Free

Music Theory for Producers

Just enough theory to write faster and stop guessing

4.6(2,117 reviews)62,700 learners

Created by Clara Benedetti

Updated February 2026EnglishBeginner6h44 lectures

What you will learn

  • Build major and minor scales and use them without thinking
  • Construct chords and extensions in the piano roll
  • Write progressions that go somewhere
  • Use borrowed chords and modal colour deliberately
  • Write melodies that fit the harmony underneath
  • Transpose and change key confidently

Course content

12 sections · 44 lectures · 6h total length

  • What this course covers, and what it does notPreview03:00
  • How to get the most out of itPreview04:00
  • Setting up and downloading the exercise files06:00

  • Notes and intervalsPreview13:00
  • Notes and intervals in detail06:00
  • A closer look at notes and intervals13:00
  • Worked example: notes and intervals09:00

Topics covered

Notes and intervalsMajor and minor scalesTriadsSeventh chords and extensionsChord progressionsCadences and resolutionModesBorrowed chordsMelody writingRhythm and syncopation

Requirements

  • A DAW with a piano roll
  • No ability to read music required

Description

This is not a conservatoire course. It is the small subset of theory that speeds up writing in a DAW — scales, chords, and why a progression resolves — taught at the piano roll rather than on a stave.

Your instructor

CB
Clara Benedetti

Producer and mix engineer

4.7 instructor rating1,42,400 learners3 courses

Clara has mixed records in proper studios and in a spare bedroom, and is honest about how much of the difference is the room rather than the gear. She teaches production as arrangement first, plugins last.

Learner reviews

4.62,117 reviews
  • 5 star64%
  • 4 star28%
  • 3 star5%
  • 2 star2%
  • 1 star1%
  • ER
    Elena R.28 January 2026

    Exactly what I needed. It assumes you are an adult and does not over-explain.

  • WV
    Wei V.18 August 2025

    Clear explanations without the usual filler. I watched most of it at 1.25x and still followed everything.

  • OK
    Olive K.5 December 2025

    The instructor answers questions properly rather than pointing you at the documentation.

  • QN
    Quentin N.19 October 2025

    Excellent. The examples are realistic rather than the usual toy versions.

  • ER
    Elena R.16 October 2025

    I came in knowing a bit and still learned plenty. The middle third is the strongest part.

  • KZ
    Kemi Z.7 July 2025

    Very practical. I applied something from module four at work the same week.

  • YK
    Yara K.3 August 2025

    Too much time on setup and not enough on the harder material I actually signed up for.

  • HN
    Hugo N.25 June 2025

    The pacing is right. Nothing is padded out, and the exercises are short enough that I actually did them.

  • CG
    Carla G.16 January 2026

    Genuinely well structured. I have started three courses on this topic and this is the first one I finished.

Showing 9 of 2,117 reviews.

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