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Learning Music Theory Online
In a sense, I’ve been self-taught most of my life. I taught myself how to code, and built a successful technology career before returning to get my degree. When I did that, I cracked books galore. The internet was relatively new and online resources such as Stack Overflow either did not exist or were in their infancy.
Late in high school, as high schoolers sometimes do, some friends of mine and I decided to put together a band. I picked up a cheap bass at the local music store and we learned a few songs, but no one really stuck with it after a few “practices”.
But sometimes opportunity strikes, and my Aunt had a cover band that played local venues, and they needed a bass player. I got the gig after a basic audition.
Now I really needed to learn how to play bass. Luckily, the band had most of their songs charted out on paper, so I literally printed them all out and charted out chord progressions and potential passing tones. Most of the material was standard 3- and 4-chord country based songs, so there weren’t many hard songs to learn.
But my actual learning came from MTV. I spent hours upon hours with my bass in front of the TV, playing with every song that came on. Back then, all MTV did was play music, and that was my training ground. The first song I ever played in such a session is Stranger In A Strange Land by Iron Maiden, a song that remains a favorite of mine.
And other than books that was the only real option.
Today, though, the learning resources are endless, and I have taken advantage of them not for my playing, but for my composing.
There are a ton of YouTube videos and other resources dedicated to becoming a better bass player. Scott Devine and Mark J. Smith are favorites of mine. I’ve learned a ton about bass technique, but also about how to think about bass lines.
But the biggest impact on my understanding of music and my ability to compose has been the incredible volume of high quality content on YouTube about music theory and how it can be applied to both modern music as well as classical music. I’ve never been able to learn from books, I learn by watching. I learned more watching my guitar player’s hands in my early bands than I ever did from a book.
I’m subscribed to over 20 channels dedicated to music theory. I often use them as inspiration. One of my favorite time signatures today is 11/8; one of the techniques I love to employ is polyrhythm, making odd time signatures feel like straightforward time signatures rhythmically. A video of legendary drummer Simon Phillips playing in 33/8 led to the song On A Failure To Dance, which is mostly in the same time signature. I’ve written several songs, and parts of songs, in Locrian mode, considered the “unlistenable” mode. That challenge came from another video.
The point is, if you want to learn, there is no shortage of high quality content online. The sky’s the limit if you want to learn.
As part of my own music content, I’ve outlined some specific channels here. They are well worth your time if you wish to learn.
Using ChatGPT As A Composer
I’ve experimented with AI quite a bit over the last year. I’ve used it to try to train a model to adopt my specific document review approaches. I’ve used it to build a portal on the fly to manage document uploads. I’ve used it when allowed during coding interviews. I even used it to a degree when building the scaffolding I used for those coding interviews, including a basic code, API, and test project.
Where I was most resistant to using it, though, was in my composing. I want what I produce to reflect me, not a machine. That said, I’ve found a specific and effective use for ChatGPT, in spite of all the ads telling me to stop using it “like Google”, because that’s exactly what I do with it.
When composing, I used ChatGPT to unblock by having it hopefully coalesce Google searches I would have executed myself and had to sift through to arrive at an answer.
I am currently writing a symphony. My first question to ChatGPT was to outline a typical approach to a Baroque style symphony and how I should think about structure. That’s pretty basic.
But recently I was writing the second piece in the orchestral suite. It requires the second part of the piece to transition from D major to A major, and then close in D major at the end. I was really struggling based on my melodies and progressions to get from D to A without it feeling like it was absolutely dying to resolve back to the D major chord.
So I sent over a prompt:
Sadly my A section ends naturally on an A for a measure to an A7 for an extra measure before returning to D major. At the end of my second A section, how do I now get to A? I feel like just staying there won’t work. Can I shift to F# minor instead? Or is there a turnaround since this is supposed to transition keys to the major 5?
ChatGPT suggested two responses, which I tried.
Option A – Classic ii–V–I into A
Near the end of the section, let D go, and instead:Treat B minor as ii of A
E7 as V of A
Then A as I (new key)
Example last 3 chords of the section:B minor → E7 → A
Coming out of D‑world you can arrive on Bm very naturally (vi in D, ii in A),
Then Bm–E7–A is a textbook ii–V–I in A major.
You can still touch D before that (so it feels like you’re still in D), but your final phrase should clearly choose Bm–E7–A instead of A7–D.Option B – Use F♯ minor as a pivot (your idea)
Yes, you can go via F♯ minor: it’s vi in A and iii in D, so it’s a legit pivot.Something like:
… D → F♯m → Bm → E7 → A
In D: F♯m = iii, Bm = vi. Still sounds like D.
In A: F♯m = vi, Bm = ii, then E7 = V, A = I.
Both sounded pretty harsh, so I let ChatGPT know I wasn’t fond of either choice after giving each a listen. After doing the usual “Oh You Are Right” false praise that AIs love to do, ChatGPT offered a few suggestions, and in going through them I figured out why they weren’t working: the D natural in the suggested E7 chord was still pulling back to D major. Once I came up with my conclusion I let ChatGPT know.
Ok so this is what ended up working. The original turnaround at the end was 1 bar D, 1/2 bar Bm, 1/2 bar C#dim, leading into an F# minor, which is how this progression starts. I replaced that with 1 bar Bm, then 2 bars E without the 7; the D in the E7 was wreaking havoc with my ear.
And ChatGPT gave me positive feedback on why it worked.
That’s a very sensible fix, and it explains why your ear finally relaxed.
What you had before:
Old turnaround:
D (1 bar) → Bm (½) → C♯dim (½) → F♯m …
That strongly re‑stated D as “home” right before moving on, so anything after felt like it still wanted to resolve back there.What you changed to:
New turnaround:
Bm (1 bar) → E (2 bars, no 7) → F♯m …
Why this works:No strong D at the end
By removing that full bar of D, you stop telling the listener “we’re safely back at tonic.”
Bm → E already steers the harmony toward A/F♯‑world instead of D‑world.
Plain E instead of E7E7 (E–G♯–B–D) introduces a dominant‑of‑A feeling plus that D natural, which:
still evokes the original tonic D major in the background,
and makes the ear half‑expect A (and then D after that).
Using E major (E–G♯–B) without the D:
keeps the pull toward F♯m/A,
but doesn’t slam a dominant function in the listener’s face.
The result is more ambiguous / modal and less “I must cadence.”
Bm → E → F♯m is a smooth directional lineIn D terms: Bm feels like vi, E like a chromatic “brightening” step, and F♯m like iii/vi.
In A terms: Bm is ii, E is V, F♯m is vi; that’s all compatible with A/F♯ as a new region.
But because you don’t resolve E7 to A, the progression flows forward rather than closing.
So the new version:Stops reaffirming D right at the end,
Points gently into the new harmonic area via Bm → E → F♯m,
Avoids the D that made everything sound like “prep for a cadence.”
This is exactly the kind of local surgery you want in a modulation: same broad shape, but you trim out the one chord tone (D in E7, and the big D bar) that kept yanking your ear backward.
This is actually the critical bit that’s super helpful. While I don’t always adopt the suggestions, I have a concrete list of reasons why something worked or maybe didn’t, and a concrete list of options when I’m stuck that would have taken a while to pull together from searches if I couldn’t dig myself out on my own.
So, in this case, ChatGPT has become what AIs should be. A useful tool. But definitely not a replacement for the creative magic.
Be welcome and true.
Rob Hope 