In beta: free 30-day access
Understand Music.
30 days. A dollar a day. One hour a day.
A real bootcamp for the LANGUAGE of music: one language that applies to every instrument and every style. Thirty daily lessons with interactive tools, a test to pass each day, and you walk away with a FULL foundation in music theory. No instrument required: an on-screen keyboard means you can start before you even own your first one.
Try it right now with your mouse or computer keyboard:
Sound on: turn your volume up and make sure your device is not on silent.
Play with your mouse, touch, or computer keyboard (A-L row = white keys, W E T Y U row = black keys)Tap the keys to play
One Language, Every Instrument
Scales, chords, keys and rhythm work the same whether you play guitar, sing, drum, or produce. Learn the language once and take it anywhere.
Zero Instruments Required
An on-screen keyboard you play right in the browser, plus ear trainers, chord builders, rhythm games and a metronome. Every day ends with a test you pass to unlock the next: that's the bootcamp part.
Real Musician Skills
The Nashville Number System, transposing, and how working musicians actually think, so you can play with anyone, in any key.
One language. Every instrument.
Music theory is not piano theory. It is the shared language underneath all of it, and the same twelve notes run through every instrument there is. Learn it once and it comes with you.
Guitar and bass
One fret is one half step, exactly like one key on a keyboard. Chord shapes stop being shapes to memorize and become triads you can spell, which is why you can then move them anywhere on the neck.
Drums
Drums are pitchless, so a drummer's share of the language is time: meter, tempo, downbeats and subdivisions. That is a full week of this course, and it is the part that makes you the one holding the band together.
Voice
Melodies are scale degrees moving over chords. Once you hear a phrase as numbers instead of guesswork, you can find your harmony, pick your key, and know why a note feels wrong before anybody tells you.
Production
Basslines live on roots and fifths, a chord progression is a loop you can now write on purpose, and transposing a sample to fit your track stops being trial and error.
You need nothing to start
There is a playable keyboard built into every lesson, so you can take the whole thirty days on the device you are reading this on. No purchase, no setup, nothing to plug in.
But a keyboard is a great place to start
This bootcamp is built around the keyboard on purpose. Every note is laid out in front of you in order, the pattern of black keys tells you where you are, and the distance between two notes is something you can literally see. Nothing else makes theory this visible, which is why it is worth learning on even if you never intend to be a piano player.
If you want one, look for 61 full-size, touch-sensitive keys. That is the size where the layout stops being cramped and chords fit under your hands. The Yamaha PSR-E383 (around $180) is the one we recommend.
Free Chord Tools
No account needed. Press any combination of keys and get the chord named, every triad, 7th, 9th, 13th, inversion, and crazy cluster. Or pick a chord from the menu and see exactly what to play. Works great on your phone as a quick reference next to your instrument.
What chord am I playing?
You're playing
…
Tap keys to build any combination. Tap again to remove a note.
Sound on: turn your volume up and make sure your device is not on silent.
Show me a chord
C
C Major1 3 5C · E · G
Sound on: turn your volume up and make sure your device is not on silent.
Handy, right? The bootcamp teaches you to build all of these yourself. Open the full-page version →
Learn from a working musician
I built this bootcamp from the lessons I've taught one-on-one for years. Music theory is one language shared by every instrument, and I teach it using a keyboard on your screen because that layout makes the concepts click. What you learn here applies to guitar, bass, drums, voice, production, all of it. No stuffy textbook theory. Just the practical stuff that makes you a better musician.
Get stuck? You can open a support ticket right inside the app, and soon you'll be able to book one-on-one video lessons with me too.
The 30 Days
One lesson a day. Pass each day's test to unlock the next.
Free while we test it.
Free during beta testing
Free$30
Normally $1 for each day of the bootcamp. Free while it is in beta testing, with 30 days of access: long enough to finish the whole thing.
- All 30 daily lessons, interactive throughout
- Playable piano, ear trainers & rhythm games
- Daily tests with progress tracking
- In-app support from John
- All future lessons & tools included