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Tomas George and Digital Music Masters

Learning how to write and create music effectively will dramatically improve the quality of your music and the speed you create it

In this course, you will gain a deep understanding of Music Theory as well as techniques and formulas to use when creating your own electronic music. What we learn in this course can help give you more ideas for your songs and can give you options to use in your composition. 

You'll learn the beauty and the power of music theory that's used by professionals today. 

With over 8-hours of videos, this music course is

What makes me qualified to teach you?

Read more

Learning how to write and create music effectively will dramatically improve the quality of your music and the speed you create it

In this course, you will gain a deep understanding of Music Theory as well as techniques and formulas to use when creating your own electronic music. What we learn in this course can help give you more ideas for your songs and can give you options to use in your composition. 

You'll learn the beauty and the power of music theory that's used by professionals today. 

With over 8-hours of videos, this music course is

What makes me qualified to teach you?

My name is Tomas, and I have a MMus Masters Degree in Music Production and a BA(Hons) Degree in Music Composition. I’m also the creator of some of the world's most popular music production courses - with over 300,000 students and thousands of 5-star reviews like these ones:

Really great teacher of music theory, taught exercises into great depth but explained exercises simply, recommend it to anyone who has never studied music theory before - Milo C.

Very useful lectures which provide me a lot of information and improve my skills dramatically. His teaching method also helps me easily to understand. Thank you so much Tomas. - Huy N.

It helps a lot, I recommend it for beginners who have never learn anything about music. The lessons are enjoyable and there's a lot of examples about composing. - Alessio P.

What is this Music Theory course all about?

This Music Theory course will cover such topics as:

• Major scales,

• Minor scales

• Major chords

• Minor chords

• Diminished chords

• Chord progressions

• Modulation

• Relative majors

• Relative minors

• Modes

• Song analyses

• Deconstructed several tracks

• Writing a song from a drum beat

• How to write a song from a chord progression

• How to write a song from a melody

• How to write melodies

• How to write harmonies

• How to work out keys and scales

• Pentatonic scales

• PDF eBook included in this course too.

• And more

What you'll learn in this course will improve your music theory skills and can also help improve your songwriting abilities in any Digital Audio Workstation.

Learn to love music theory and create electronic music with these easy-to-learn techniques.

Go ahead and click the enroll button, and we'll see you in lesson 1.

Cheers,

Tomas.

Enroll now

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • The keyboard layout and major and minor scales
  • Chords and inversions to help you write your own music from scratch!
  • Major and minor chord progressions
  • Learn how to write memorable melodies and melodic tunes to make your songs really stand out from the crowd
  • Learn how to write bass parts that give your music more rhythm
  • How to analyse music theory in electronic tracks that you can use for new ideas for your own songs
  • Modes and other scales to help add some interesting elements to your music
  • Improve at music theory in general

Syllabus

Introduction and Getting Started

In this video, I give you a quick overview of what you are going to learn in this Music Theory for Electronic Producers course.

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In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, you will learn about how to use Udemy's user interface so that you can get the most out of this course.

Attached to this article, is the downloadable PDF Guidebook for this course.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I explain some of the music theory terminology that will be used in this course and what the different music theory terms actually mean.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about the keyboard layout on your Digital Audio Workstation and how you can work out the different notes on the keyboard.

Knowing the notes of a keyboard is essential for knowing about music theory and for writing your own music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I explain the techniques used to work out a major scale and how you can easily do this for any musical key.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I explain what Perfect 5ths are and how you can use them for writing harmonies for your own music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I explain what 3rds are and how you can tell the difference between major 3rds and minor 3rds. 

I also explain why you should use 3rds for writing your own music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I explain what chord progressions are and how to write your own.

I also show you some of the most common chord progressions used in music today!

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I explain what Perfect 4ths are and how you can use them for writing harmonies for your own music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you how to write chords and also invert these chords.

Creating chords and using inversions are essential to learn for creating your own electronic music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you how to write chords and also invert these chords. 

Creating chords and using inversions is an essential to learn for creating your own electronic music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I explain what chords progressions are and how to write your own.

I also show you some of the most common chords progressions used in music today!

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I go into more detail about inversions and how you can use inversions to improve some of your chords for your own electronic music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about 7th chords and explain the different types of 7th chords and how you can use them in your own electronic music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about more chord extensions, such as 9th and 11th chords and how you can use them when creating your own electronic music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about suspended chords and how you can use them in your own electronic music to create suspension. 

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I explain the circle of 5ths diagram and how you can use this to work out relative majors, minors and modulation.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about minor scales and the patterns and techniques used so that you can work out any natural minor scale.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about the chords and how to build chords in the natural minor scale.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about the other two minor scales, which are the Harmonic and Melodic Minor scales and what they can be used for. I also show you patterns and techniques so that you can work out these scales.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you how to write a song starting by writing chords and then adding a melody. 

This technique is very common and in this lecture, we use some of the patterns and techniques used from the previous lecture for building a song from chords.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you how to write a song starting by writing a melody and then adding the chords.

This technique is also very common and in this lecture, we use some of the patterns and techniques used from the previous lecture for building a melody.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you how you can use arpeggios to add more movement and countermelodies to your songs.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you how to write bass parts for your own music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you how to write bass riffs and also how you can adapt your melodies.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you one of my tracks and I deconstruct and show and show you how and why I wrote the chords the way I did.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you one of my tracks and I deconstruct and show and show you how and why I wrote the chords like this.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you one of my tracks and I deconstruct and show and show you how and why I wrote the melody the way I did.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you one of my tracks and I deconstruct and show and show you how and why I arranged the way I did.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you another one of my tracks and I deconstruct and show and show you how and why I wrote the chords like this.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you another of my tracks and I deconstruct and show and show you how and why I wrote the melody the way I did.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you another one of my tracks and I deconstruct and show and show you how and why I wrote the chords like this.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you another one of my tracks and I deconstruct and show and show you how and why I wrote the melodies and arranged the track.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you how to create a song starting from a drum beat and then building a track from there.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about what modes are and how you can use them for your music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about what the Ionian mode is and how it is different from a major scale.

I also explain how you can work out how to use this mode for writing your music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you how to create a song starting from a chord progression and then building a track from there.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you how to create a song starting from a melody and then building a track from there.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I show you how to create a song starting from a melody and then building a track from there.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about what the Dorian mode is and how it is different from a major scale.

I also explain how you can work out how to use this mode for writing your music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about what the Phrygian mode is and how it is different from a major scale.

I also explain how you can work out how to use this mode for writing your music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about what the Lydian mode is and how it is different from a major scale.

I also explain how you can work out how to use this mode for writing your music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about what the Mixolydian mode is and how it is different from a major scale.

I also explain how you can work out how to use this mode for writing your music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about what the Aeolian mode is and how it is different from a major scale.

I also explain how you can work out how to use this mode for writing your music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about what the Locrian mode is and how it is different from a major scale.

I also explain how you can work out how to use this mode for writing your music.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I give an on-screen example in Ableton Live and I show you how you can use the Dorian mode to create your own track and also how it's different from a regular major scale.

In this Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers lecture, I talk about what the major and minor Pentatonic scales are and how you can use them.

I also give an on-screen example of the major and minor Pentatonic scales and how to use these scales with either a major or minor chord progression.

Traffic lights

Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Explores major and minor scales, which are foundational for understanding harmony and melody in electronic music production
Covers chord progressions, modulation, and modes, which are essential for creating interesting and dynamic electronic music arrangements
Includes song analysis and deconstruction of tracks, which can provide practical insights into applying music theory concepts in real-world electronic music production
Teaches how to write melodies and harmonies, which are crucial skills for creating engaging and memorable electronic music compositions
Includes a PDF eBook, which can serve as a valuable reference guide for music theory concepts and techniques learned in the course
Requires learners to understand the keyboard layout, which may pose a challenge for those without prior experience playing a musical instrument

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Reviews summary

Music theory for electronic producers

According to students, this course provides a solid foundation in music theory specifically designed for electronic music producers. Many find the coverage of scales, chords, and progressions to be clear and easy to understand, making complex topics accessible. The course is particularly valued for its emphasis on practical application, demonstrating how theory translates into creating actual tracks within a DAW, significantly improving songwriting abilities and creativity. It is widely considered excellent for beginners, offering a structured and comprehensive path into theory for those starting out.
Covers a wide range of essential theory topics.
"Covers all the fundamentals - scales, chords, progressions, modes."
"A complete course that covers everything you need to know to get started."
"From basic scales to modes, the syllabus is quite extensive."
"Good coverage of essential music theory concepts."
Instructor breaks down concepts effectively.
"The teacher explains everything very clearly and simply."
"Concepts were explained well and easy to follow along."
"Instructor's teaching style makes learning theory enjoyable."
"Everything was broken down into digestible parts."
Very accessible for newcomers to music theory.
"Perfect for beginners who have never learned music theory."
"Makes complex music theory simple and easy to grasp."
"If you're new to theory, this course is a great place to start."
"Assumes no prior knowledge and builds concepts step by step."
Shows how theory applies directly to making music.
"It shows how to actually use music theory when you are producing electronic music."
"Focus on real world examples and practical application in a DAW."
"Learned how to apply concepts like scales and chords to write my own songs."
"This course gave me the tools to write better melodies and bass lines."
May be too basic for intermediate/advanced students.
"Excellent for beginners, but intermediate users might find it lacks depth."
"Covers fundamentals thoroughly but doesn't go into advanced topics."
"Good starting point, but I'll need more advanced courses later."
"Focused on the basics, might not challenge experienced musicians."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Music Theory for Electronic Producers - The Complete Course! with these activities:
Review Basic Music Theory Concepts
Reinforce your understanding of fundamental music theory concepts before diving into electronic music production.
Show steps
  • Review the definitions of notes, scales, and chords.
  • Practice identifying intervals and key signatures.
  • Complete online quizzes to test your knowledge.
Read 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory, 2nd Edition'
Solidify your understanding of music theory fundamentals with a comprehensive guide.
Show steps
  • Read the chapters on scales, chords, and progressions.
  • Complete the exercises at the end of each chapter.
  • Take notes on key concepts and definitions.
Practice Identifying Chord Progressions
Improve your ability to recognize and analyze chord progressions, a crucial skill for electronic music composition.
Show steps
  • Listen to various electronic music tracks.
  • Try to identify the chord progressions used.
  • Use online tools to check your answers.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Compose a Short Melody Using a Specific Mode
Apply your knowledge of modes by creating a short musical piece, enhancing your understanding of their unique characteristics.
Show steps
  • Choose a mode (e.g., Dorian, Phrygian).
  • Compose a melody using the notes of that mode.
  • Record your melody using a DAW.
Deconstruct an Electronic Music Track
Deepen your understanding of music theory by analyzing the structure and harmonic content of a professional track.
Show steps
  • Select an electronic music track you enjoy.
  • Identify the key, scales, and chords used.
  • Analyze the song's structure and arrangement.
  • Write a report summarizing your findings.
Create a MIDI Chord Pack
Solidify your understanding of chord construction and progressions by creating a reusable MIDI pack for your own productions.
Show steps
  • Create a collection of major and minor chords.
  • Create a collection of 7th and extended chords.
  • Create a collection of common chord progressions.
  • Export your chords and progressions as MIDI files.
Read 'Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio'
Learn essential mixing techniques to enhance the quality of your electronic music productions.
Show steps
  • Read the chapters on EQ and compression.
  • Experiment with different mixing techniques in your DAW.
  • Analyze the mixes of professional tracks.

Career center

Learners who complete Music Theory for Electronic Producers - The Complete Course! will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Electronic Music Producer
An electronic music producer brings musical ideas to life using software and hardware tools. The work involves composing, arranging, mixing, and mastering tracks for release. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course helps build a strong foundation in music theory, which is essential for creating compelling and innovative electronic music. The course covers major and minor scales, chords, chord progressions, and modes. It even deconstructs existing tracks. This knowledge directly translates into the ability to write better melodies, harmonies, and bass parts, improving song writing abilities in any Digital Audio Workstation. This course emphasizes creating electronic music, making it more valuable than a generic music theory course.
Composer
A composer creates original musical works for various mediums, such as film, television, video games, or concert performances. This often involves writing melodies, harmonies, and arrangements, and understanding music theory is crucial for this process. If you're looking to become a composer, the Music Theory for Electronic Producers course can help you to improve your understanding of music theory fundamentals, like scales and chords. It can teach you how to write melodies and harmonies. It can also teach you to analyze music and deconstruct tracks. This is an invaluable skill for coming up with fresh ideas. The course is designed for electronic producers, helping you to develop skills that are directly applicable to modern music creation.
Songwriter
Songwriters craft the lyrics and melodies that form the foundation of a song. Although some songwriters focus primarily on lyrics, a strong understanding of music theory helps them to create memorable and catchy tunes. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course can help you in several ways. It covers essential topics like scales, chords, and chord progressions, helping you to write more interesting and effective melodies and harmonies. You'll also learn how to analyze existing songs, which provides inspiration and insight into what makes a song successful. The course specifically focuses on electronic music production, making it a relevant and practical choice for aspiring songwriters in that genre. Also it teaches you how to write songs from a melody, chord progression, or even a drum beat!
Remixer
A remixer takes an existing track and reinterprets it, often adding new elements, changing the tempo, or transforming the genre. A solid grasp of music theory is essential for seamlessly blending new ideas with the original composition. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course helps you acquire knowledge of music theory, which can improve the quality of your remixes. By deconstructing tracks and analyzing chord progressions, you can better understand the underlying structure of songs. You can then use scales, chords, and modes to add new layers and create original remixes. Because the course focuses on electronic music, it is highly relevant for anyone looking to remix electronic tracks.
Arranger
An arranger takes an existing musical piece and adapts it for a different ensemble or style. Often, this involves re-harmonizing melodies, creating new instrumental parts, and adjusting the overall structure of the song. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course helps you to improve your music theory knowledge, which is crucial for arranging. With the course, you'll explore major scales, minor scales, major chords, minor chords, diminished chords, chord progressions, modulation, relative majors, relative minors, and modes. With this knowledge, you will be able to create unique arrangements. The course focuses on electronic music, so you will learn arrangements that are specific to the genre.
Video Game Composer
A video game composer creates music and soundscapes for video games. This requires understanding of music theory to create fitting and immersive soundscapes. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course helps to improve your understanding of music theory. It covers understanding of scales and chords, and how to write melodies and harmonies. It also deconstructs several tracks. All of this is very important for success as a video game composer. As the course focuses on electronic music, it is a great fit for anyone looking to score video games with an electronic sound track.
Jingle Writer
Jingle writers create short, catchy tunes for advertisements. These need to be memorable. Music Theory for Electronic Producers can help you to create a catchy tune. It covers how to write melodies using chords, scales, and chord progressions. The course also analyzes songs, allowing you to analyze jingles. This will help you to understand how to write effective jingles. As the course is focused on writing electronic music, you will understand how to create modern and catchy jingles.
Sound Designer
A sound designer creates or manipulates audio elements for various applications, such as video games, film, or music production. While sound design often involves technical skills, a knowledge of music theory helps designers to create sounds that are harmonically and rhythmically interesting. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course may be useful, as it offers a foundation in music theory, covering topics like scales, chords, and modes. Knowing these elements may allow you to create more interesting soundscapes. Understanding chord progressions and modulation can create more complex and engaging sound effects. The course focuses on electronic music, making it a good fit for sound designers working in that genre.
Music Supervisor
A music supervisor selects and licenses music for films, television shows, and other media. While a music supervisor doesn't necessarily need to be a composer or musician, a strong understanding of music theory can help them to better understand the nuances of different compositions. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course may be useful. It covers the fundamentals of music theory like scales and chords and offers insight on the topics of song analysis. This understanding can help you to evaluate the musical qualities of different tracks and determine whether they fit the project. The course focuses on electronic music, making it a potentially good fit for supervisors working on projects that feature this genre.
Audio Engineer
An audio engineer is responsible for recording, mixing, and mastering audio. Although this role is often technical, a basic understanding of music theory can help engineers to make informed decisions about equalization, compression, and other audio processing techniques. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course may be useful, as it provides a foundation in topics such as scales, chords, and song structure, as well as harmony and melody creation. This will inform how you use audio tools. The course focuses on electronic music, exposing you to concepts in the genre.
DJ
A disc jockey selects and plays music for an audience, often blending tracks together seamlessly to create a continuous mix. While DJs don't typically compose original music, an understanding of music theory can help them to choose tracks that are harmonically compatible and create more interesting transitions. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course may be useful. It covers topics such as scales, chords, and key signatures. This knowledge can help you to select tracks that will mix well together and create harmonious transitions. The course focuses on electronic music, making it a good fit for DJs who specialize in that genre.
Musical Director
A musical director oversees the musical aspects of a performance or production, such as a play, musical, or concert. This role often requires a deep understanding of music theory, as the director is responsible for guiding the musicians and ensuring that the music is performed correctly. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course may be useful. It covers the fundamentals of music theory, such as scales, chords, and chord progressions. With this knowledge, you can better understand the nuances of different compositions and provide informed guidance to musicians.
Music Journalist
A music journalist writes about music for newspapers, magazines, websites, and other media outlets. While music journalists don't necessarily need to be musicians, a basic understanding of music theory can help them to write more informed and insightful articles. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course may be useful. It covers topics such as scales, chords, and song structure. It also covers how to analyze music. This improves your ability to write about musical compositions and the creative process of electronic producers. The course focuses on electronic music, making it a good fit for journalists who specialize in that genre.
Music Teacher
A music teacher instructs students of all ages in music theory, instrumental technique, and musical performance. A deep understanding of music theory is essential for effectively teaching these subjects. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course may be useful. It covers the fundamentals of music theory, such as scales, chords, and chord progressions. The course may also help you to better explain these concepts to your students. The course focuses on electronic music, which you can share with students to introduce them to this modern genre.
Arts Administrator
An arts administrator manages the operations of a music organization, such as a symphony orchestra, opera company, or music school. While arts administrators don't necessarily need to be musicians, a basic understanding of music theory can help them to make informed decisions about programming, budgeting, and fundraising. The Music Theory for Electronic Producers course may be useful. It covers the fundamentals of music theory, and may give you a better understanding of the creative process. This can allow you to better manage musical organizations.

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Music Theory for Electronic Producers - The Complete Course!.
While not strictly music theory, this book covers essential mixing techniques that are crucial for electronic music production. It explains how to achieve a professional-sounding mix in a home studio environment. The book covers topics such as EQ, compression, reverb, and panning. It's a practical guide that can help electronic music producers improve the quality of their productions.
Provides a solid foundation in music theory, covering topics like scales, chords, and progressions in a clear and accessible manner. It's particularly useful for beginners who need a gentle introduction to the subject. The book's step-by-step approach and numerous examples make it easy to understand and apply the concepts to electronic music production. It serves as a great supplement for those who find the course material challenging or need more background information.

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