!

!
The tempo is about 78bpm, and the numbers below represent the
beats (it’s in 4/4 time). Here’s the piano roll:!

!
!
!
!
!
!
57
Seventeen Years!
Ratatat!
!
! This melody is quite a bit faster than Hol’ Up, but it’s still clear and
interesting. A lot of electronic and dubstep music is drum and bass-driven,
but this is an example of the melody carrying the song. Here’s the piano
roll for the intro- plugging it in to the piano roll is highly recommended: !

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!

58
Big Poppa!
Notorious B.I.G.!
!
! Classic hip hop, classic melody. This is the type of track that puts
you in the mood as soon as it starts, and perhaps the most recognizable
part is the melody. This repeats every two bars on the choruses: !

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
59
Kids!
MGMT!
!
! You might love this song, or you might hate this song, but you can’t
deny that it’s catchy. This is yet another example of a melody that is
simple, but still enticing. Exercise caution when replaying this one,
because it will probably get stuck in your head. Pay attention to the length
of the notes in the first two bars; they’re very short. This is often referred to
as “staccato” playing. !

!
!
!
!
!
!
!

60
Do I Really Need a Melody?!
! Actually, there are some songs that won’t need an instrumental
melody. Many hip hop songs are simply rhythms and chord progressions,
and the vocals will form a pseudo-melody over the beat. In other words,
you don’t always need a melody, but it’s good to practice writing them
anyway. !

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
61
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
VI
Full Song Analyses
!
!
!
!
!
!

62
 This part of the guide is going to be less lecture, and more of a look
at the constructions of actual songs. The best way to gain an
understanding of how these and other songs work is to program the parts
into your DAW and/or play along. !

!
Stan!
Eminem !
!
Stan is one of those timeless songs that succeeds not only in the hip hop
genre, but also appeals to a very wide audience. Pretty much everyone
and their mother listens to Eminem, and this song is one reason why. !
!
!
Rhythm!
The drums for Stan are pretty straightforward, and it stays about the
same throughout the song. Here’s two bars of the drum part written out:!

This repeats throughout the whole song. Keep in mind that

sometimes there’s an extra high hat at the end of a bar, and sometimes the

63
beat drops out entirely. Listen to the song and you’ll hear it. Here’s a
screenshot of the sequencer:!

!
!
Bass!
The bass part is pretty simple too. Here’s a few bars that repeat
throughout:!

!
!

64
Harmony!
! The harmony is a guitar part (sampled, of course) that isn’t terribly
complex either. The chord progression is just G#m, E, F#, B, F#/A#
repeated every two bars:!

!
Melody!
! Stan doesn’t really have an instrument melody, but rather the
sampled vocals on the chorus serve as the ear-catching part of the
arrangement. The simplicity of this song is proof that you don’t need to be a
music theory genius to sell millions of records.

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!

65
Breaking Away!
Ratatat!
!
! This is a classic track from Ratatat’s 2004 self-titled debut album.
Definitely smooth and relaxing, especially for an electronic song.!
!
!
Rhythm!
!
! Unlike Stan, the drum pattern for Breaking Away is pretty unusual. It
is in 4/4 time, but the hits don’t always fall on 1, 2, 3, and 4. When you
listen to the drums specifically, it’s pretty clear that the pattern is abnormal.
Listen to the song, and plug in the rhythm on your piano roll: !
!

!
!
Bass!
!
Ratatat tracks always have a thick, beautiful bass, and this song is no
exception. The intro bass is a more melodic, and when the chords come in
the bass just plays the root note. !
!
!

66
During the intro, another bass line doubles the “plucks” or “stabs” from
about 0:05-0:10 on the CD version. This is pretty common in a lot of music
because it tends to give the track an overall “fatter” sound.!

!
The melodic part is lovely, so here’s the piano roll (starts at about 0:16 in
the song):!
!

!
!
!

67
Harmony!
!
! As we mentioned earlier, the intro has some “plucked” notes that
repeat at a few different places. It’s really nothing complicated, just single
notes playing on each beat.!

! During the following section, a somewhat more interesting chord

progression appears and lays the foundation for the melody. It is simply
straight eighth notes of Dm, C, Am/C, B /D, Gm, Dm, Am, C !

!
68
Melody!
!
! There are a lot of musical phases in Breaking Away that could be
called melody, but we’re going to look at the synth lead at 1:00-1:10 (it also
repeats). This melody is is perfect for the laid-back feel of the song as a
whole. Plug it in as such:!

!
! This is one of those songs that has lots of different progressions and
parts throughout, but these transcriptions will help you understand the
basics of the track. As you plug it in and play along, try to think imagine
their creative process: why is the harmony quicker eighth notes, while the
melody is nice and slow? Why do the abnormal drums make sense for this
song? Since you have the piano roll data, an interesting thing to try is to
keep one or two of the original parts (ex. rhythm and harmony) and
substitute a part of your own (ex. melody). This way you can experiment
with the track and see what works and what doesn’t. Hell, you might come
up with an even better version. !
!
!
!
!
!
!
69
Girl!
Destiny’s Child!
!
! Oh yes. Produced by 9th Wonder, this beat is entirely sampled, but
we can still analyze the theory behind the music. !
!
!
Rhythm!
!
! It is hard to imagine a more simple drum pattern than this one. Kick,
snare, high hat (rinse and repeat):!
!

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!

70
Bass!
!
! What little bass there is in Girl is made up of the root notes of the
chords, repeated every four bars. For the sake of completeness, here’s the
piano roll: !

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!

71
Harmony!
! !
! The chords for Girl are more interesting, but still pretty
straightforward. The entire song is F m7, G maj7, A maj7, F m7,
G maj7, Am repeated every four bars.!

!
! Note: the above piano roll is quantized, meaning that the notes were
aligned perfectly on time by the DAW’s software. Obviously, people are not
computers, so feel free to loosen up when creating your own tracks to give
them a more “human” feel.

!
!
!
72
Melody!
!
! This melody is simple, but still complements the song and contributes
to the “catchiness”. Play this along with the harmony and you’ll notice that
the notes are almost identical to the chords. !

That’s it. Girl is a great example of the beauty of simplicity. Many

new producers (especially in hip hop) make the mistake of getting too
intricate and complex in their tracks. This might be an advantage in dub
step or other instrumental music, but if there are vocals going on top- less
is more.!

!
!
!
!
!
!
!

73
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
VII
Cheat Sheet
!
!
!
!
!
!

74
Cheat Sheet


Here’s the essential music theory we went over in this book. Print it
out and stick it on your wall so you don’t have to memorize it all. You’re
welcome.

Circle of Fifths (relative minors are inside the circle)

75
Chord Formation!

! Major, Minor and Diminished chords are 1, 3, 5 (using the notes!

within the scale).!

! ! 7th chords are 1, 3, 5, 7; or 1, 3, 7. !

! ! 9th chords are 1, 3, 5, 7, 9; or 1, 3, 7, 9. !

!
Chord Order!

! ! Major Key! ! ! ! ! ! Minor Key! !

! ! 1. Major! ! ! ! ! ! 1. Minor!

! ! 2. Minor! ! ! ! ! ! 2. Diminished !

! ! 3. Minor! ! ! ! ! ! 3. Major!

! ! 4. Major! ! ! ! ! ! 4. Minor!

! ! 5. Major! ! ! ! ! ! 5. Minor!

! ! 6. Minor! ! ! ! ! ! 6. Minor! ! !

! ! 7. Diminished ! ! ! ! ! 7. Major!

!
Popular Chord Progressions (for major keys)!

1, 4, 5! ! 1, 5, 6, 4, ! ! 6, 4, 1, 5!

!
!
!
!

76
!
!
!

!
!
!
!
!

77
 !
!
!
!
!
!
The End
!
!
!
!

78