How Music Works is a structured music theory reference for producers, musicians and curious listeners. It begins with the notes on a keyboard and builds towards harmony, composition and advanced musical practice. Each chapter aims to explain a concept in plain language with musical examples and connections to other topics.
The material is organised in five parts. You can follow it from the beginning or use the individual articles as a reference. The web edition concentrates on theory and musical understanding, rather than the assignments used in the accompanying educational programme.
All 24 chapters are now published. Articles will continue to be refined with additional diagrams, examples and cross-references.
Part A — Musical Foundations
- 01. Understanding Notes and the Musical Keyboard
- 02. Rhythm and Time
- 03. Intervals
- 04. Scales and Keys
- 05. Keyboard Skills I
Part B — Chords and Harmony
- 06. Building Chords
- 07. Keyboard Skills II
- 08. Understanding Keys and Harmony
- 09. Chord Progressions
- 10. Inversions and Voice Leading
Part C — Making Music
- 11. Writing Basslines
- 12. Melody and Phrasing
- 13. Musical Patterns
- 14. Musical Structure
- 15. Applied Composition
Part D — Developing Harmony
- 16. Seventh Chords
- 17. Chord Extensions
- 18. Advanced Voice Leading
- 19. Pentatonic and Blues Approaches
- 20. Modes and Modal Harmony
Part E — Advanced Musical Practice
- 21. Chord–Scale Relationships
- 22. Borrowed Harmony
- 23. Modulation and Reharmonisation
- 24. Independent Musical Study
See also: What Is a Scale?, an introductory article already published in the library.