Warmnote blog
Music theory & production
The musical ideas behind your tracks, from the difference between major and minor to the way chords, melody and bass fit together.
Articles
Music theory for beginner producers
The music theory beginner producers need: notes, rhythm, intervals, scales and chords, and how they connect to basslines, melodies and MIDI.
From sample loops to your own MIDI parts
How MIDI gives producers more control around sample loops: the difference from audio, the roles of bass and chords, and ways to develop an original phrase.
Major vs minor: what changes in the notes?
The difference between major and minor scales and chords, explained through C major, C minor and A minor, with examples relevant to MIDI and music production.
Diatonic chords: how chords belong to a key
What diatonic chords are, why a key contains different triad types, and how Roman numerals describe progressions in C major, A minor and other keys.
Chord inversions in MIDI: voicing and bass
What chord inversions change in a MIDI progression: root position, first and second inversions, voice leading and the effect of a separate bass part.
How a melody works over chords
How melodies relate to chords: chord tones, passing notes, repeated motifs and phrase endings, explained through a four-chord progression in A minor.
How a bassline connects chords and rhythm
What connects a bassline to chords and the kick: roots, fifths, octaves, note lengths and approach notes, with a clear four-chord example.
Ableton Live 12: Scale Mode and Fit to Scale
The difference between Scale Mode, Fold to Scale and Fit to Scale in Ableton Live 12, and why notes inside a scale can still relate differently to a chord.
Warmnote
Music theory for beginner producers
Understand music and write MIDI parts of your own. The first lesson is free, and the full course is being prepared.