Introduction to Music Theory: A Free Online Course

The Alison free online course “Introduction to Music Theory” introduces the basic concepts and terms needed to discuss melody and harmony. Concepts covered include interval, major and minor keys and scales, triads, chords and beginning harmonic analysis. The course is suitable for teens or adults with no background in music theory but some familiarity with reading common notation and playing an instrument (or singing).

Introduction to Music Theory Course Content

Unlike other online music lessons, Introduction to Music Theory introduces the basic concepts and terms needed to discuss melody and harmony. The course includes the following topics:

Where octaves come from;
How to name a particular octave and how to divide octaves into a scale;
Enharmonic spelling of notes such as sharp, flat or natural;
Identifying the pitch of a note, chromatic scales, whole steps, whole tone scales and intervals;
How to classify intervals including perfect, major, minor, augmented and diminished intervals;
Ear training and relative pitch, tuning, playing chords by ear;
Improvisation, recognizing intervals, writing music and much more.