Make melodies that don't sound basic, without learning piano or reading sheet music
Stop dragging notes around for hours, waiting for something to sound right. Learn which notes go together, which chords to put under your melody and which note your 808 should play, right on the piano roll you already use.
It's free, there's no sign-up, and it works with FL Studio, Ableton Live and Logic Pro.
Why learn theory when Scaler and MIDI packs already do it?
Keep your tools: they do their job very well. But they answer a question; they don't make a single decision for you. And because they give the same answer to everyone who uses them, beats that lean only on them end up sounding alike, and the music never quite feels like yours.
Theory is what lets you start from their answer and get to yours. And once you can read what they suggest, you use them far better.
What you'll be able to do
Every lesson teaches you one precise move that you repeat right away in your DAW. Here is what you'll be able to do by the end.
- Find the key of a sample by ear without relying on a key finder, and understand why it hesitates between two answers.
- Write a melody that sits on your chords instead of clashing, knowing which notes to hold and which to pass through.
- Pick chords that belong together then borrow just one from another key to give your loop a less expected color.
- Tune your 808 and make it follow the chords so the low end holds up instead of sounding off on every other chord.
- Program a groove that swings with the swing, accents and ghost notes that bring a stiff beat to life.
- Turn a loop into a track with a verse, a build-up and a drop that keep the energy to the end.
Where should you start?
Pick the sentence that sounds most like you. Every lesson links back to the ones it builds on, so you never get lost.
Your melodies sound random
You drag notes around until something works, and sometimes nothing does. Start with the minor scale: seven rows out of twelve, and most of the clashing notes disappear.
Open the minor scale lessonYou don't know which chords to use
You have a note or a bass line, and you're looking for what goes on top. A key gives you seven chords that belong together; we show you which ones and why.
See the chords of a keyYour 808 doesn't sit with the rest
The beat is good, but the low end sounds off or disappears. An 808 is a note: you tune it, you make it follow the chords, you make it glide in the right place.
Tune your 808You want the key of a sample
Before you lay down chords, you need to know where you are. You'll learn to find it by ear, and to understand why tools often hesitate between two answers.
Find the keyYour loops go nowhere
Eight bars that sound great, then nothing. We show you how to turn them into a verse, a build-up and a drop that keep the energy.
Go from loop to trackYou're starting from zero
No theory, no keyboard, no problem. We start with sound itself, then the twelve notes of the piano roll, one thing at a time.
Start at the beginningHow a lesson works
- First, you listen. Every idea comes with an example that plays right in the page: two loops to compare, a chord that changes color, a groove with and without swing.
- Then we put a name on it. In plain sentences, with the words you'll see in your DAW, and a close look at what happens on the grid.
- Then you do it yourself. A worked exercise, a short quiz, and a precise task to try in FL Studio, Ableton or Logic before the next lesson.
The piano roll, or a keyboard if you already play
Every figure in the course comes in two versions. The "Piano roll" view shows your DAW's grid; the "Keyboard" view shows the same notes on piano keys. Pick your DAW too: middle C is called C5 in FL Studio and C3 in Ableton and Logic, and the site names notes the way yours does.
The curriculum
52 lessons in 8 parts, from single notes to a finished track. Each takes ten to twenty minutes, exercises included.
- Notes and the GridSound, the twelve notes, the piano roll, MIDI, 6 lessons
- RhythmTempo, bars, note values, groove, drum patterns, 7 lessons
- Scales and KeysMajor, minor, finding the key, modes, pentatonics, 7 lessons
- Intervals and ChordsDistances, triads and seventh chords, voicings, 7 lessons
- Chord ProgressionsTension, classic progressions, by genre, borrowed chords, 7 lessons
- Melody, Bass and ArrangementMelodies, motifs, bass lines, 808, arps, structure, 7 lessons
- Sound and TheoryHarmonics, frequencies, pitch, detune, tempo in milliseconds, 6 lessons
- Putting It into PracticeAnalysing, finishing a track, genre guides, routine, 5 lessons
The tools
Tools to keep open next to your DAW: they play, they name, they calculate.
- Explaining piano rollPlace notes over four bars: the site names each chord, its role and the key, live.
- Key finderCheck the notes you hear: see which keys they fit, and how to choose between them by ear.
- Scales and modes on the gridPick a tonic and a scale: see which rows to use and hear the color of each mode.
- Chord builderPick a root and a chord type: notes, roles and inversions, to see and hear.
- Chord progressionsWrite a progression in roman numerals, in any key, and hear it loop.
- Drum machineSixteen steps, seven sounds, swing and accents: write and hear the main rhythms of electronic music.
- ArpeggiatorTurn a chord into a pattern: direction, rate, octaves and note length.
- Tempo in millisecondsHow long each note value lasts at your tempo, to set a delay, a reverb or an LFO.
- Notes and frequenciesThe frequency of each low note, or the note behind a frequency, to tune a kick, an 808 or a sub.
- Pitching a sampleSemitones, cents, playback speed and tempo: what changes when you shift the pitch of a sample.
- Waveforms and harmonicsSee and hear the harmonics of sine, triangle, square and sawtooth waves, then filter them.
- Interval ear trainingHear two notes, name the distance, then see it on the grid.
- Chord ear trainingHear a chord and name its type: major, minor, sevenths and more.
- Online Metronome and Tap TempoSet a tempo, or tap along to find the BPM of a song
Get the 20 chord progressions pack, explained
Twenty MIDI loops, chords and bass, to drop straight into your piano roll. Each one comes with its own card: why it works, and the precise change that makes it yours.
- The loops from the lessons, from trap to deep house, at the right tempo
- A twelve-page guide, with every progression drawn on the piano roll
- For each loop, a link to the lesson that explains it in full
Your questions
Why learn theory if Tunebat or a chord plugin already does it?
Because they give you an answer, not a decision. Tunebat tells you the sample is in A minor; it doesn't tell you which note to hold over the third chord, or why your chorus feels flat. Theory teaches you to read what those tools suggest and reshape it, so the result sounds like you instead of like everyone else.
Do I need to play piano?
No. The whole course works in the piano roll view, with a mouse. If you have some piano background, the keyboard view helps you connect it to what you already know.
Won't theory kill my creativity?
It doesn't impose any rules. It gives you words for what your ear already does, so you can repeat on purpose what works and understand why something sounds wrong. You always have the final say.
Does it work with my DAW?
Yes. The ideas are the same everywhere. The "My DAW" setting covers FL Studio, Ableton Live and Logic Pro, and the "In your DAW" boxes tell you where to find each feature. In GarageBand or Bitwig, pick Logic Pro or Ableton Live, which name octaves the same way.
How long does it take?
Ten minutes a day is enough to cover a lesson every two days. At that pace, you'll finish the whole curriculum in about three and a half months.
Is it really free?
Yes. Every lesson, quiz and tool is free, with no sign-up. Your progress stays in your browser.
Open your DAW, and let's begin
The first lesson takes about fifteen minutes. You'll hear why the same note can sound low or high, and what an octave is. By the end of the course, what used to happen by accident in your beats, you'll do on purpose.
Start the first lesson