Music Theory Masterclass 2: Chord Progressions and Harmony

In this second music theory masterclass, I talk about common chord progressions and the basics of harmony.
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[@TheArtofGuitar]

Keep doing the good works Rick. Love it.

[@Ruprecttt]

You're doing some good work yourself!

[@alexmejia3515]

You're great too! Appreciate what both of you guys do

[@jmd12127]

Wow. The more I watch all these theory videos, the more I realize how much I don’t KNOW that I don’t know. Thank you, Rick.

[@UrbanComposerMusic4L]

🎯💯😭😵‍💫😂

[@dennisardas697]

Rick, every Saturday morning my time I look forward to "what will Rick teach us", you are such a great human being just sharing your love of music with the rest of the world. Let's give Rick and his crew a standing ovation 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@wizinthewoods]

Amen

[@richschmitt100]

You look like a high school Track coach.

[@tiablasangoriti8347]

Rick you are a master or Music Theory. I also enjoy your passionate upbeat style. I wish I had you as a music director in the mid 70s. Keep the videos coming they are Stellar.

[@richardsantiago944]

you're the best! I'm a disabled vet who is recovering from surgery for a broken ankle. You have made learning guitar, at boomer age level very interesting and knowledgeable!

[@pranavphx]

Your book is fantastic. Been using it for a year. It will take years to imbibe all of it

[@LD-qj2te]

Thank you Rick your channel brings real happiness and joy !!! I wish I had a guitar teacher like you when I was a kid. We grew up in the sticks and all we had was one battered Mel Bay book

[@adamlane2156]

Great stuff. I wish I’d had Rick as a teacher 30 years ago.

[@nuneko11]

So did I!!

[@andrehughes1]

All fantastic info. Your channel is undeniably the most interesting on KZbin. The important thing to creating compelling and popular music is... Production. Interesting melodic progressions, amazing lyrics, and stunning instrument virtuosity, all live and die with the right studio production. That means instrument panning, stereo imaging, overdubs, studio effects, multi channel compression, mastering, etc. The most mundane songs can be made into instant top ten hits just because they sound good...

[@LarryHovis]

Here I go again...I was away to the coast this weekend and what better way to come back to reality than watch a music theory video? Which I hate, but I always listen. Today is better than most, however, because I'm still here at the 25 minute mark. So, good stuff here. When I was younger, I'd just read the notes and play. Now that I'm older, I hear the song and play, and videos like this help me to reach into corners and dark spaces that I would otherwise never inhabit. I started playing double bass in 1970 in the Seattle area and I took some introductory lessons from Bruce Lawrence of the Seattle Symphony. Many years later I worked in the bass shop where I first met Bruce (that's where I got my start in lutherie) and Hammond told me a story one night about how Gerard Schwartz of the Seattle Symphony had chastised Bruce for not practicing. Bruce muttered under his breath "Well, I'm not paid to practice..." and that's funny and rings so true with me. That's how I feel about theory. Anyway, thanks again. :) This is fascinating stuff and I'll have to watch it again.

[@macschomo]

The handsymbols are mindblowing. Thanks!!!

[@3.k]

“The heart without a mind is just a pump.“ Great RB quote right there! :)

[@idontgivea1769]

But what is the mind without the heart..?

[@alena2love]

Yess

[@susanwojcicki5714]

i like it most when u play the chords while u talk about them

[@timothy5974]

Oh Mr.Beato, your my Music Yoda. Love the white boards and all you have for us. Love my Beato book which lives in my iPad wherever I go. 🙏

[@jamesrmorris1952]

I worked out music theory on my own when I was 16 30 years ago from working out why dongs had certain scales and chords in and I've worked it out correctly and it been foundational. I highly recommend it and understand it for yourself then once you know the rules you can break them when appropriate in interesting ways so your music doesn't sound like all modern pop. A borrowed cord sequence I love in G is |F Cm| G Dm| C| G| Also nice is G mixolydian

[@LoptukqrickL11]

Idk why I'm watching these lol. I don't play any instruments and I don't really plan on learning, but each one of these lectures have been super interesting to me. I guess it's like unraveling the mystery of music for me.

[@nigelmadeley7798]

You and me both. You don’t need to play to enjoy Rick on music.

[@markfontane1298]

If you already know the theory, why not pick up a second hand guitar or get a cheap midi keyboard for the computer? Who knows? Maybe you‘ll really enjoy it 😊

[@ericchenel4668]

I wish I could start my life over again knowing you can get that good. At 6 years old I would ask for a guitar instead of an Atari telling my parents « I really need to start now because I know what I want to be »

[@jackrobinson9403]

I beg you to buy yourself a piano and/or guitar no matter what age you are. If not, and you still want to master an instrument? Try a ukulele. Very cheap and most chords involve 1 or 2 fingers only. 20-50 gbp to buy a decent starter ukulele for an adult.

[@Ethiopianpiano]

I am 27 and starting from scratch

[@icepick859]

Me too

[@chubby4853]

@@Ethiopianpiano 29 , same here . Lets hope we catch up fast 🎸

[@snobgoblin1226]

Damn, im 20 tryna beat the learning curve

[@patrickcunningham618]

Thanks rick! have been watching you and other Ytrs from the near beginning, and it feels great to be able to be worthy of the Beato book. For a crooner, learning sign language, hand solfeggi, and the guidonian hand, this simple flats/sharps sign you shared with us is a nice bonus. The heart without a mind (even one as daft as mine) is just a pump!!!!!!!!!

[@gerrymusic59]

You Look Great, Rick! Thank you for your love for music! Greetings from Berlin! Gerald

[@HOLY_BATH]

Really appreciate you Rick. I had been trying to understand where these additional chords come from (what you call “borrowed” chords) in major keys for a long time and this explained it in a way that finally made sense to me!

[@serzjuh79]

For instance, you are in the key of C. Your typical chords are C Dm Em F G Am (and the Vii bdf) When you suddenly have the c note in the melody but the chord is like Aflat major, maybe your melody goes to d and your chord is Bflat major and melody rises to e chord back again to C. The Ab and Bb chord came out of a different key so to speak, so these are borrowed chords.

[@Jowls2024]

Yep just like my college classes. You gotta do it every day. Kinda like working out! I'm so fat.

[@TraneFrancks]

Rick, I already have the Beato Book 4.0 and the Beato Ear Training, but I confess that I really, really enjoy being back in music class again. Thank you for all you do.

[@tomclaeren169]

Do you have the audio format?

[@TraneFrancks]

@@tomclaeren169 I bought the Beato Book 3 PDF, upgraded to the Beato Book 4 PDF and then bought the online training for both the Beato Book online and Beato Ear Training. Both are excellent products.

[@OldStreetDoc]

When you popped up on the screen, in a ball cap & glasses, I thought to myself “Who the heck is that?!?” 😂 You look SO different, almost like you’re in a comedic disguise. 😂 LOVE the Masterclass videos! I’ve learned so much & really did NOT think that I would. Well done, sir. 👏🏼

[@ShanMichaelEscasio]

I found this hidden gem last night..and when i see the time uploaded "1 year ago" i was like "why did i not spot this sooner?

[@wizinthewoods]

I love the couple of minutes before Rick starts, always looks a little lost 🤣 and then he starts teaching... 🚀

[@trumjohannsmancave]

I love your stuff! Ever since I saw your breakdowns of RUSH and JONI just weeks ago I have been constantly coming back to more and more content😀🇸🇪🎶 I am 44 and have been playing all my life, mainly drums but also keys and guitar. My ears have always been great but I still struggle with reading (not rhythms but melodies and multipart harmony), I think my brain is not wired properly for it😆 Kinda like you explained about reading a book! Love the formulas of scales, modes, triads etc etc. Super useful🙏 Thanks again🤘❤

[@dubchile]

I'm scribbling down those modal formulae as I type this. Priceless tutorial Rick, thank you ✌😎

[@Timmie1995]

I was just playing all the 5ths in the circle of fifths, and when I got to the A-E interval, I couldn't help singing Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. And dang it, I was right, it's in A major. That's a small victory for someone who struggles to learn any theory or instrument.

[@gregp.8107]

Rick you are The Best! Regards from Poland

[@tangotommi]

YTM Rick! Love these tutorials! Amazing my brother!, so enlightening!🙏🏼👊🏼 Have a fabulous weekend!

[@TempoRhythmRhyme]

Rick, I'm a drummer that has a basic grasp of theory, but my struggle is what's the PURPOSE of each of these chords? That may sound silly to some here, but it is what it is.

[@daveberkheimer2166]

My old theory professor Mr Lumas at Towson state used to say, "First you learn all the rules and then you break them". :-)

[@mommy3ts]

Thank You for your time ❤️

[@audius2761]

Love the natural reverb effect on your vocal in this one 🤪

[@edzielinski]

Great theory lesson Rick! One thing - people like McDonald's - pick your happy meal or Big Mac just like you pick your chord progression. Why doesn't McDonald's offer more interesting choices? Why does almost all pop music use the same chords/progs? Are we all stuck in a comfort zone that we are unwilling to leave? Are the record companies making us musically lazy or are they simply catering to our desires? I'm 100% in support of Rick and his passion for more interesting choices - it takes some effort to find those songs, but it is worth it.

[@aslazaimi5824]

Exactly what I've been looking for

[@flexmasterson4297]

I wish that Rick would,occasionally remind us newer to music types what a “tonic” is and why you call the C chord in A- scale a tonic chord.

[@eileenharder2473]

There are some people that play guitar or piano that have never read music, nor do they know one lick ( pun intended) of music theory and they intuitively know all about chord progressions and how music works.

[@akufoy]

wow i just got so learnt. thank you!

[@lividea]

God bless you Rick! Thankyou so much for this

[@serzjuh79]

Of course, in harmony lessons I have seen and heard all the cadenses and 'cliché' variations. Most of the time this came through the lens of analysing and not so much creating. Therefore, the creative angle of view, (whereas songwriters are very much helped with this 'tonica, predom. and dominant'- chord approach) wasn't that much accentuated. This seems very helpfull to those who need to see/find the typical options, when writing a song. This is very very helpful to some of my more creative students. Aside from that, they can practise on their English music vocabulary further more haha.

[@reinhardseidl1]

Thanks Rick! 2 years ago i started watching your channel, and it was all chinese to me. Now i can follow exactly what you’re saying and i can apply it. Thanks to you, i feel like i’m going to college for free! You’re awesome.

[@roseclements8836]

That's good to hear. I'm listening for the first time and followed just fine until about half way through and am lost at the second dominant chords being transposed from letters to numbers. Guess I need a break and try listening again.

[@pankfish]

In my opinion you don’t really need to remember the chords in a minor key, you just have to be able to figure out what the relative major key is. The relative major is always a minor 3rd above the root.

[@whatabouttheearth]

But the structure moves. So once you transfer that sub mediant, the minor 6th that is the relative minor (which in C major the submediant, or 6th, is Am) to become the tonic, forming the key of Am, than you already moved the structure of the chords, so to remember one is to remember the other. But it's easier to flat out memorize the order instead of calculate the transfer. But yeah, Cm is the relative minor to Eb major, and Cm is the parallel minor to C major, while Am is the relative minor to C major. I guess making Eb major the parallel major to C major? If there is such a thing.

[@algarvemikebee1245]

I much prefer your iPad Pro and Apple Pencil lessons. Easier to follow and less distracting for us in my humble opinion. Great content.

[@johnborys7918]

THANK YOU!! great stuff....

[@dallasdoyle3120]

Hey Rick; I know you like the Beatles. Maybe one day you could do a show on the contributions of George Martin, that helped their music immensely.

[@reinpost]

I always wanted to learn this and I can think of no better teacher. However it would be very helpful to me if the chords were played as you mention them. Maybe by post-editing or by a second person or just by turning to the keyboard more often.

[@peterlaws1653]

mate you're doing my head in within stuff 🙂 mind you you my head can be a pretty febrile place at times

[@pixelboxcreative]

I have the Beato book, and it really does contain a massive wealth of theory information, and as Rick says, even information for beginners. It's really complete. However, I don't get as much use out of it as I want, because in order to understand the content of the Beato book, you have to learn notation. I think it's clear that Rick thinks learning notation is important, but it is a barrier to learning if I have to first learn notation and THEN use the book. Makes it a bit of a dissatisfier for me, personally. I don't have a strong urge to learn notation, but I do have a strong urge to learn theory and apply it. Those concepts are mutually exclusive. Still, I think Rick is brilliant.

[@petesesplankis8657]

Another great Video! Bought the book!

[@konroh2]

At 24:40 It's b6Major 5Major 4Mmajor 4 (minor!!) to 1, Rick said they are majors going down.

[@rancecampbell2584]

I can’t believe the amount of amazing content this man puts out. Completely revived my interest in music and gives me hope that future musicians will be inspired to make interesting music

[@jeremymarlow1802]

Happy Friday Rick, already bought your book

[@Uglybuttfiend]

Thank you for this. I am going to purchase one or both of your courses as soon as possible. Your enthusiasm is contagious.

[@philipkudrna5643]

Good quality stuff. Thank you, Rick! I would like to see you analyse and explain more real chord progressions from real songs, such as you did with the Radiohead song. Especially some older stuff (like Sinatra My Way) could give good material. In these arrangements, you find most of what you taught today. But you will definitely come up with your own great examples! Whitney Houston (‚run to you‘ etc) have the flat 6 borrowed chords all over. People would then maybe recognize what you teach. Maybe also as a sneak preview for your ear training course… keep up the great work!

[@michaelmcclary5061]

I studied music theory and composition in college, but never cared for the way my professors taught. Rather boring and hard to stay awake for an 8am class. Wish you had been my theory teacher.

[@bobravenscraft5376]

Rick you look like Nutty Professor teaching music. AGOOD THING

[@davidwood351]

Hey Rick, have you thought about doing an interview with Carol Kaye?

[@victorhugotoledocofre1366]

he never explained why he took down yesterday's mandalorian-plush video

[@PeanutNinja7]

As someone who graduated college studying music 3 years ago, my music theory within that time has gotten really rusty so I really appreciate you breaking down chord structures and progressions so in depth like this! Also the hand signals are GENIUS!!! Thank you for sharing! PS. I also thought of Radiohead when you started playing those chords 😉

[@aaronbennett1266]

Ty Rick! This truly has helped me. I wish I had started learning this stuff before getting 20 yrs into being self taught. But, better late than never I suppose. Never tooooo old to learn. Learn til we die

[@McSlobo]

Now here's an idea for you: review Eurovision Song Contest songs. If you don't know the concept you're probably going to have fun time.

[@RobBaartwijk]

"The intricacies of Save All Your Kisses For me"? "The inversions used by Lordi"? Oh PLease NO!!! :)

[@GM-dr8dg]

Your discussion of "borrowed" chords seems to be missing a more obvious reason to use them: there is chromatic movement of one of the notes between the three chords (ie, connecting two chords within the key chromatically with the borrowed chord)...if that makes sense.

[@bobbydreg5597]

Rick, you contribute so much to the music community. You’re awesome

[@rogerramjet6615]

In the Minor key it is far more common to use a Major Dominant chord. The Minor v chord is used in the less common Aeolian mode. When practicing the hand signals, it's worth remembering that the song could be in the relative minor. If you get 3 sharps you should think A Major or F sharp Minor. The most common use of the flat II chord in classical music (known as the Neapolitan chord symbolised as 'N') is in the cadential formula IV N6 V I.

[@xaviertejeda5865]

bro what

[@thepanicroommastering2062]

Thank you Roger, this is Mindblowing 😋

[@rogerramjet6615]

@@xaviertejeda5865 I know the terminology looks very complex when you are starting out I have been at this for decades. Just go through Rick's lessons slowly from the beginning, keep practicing and you will get used to it. The first statement just means that the V chord in a Minor key is often a Major chord (Nearly always in Classical music). Try both on your instrument and you should recognize the sounds. So play A Minor - E Minor then A Minor - E Major. They both sound great depending on the context of the music. The E Major contains the leading note (G sharp) which gives you the perfect Cadence (A final sounding ending)

[@rogerramjet6615]

@@thepanicroommastering2062 Thankyou you are welcome.

[@kahverengi]

Great instruction as always 👌

[@stevenrogersfineart4224]

45:00 I think the best explanation I can think of for feel vs. theory is to think of speaking a foreign language. You can express feeling with the tonality of your voice and your facial expressions, but you won't be able to SAY what you feel. With theory you aren't limited in your expression :) There are many times I hear melodies or chords in my head but I can't play them without tinkering. Again, it's like trying to have a fluid conversation when you're constantly flipping through a translator. You may find out where the nearest bathroom is, but you won't be having any meaningful conversations 😄

[@minimumviableproductions1822]

I remember my first guitar teacher walking through this last century... only now is it sticking

[@stompcity4085]

Love it brother

[@cchavez248]

Parallel minor chord? My dog ate it! 😁

[@rogerramjet6615]

To work out which chords are in the parallel minor, they are simply the chords from the flat III Major key. So the parallel minor of C Major are the chords of E flat Major. Just put the C below the C and move up by step through the chords. It's worth noting that if you see the diminished triad in diatonic music, it will either be the vii of the Major key or the ii of the minor key.

[@grproteus]

By the way, the Natural Minor scale is NOT the classic Minor scale. It's more like the Aeolian mode of the same root. The classical C minor has a B in there, not a Bb.

[@edkaempf906]

29:44 "I was a college professor at that time." Ahh, that explains everything! Great teacher and video.

[@songsmithy07]

Okay. I'm probably going to watch this one a couple dozen times before I write my next song

[@marcoantoniorezende5087]

look smart and "Eltony", Thanks for the class

[@peeweesherman]

22:00 Kendrick Lamar "How much a dolla cost" (Damm near close)

[@adityajadhwani]

Please make a part 3 sooooon🥺

[@3dwerwulf]

Does anyone knows what's the name of cadences in between like: VI-VII??? I can't find any theory about it and it's all over in pop music

[@ichirogutierrez4014]

Hi! I hope you make one video about Maneskin, the Italian rock band that just have won Eurovision!!

[@peterfieldscovers944]

What happened to yesterday video? Blocked?

[@scottjacobsen5653]

Love this Lesson!!! Rick is Awesome! I would love to see him and Jacob Collier have a chat about music theory!!!

[@kaiserjoe2316]

Best music teacher I never had. Until now. Thanks Rick.

[@lucrebrazzi4069]

I REALLY WISH YOU WOULD DUB THESE CHORDS PLAYING AS YOU WRITE THEM. IT WOULD REAALLY HELP TO UNDERSTAND AND WOULDNT BE HARD TO DO PLEEASE?!

[@karlderdelinckx]

And we keep on learning new tricks ;) I would wanne know if Rick knows of people who can play a gitaar like you can sing a solo over a song. Without al the theoretical knowledge. Just hearing the tune in you’re head and playing that directly to the gitare neck. There shure are people who can do this with simple songs. But are there also examples of musicians who did this like for real.

[@jimwar1890]

Really enjoy these lectures. They are very helpful. Since you keep referencing your book (which I purchased years ago) as a “future topic” suggestion, could you directly tie book content to lectures? “Get out your Beato Book and today we’re going to discuss pages...” I’d love that!!

[@ddejong88]

Boy, we went from where a borrowed major 3 comes from, to secondary dominants, to recognizing chord inversions real quick!

[@georux6783]

I want to absorb this so much more than I am. Although, when he said lets go from A- to G what's next. I got out my guitar and what sounded good to me was a F and then F-... a minute later, that was his conclusion. (I'm a very amateur player and haven't played music since high school Trombone.) I think it's time to retire and just study music and theory.. from Rick!

[@DonyaLane]

Obviously, you have good ears... Go for it! Your music knowledge will be yours for the rest of your life. I now live in south FL, and I have so many adult music students coming out of the woodwork. Keeps the mind very "sharp" (excuse the pun)!

[@josephsings]

Rick, I have been learning secretly with your training videos. Thank you so much for your generosity. One quick question, if one finger up is G Maj and one finger down is F Maj, what do we use to signify C Maj and Minor keys?

[@saucyjk6453]

excellent work rick, trimming the fat, condensing it down to its the most useful elements. you are probably helping more musicians than anyone im aware of, ever, really. your success is well earned and deserved. peace brother.

[@picksalot1]

Music Theory takes a lot of the brute force memorization that would be necessary to understand how music works. Thanks Rick for teaching a logical and thorough method that makes this easier and more fun. 👍

[@eileenharder2473]

This explains why I don't like any music of today, it's not just old age lol. The 60s music, 70s were best in my opinion. Pop music today, same old sound, uninteresting, boring, predictable. Currently I am learning Petula Clark's "Downtown" and I love how it changes keys half way thru the song from key of E to F. And there are some interesting sounding chords on there which I don't know what they are but they certainly not major chords

[@WP-pn6nu]

19:03 so "2nd dom", does it mean that the ratio/distance should be the fifth chord from that specific chord, since fifth chord usually wants to resolve into the 1th chord?

[@mikelcruzalegui1740]

Great video Rick! As a latin american fan I want to tell you that I admire your and that I have learned a lot with you, thanks! Ps:Can you react to Soda Stereo? It’s the best band in Latin rock history and I’m curious to know what your opinion is

[@edwardzeigler6437]

More specifically.... borrowed chords are from harmonic minor. Right?

[@That60sGuy]

Nice X-ray specs, Clark ...:-)

[@MegaSkillz101]

It’s Saturday in Australia. Hello MR Music man 👨

[@tntwashpro3863]

Is your ear traing course like this? This video is great

[@rogerramjet6615]

The vi chord can also function as a pre-dominant as it shares 2 notes with the IV chord.

[@redactedband8288]

Rick, your enthusiasm is awesome. I liked your story about the old school piano player on the gig you played on years ago and the hand signals. Keep up the great work!

[@mrroye]

Would you please PLEASE PLEASE do a video on best sounding noverdrive and distortion for a Transister AMPlifier. Every site compares them on tube amps. I don't get that except for the lower volume. It's still tubes.