Music Theory is SIMPLE....(when it's presented like this)

[@zombieguitar]

I have been making videos for KZbin for 6+ years now, and I never expected that this video would blow up the way it did. I fully expected it to FLOP. That said, I really didn't put a ton of time in making this into a great video. There are a few mistakes that I made throughout this video (such as me saying that "there's no such thing as a Cb", when we all know that there is...but I was just trying to keep things simple for the sake of the video). Had I known that this video would be my 4th most highly viewed video ever, I would have been much more careful about this. Anyway, please check out my part 2 video here titled "25 practical uses of the Tonnetz chart". This one is mistake-free and much easier to follow along with 😀: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2TOn4lpj7Z1mbs

[@williamhogge5549]

Could be worse. You could be arguing with people who say there is no C flat or B sharp. Been there done that.

[@dickrichard626]

@@williamhogge5549 There is no point in keeping track of the note letter names, when trying to visualize music. Obviously assigning sharps and flats to notes doesn't change how a note sounds in reality. the system of note letter names has sharps and flats to aid in the transcription of music. When it's not really that important to have keep track of and is superflous otherwise. I dropped the sharps, double flats, ect and started using numbers years ago. It just automatically makes way more intuitive sense then to try and visualize everything with a key signature and musical notation... Obviously people can do what ever they want and it makes no difference to me. I'm just saying the fact of the matter is, that there are only 12 distinctly differrent notes in a key and only 12 different identical keys, the extra keys are not real, and a note doesn't change because you decided to call it a B#, rather then a C. The system simply does this so that you don't have to add tons of accidentals when writing music notation, but they don't change anything in reality. I don't know how to explain this any more clearly...

[@Joel_Powell]

Cb exists in the key of Gb (Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F ...). E# is in the key of F# (F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D#, E#, F#). But I agree with having approaches that make things non-confusing as possible :). (and Gb/F# isn't exactly a key you run into often!)

[@williamhogge5549]

@@Joel_PowellF# is the relative minor of A major (4 sharps) The V chord in a minor key is a minor chord. If you raise the 3rd, you get a major/ dominant V chord, and the harmonic minor scale. Just for little ol' E#. Ps, don't tell Dick Richards. Lol, kidding.

[@williamhogge5549]

@@dickrichard626 I deleted my other comment. Maybe my blood pressure was spiking or something. My bad. Today I read your comment and don't see the attitude I did before. Humble apologies.

[@lukedub9670]

The original Tonnetz grid was created by arguably the greatest mathematician who ever lived, Leonhard Euler. He turned his mathematical mind to graphing music and first noted that a Major chord is a Major 3rd with a minor 3rd stacked on top, while a minor chord is a minor 3rd with a Major 3rd stacked on top. From there he branched out the relationships of those starting notes and built the grid mathematically

[@peterjrmoore3941]

that's interesting Luke. In the 90s I studied for about 10 years (into the noughties) with allaudin mathieu. His version of this chart was very helpful in visualizing where to go when improvising. See his "harmonic experience"

[@evetsnitram8866]

I just did a screen capture of this chart and trimmed it in Paint.

[@Ana_crusis]

I'm sure he was a wonderful mathematician but he was by no means the first person to understand the structure of chords. all musicians know that and have done since the invention of harmony

[@OTIAMEA]

by the way, Euler started to study the theory of music back in 1739 and published his "net of tones" in 1773.

[@TheAustinGuy]

@@evetsnitram8866 geni0s

[@xylemphlem5683]

I thought it was confusing first... But this is a pretty amazing chart to understand chords. Major = Triangle down🔻 Minor = Triangle up 🔺 Diminished = Slash going up ↗️ Augmented= Slash going down ↘️ Min7 = zig zag N ( /\/ ) Min9 = zig zag M ( /\/\ ) Maj7 = trent reznor N ( \/\ ) Maj9 = zig zag W ( \/\/ ) Dom7 = normal check mark ✔️ ***Just wanted to see the other ✔️ patterns as I'm typing this*** AugMaj7 = Backwards upright checkmark (leaning back L shape) MinMaj7 = Upside down checkmark (leaning forward 7 shape) Min7b5 = up3 notes, down1 checkmark ↗️↗️↗️↘️

[@Ana_crusis]

much easier and better to simply learn normal music theory and the structure of chords than mess about with this daft chart. diatonic chords are built on each scale degree in 3rds.. what's the big deal?

[@FlowerdyPilllow]

Thank you! Very handy to have!

[@williamhogge5549]

Learn those patterns and still not remember the notes of the chords? Sounds like an extra couple steps. Some are counter intuitive... Major goes down and Minor goes up?!

[@Ana_crusis]

@@williamhogge5549 Yes, it's ridiculous. people need to learn the standard easy way to build chords. it's very easy. this chart is completely unnecessary.

[@paulfpv]

I think some people, like me, find it easier to view things.. it helps when imagining it in my mind. I can easily play many instruments by ear but, for whatever reason, music theory it’s one of two things that doesn’t want to enter my brain…. (the other one is german language.. but this it’s because I don’t like how it sounds, probably) 🤷🏻‍♂️ …now let’s see if this chart will help me.

[@paulsiwy6097]

I was astonished when looking at this chart. I used to play accordian and this chart is exactly how the counterbass buttons are arranged. I never knew why they were arranged the way they were or their relationship to each other. I just knew they worked.

[@jj-eg5up]

That's fascinating. I am sure that is where this chart came from.

[@stellaqaustralia]

@Paul Siwy Wow. We never stop learning…

[@NickBatinaComposer]

Funny u should mention that, I’m actually writing an accordion piece rn lmao😂 it was kinda weird for me, since I was already familiar with this system of harmony, but had no idea how the arrangement of the buttons worked (until recently lolol, the piece is due soon 😂)

[@arthurmee]

I know next to nothing about the accordian but always wondered why the buttons were so arranged. The accordion players I asked didn't know either. Glad you mentioned it. 👏

[@rusty19]

not according to google images, accordians have 4 rows of chords, 2 rows of single notes. Other differences are the 5th row are all 7ths and the 4th row is all minors...

[@thegermantomoeser]

For anyone wondering: the German word "Tonnetz" just means "tone net" translated to English. It's not a name of some inventor or something 😁 Greetings from Germany🇩🇪

[@Hvranq]

Wenn man als Muttersprachler ein neues Wort lernt 😁

[@StratsRUs]

Toe Nuts Deez Nuts

[@alanmcclelland5245]

Dankenetz 😀

[@danbromberg]

See the wonderful write-up at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonnetz --- I was intrigued to see that my favorite mathematician created this masterpiece!

[@MrXyzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

The German word "Ton" translates better (here) as "note" so "Note net" fits even better.

[@TLMuse]

You can see the chart as simply encoding the idea that the standard chords of western music are made by stacking thirds. Major chords start with a major third and then stack a minor third on top of it. Minor chords start with a minor third and stack a major third on top of it. Both of them have a perfect fifth interval between the 1st and 3rd note. The rows are fifths because of that latter property. Up-to-the-right is a minor third, down-to-the-right is a major third, and when you stack those thirds to build minor or major chords, you naturally build the upward or downward triangles. The extended chords (M7, m7) add another major or minor third to the stack, resulting in the zig-zag pattern for such chords. -Tom

[@kuzev]

I've always said music theory in its essence isn't complicated. It's the notation that makes it complicated and using 7 symbols to rerpesent 12 semitones

[@lawrenceredmacher4382]

and the confusing terminology. like a "major second" interval being 2 semitones, "major third" being 4, "major sixth" being 9, etc...

[@dubaisensei]

Whoever who created notation was indeed a good musician, not as good at putting effort or teaching tho😂. Fifths etc...meaning essentially 3...tells you they didnt tried hard😂

[@willisingo]

Oh yes, lets dumb down 350 years of musical heritage with tabs so some asshole can figure out how to make asshole tapping and sweep picking passages easier.

[@DustinWHiser]

@@lawrenceredmacher4382 My totally un-researched theory is that these naming conventions make more sense if you think of them in terms of how they relate to a piano keyboard.

[@cbengg5536]

@@lawrenceredmacher4382 The terminology makes sense though, it's just based on scales instead of semitones. So on a piano, if you're in C Major (all the white notes), a 'major second' is the second note in the scale, 'major sixth' is the sixth note etc.

[@ahoneyman]

Accordions are set up like this. I think it's more for ease of use than teaching music theory. Not really an improviser so learning the notes on the fretboard worked for me.

[@Bigandrewm]

The circle of fifths is inside the Tonnetz lattice. Just pick a spot and look left-right, from the "common" perspective. In a real sense, the "circle" is a 1D view of the 2D lattice.

[@cubicinfinity2]

Really makes you wonder why it's not more popular.

[@ianbridges3318]

I first came across this a couple years ago (drawn mirror image to yours top to bottom). There are heaps of insights in the chart, secondary dominants, parallel keys etc. Very cool.

[@WiesnheimerBuckelfreund]

I've learned this 30 years ago. My guitar teacher tought me when i was a boy. In german it is called "Qintenzirkel". Quinte = 5th step up from the key note. Zirkel = circle. But i never learned it by heart because theory is boring 😅. It is much easier when you look at your fretboard and just play. When you know your notes on the fretboard you don't need to learn this. Knowing the notes is essential imo. For example look at D major and D minor: Where is the ground tone on the E string? Playing D minor you start the cage of the pentatonic scale with your pointing finger. When you play major you start the key note with your pinky 🙂 Now look at your hand in case of playing major and see where your pointing finger is put on - it is on the note B, right? Now you realize you are in the cage of B minor pentatonic scale. Practice that a few times with your looper and you will never have to take a look at that theoretical circle again. Rock on! 🤘

[@williamhogge5549]

Odd to call it the circle of 5ths...

[@WiesnheimerBuckelfreund]

@@williamhogge5549 ....just count along the scale: B is 5 steps up from D, right?

[@williamhogge5549]

B to D is either a minor 3rd or a major 6th... The reason it's odd is because, allow me to quote John Clease of Monty Python... we've already got one. 😁 We have a circle of 5ths and its actually a circle.

[@williamhogge5549]

"And it's very nice". 😁

[@jasonwojcik]

I am not sure which is awesome, this music tool or Brian's ability to write legibly with a mouse where it does not look like a kindergartener with a broken hand wrote the letters. Thank you for sharing, this is really mind blowing stuff!

[@zombieguitar]

🤣🤣🤣

[@keanuuuu]

Surely he’s using a stylus? Supreme mouse control to add to his list of skills otherwise !

[@brianholtzmusicsound]

Indeed. That is other worldly mouse control at a level we mortals can only dream of.

[@cubicinfinity2]

@@keanuuuu It's not a stylus. You can tell by the cursor movements, along with the fact that there is a cursor. If you adjust your mouse sensitivity for the task you can get much better results. I use mice that have a button for toggling sensitivity. It's a gamer thing.

[@chuckbosio2924]

mathematician Leonhard Euler came up with this. The stradella bass notes for an accordion follows a similar logic.

[@bobravenscraft5376]

Reminds me of everything else learned. By the time you learn how to use it you have memorized all options. Back in the Folder it goes

[@christianokami2220]

As a lifelong musician and theory nerd (piano), I’ve never heard of this scale until I got an Akai Force. (It’s a setting in the Notes function).

[@Bigandrewm]

The Tonnetz Lattice is also useful in non-equal-temperament tuning systems. Consider the "C major" view, where 2 Ds are on opposite sides of the "C major" segment. In non-ET systems, those 2 Ds are almost always not equal, and this lattice clearly shows this. Example: look up "1/4 Comma Meantone" tuning.

[@michaelsams9434]

This is a really cool chart. I don't know why this isn't more popular, but good thing you recieved that email.

[@joycegrove5602]

I love stuff like this, thanks for sharing, Brian!!

[@dhpbear2]

What to the numbers signify in the diagram?

[@frankmiller1391]

Very cool! Gives a nice visual on how everything is connected and the same. Basically a quick reference guide / cheat sheet. Once you understand the major scale, triads and the circle of fifths this tone chart becomes very useful. Thank you sir!

[@bar_fun3315]

I've never seen this before. Very cool! You went pretty fast with the patterns. I would love to see a follow up where you explore these patterns a little deeper. Just one constructive comment for you. I watched this on my phone and it looked like you were moving your mouse around to demonstrate the patterns but it was really hard to see and follow. Maybe if you could use some arrows or highlighting to demonstrate the patterns it would be easier to follow. Thanks for the great content. Keep it up!

[@zombieguitar]

I made the cursor super big, but the screen capture software that I use reverted it back to the original "small" size. Technology 🤷

[@xylemphlem5683]

Major = Triangle down🔻 Minor = Triangle up 🔺 Diminished = Slash going up ↗️ Augmented= Slash going down ↘️ Min7 = zig zag N ( /\/ ) Min9 = zig zag M ( /\/\ ) Maj7 = trent reznor N ( \/\ ) Maj9 = zig zag W ( \/\/ ) Dom7 = normal check mark ✔️ AugMaj7 = Backwards upright checkmark (leaning back L shape) MinMaj7 = Upside down checkmark (leaning forward 7 shape) Min7b5 = up3 notes, down1 checkmark ↗️↗️↗️↘️

[@arthurmee]

Just in case you are not aware, you can slow KZbin videos down. Go to the cogwheel settings and the speed control is in there. Apologies if you already know this.

[@skyDN1974]

@@arthurmee that’s new to me so thank you!!

[@therealpbristow]

@@arthurmee I rely *so* much on this feature! My old ears work slower than most young people's mouths... =;o}

[@auto1nfanticid3]

i like how, despite the whiteboard youre using having grid marks, you eschew the guides and choose to just free hand the whole thing.

[@zombieguitar]

Haha sorry 🤣🤣🤣

[@Graham_Wideman]

This was driving me nutty. I knew he was going to end up with a triangular grid, and it was sooooo uncomfortable seeing it written out on a conflicting square grid.

[@micbaron]

Fascinating how math and music are related. Thank you as always, Brian! With this, Ill be able to know which chords share the same notes

[@BluegillGreg]

For what it's worth, there is such a thing as a Cb. For instance, in a Db7 chord, the 7th is Cb. Calling it B natural would be wrong, because any sort of B (flat, natural, or sharp) denotes a 6th relative to any sort of D (flat, natural, or sharp). Fb, B#, and E# are also "real" and function similarly. Good video, thanks.

[@jst601]

It's just....make a "rule"...later, select where to break said rule...

[@davidsarles8890]

Super important for Neo-Riemannian theory, which is helpful for analyzing increasingly chromatic pieces between 1880-1915. Which is beyond the scope of undergraduate theory classes.

[@zombieguitar]

It's actually a pretty useful chart. I give 25 practical applications in part 2 here 😁: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2TOn4lpj7Z1mbs

[@Milaaq302]

Great way of simply illustrating how a note can be part of three minor and three major chords.

[@joejtunes]

I’m a music ed student, and I could never see myself using this to teach a class. It seems like more work to figure out chords and scales than just know the basic formulas

[@zombieguitar]

It's just a cool chart that shows the equivalent intervallic relationship between the 12 notes. That's all 😀

[@SHIFTnopistons]

At first glance, it’s cool because it would take less space than listing out all the chords and scales. Space saver.

[@demitreeful]

I would agree that understanding music theory is helpful, and sure, in a class setting, this might not be the ideal lesson. However, once one knows how the chart works, for composers, song writers and musicians that want a clean simple reference/practice chart, this is convenient. It could also be useful when collaborating with others of various levels of music theory knowledge. I have to say, I'm surprised how much information is represented in this chart. I'll be making one to put in my studio. Also, this chart might cater more towards people who have an easier time with understanding math and seeing a visual graph showing the relationships between the scales and notes within with the various patterns etc while others may find it more as you said, work to remember this chart rather then just memorizing the actual theory. On that "note", have a great week!

[@pastureexpectationsfarm6412]

It's another way to visualize the tones, and a nice tool for those of us who were not born Mozart.

[@greendeane1]

Agreed. It is unnecessary non-musical fluff. No sure what the point of such a chart would be. Learn your scales, that covers everything including what they sound like which is the most important thing.

[@VulcanDoodie]

This is extremely useful for composition, if you select triangles in a geometrical pattern you end up with a pretty cool chord progression with really really cool modulations every now and then. This is partly caused by the fact that chords you find in adjacent triangles have at least 2 notes in common with one another. so the progression feels smooth and interesting. You have to chose an arbitrary chord to resolve on though cause this goes on forever, building more and more tension. You will probably get the feel for it if you try it for yourself. On the other hand, I dont find it really useful to identify scales since the whole thing is arranged in thirds and fifths intervals, if you have to memorise a pattern just memorise the pattern on the guitar fretboard then. it also works. no matter where the starting point is, the pattern for a major/minor chord and the pattern for a major/minor scale is the same.

[@simonedwards4131]

Thanks for taking the time to introduce this as I've never heard of it before. It seems to work well for what you explained, but perhaps not so well for altered harmony. E.g. C7#5b9 (C E G# Bb Db). Harmonic minor looks interesting on this grid

[@johnnyrandom100]

Cheers Brian, I shall watch this again and make my own chart.

[@cancelbubble6535]

Never heard of it, either, but I gotta say, it seems pretty cool. For those wondering, Tonnetz is German for "tone network".

[@HarmonicaVaudeville]

Wow great job! For an harmonica player like me, it gave me new idea to play with my Harmonetta (weird harmonica from the 60's). Thanks for this great video! 🤜🤛 Now I going to watch the part 2!

[@kylezo]

I recognized this as the accordion fingerboard from the thumbnail and I was confused to hear it talked about like nobody has ever heard of it but I guess that makes sense for guitarists lol

[@joebowbeer]

I like this explanation better than most. The Navichord app on iOS is based on tonnetz but minor and major axis are flipped.

[@mountfoolish]

I only recently learned about this myself. I prefer writing it in excel with the sharps on top and the flats on the bottom. But it’s basically the same idea. I think it’s a neat supplement to the circle of fifths. But the circle of fifths is by far better overall, if I had to choose one over the other. What I like about tonnetz is seeing all the triads that have say, C in them. They all touch C. That’s not as easy to see on the circle of fifths. Thank you Brian for covering the topic! I agree it can have its uses.

[@kane6529]

That’s a very valid point! I was wondering what this would be useful for and that’s certainly one this is triads with common tones and I’m sure there’s a bunch of other hidden gems if someone with some solid theory sat down with it for awhile

[@mountfoolish]

@@kane6529Looking at it again. Chromatic mediants are MUCH easier to see on tonnetz than circle of fifths.

[@kane6529]

@@mountfoolish oh that’s cool! I haven’t gotten to deep into those. You basically mean taking Chords from the parallel minor or major key right? My understanding is it’s basically taking a 3 or 6 chord and making it major in a major key or minor in a minor key

[@mountfoolish]

@@kane6529 Short answer: basically. Longer answer (but not long enough): when taking a major chord, C Major for example, you wind up with 8 chords by going up and down by major and minor 3rds. So basically yeah, variations of the 3 and 6 chords. The 4 major chords are non-diatonic chromatic mediants (and yep, they are in parallel keys to C Maj and A min) - A Maj, Ab Maj, E Maj, and Eb Maj. That leaves you with 2 diatonic minor chords (a min & e min) and 2 two non-diatonic double chromatic mediants (ab min & eb min). When starting with a minor chord, it is reversed. The 4 minor chords are non-diatonic chromatic mediants. Then 2 major diatonic chords and 2 major non-diatonic double chromatic mediants. Bottom line: tonnentz shows that much better than I just explained it. Each corner on tonnetz touching C, for example, connects to a mediant, submediant, chromatic mediant, and/or double chromatic mediant. Pretty neat stuff.

[@jamesbrown-wt1cc]

William A. Mathieu book , Harmonic Experience explains this chart in the greatest detail EVER.

[@jellybean6778]

Really helpful. One suggestion: since this is a very busy and colorful chart, it would help when you are pointing and moving around with the cursor, it would be easier to follow where you move if you either change the color of your cursor, or enlarge it, or both. It was especially difficult to follow when you were explaining the scales and moving the cursor quickly. Thanks. Good lesson. Had not heard of this before.

[@zombieguitar]

I hear ya! And I did that too...but the screen capture software that I used reverted the mouse back to a small size. I have no idea why... technology 🤷

[@jellybean6778]

@@zombieguitar contact the company and ask. If people use this software for this type of thing, seems like a pretty sweet feature to add

[@57RickH]

I’m confused at point 13:07, the formula or pattern for the Dm scale, you start on D, back up to the Bb but Bb isn’t one of the notes of the D minor scale, right? So if I was asked to figure out the notes for another minor scale key using the pattern, I’m not sure I could.

[@zombieguitar]

D natural minor: D E F G A Bb C 😁

[@funkypou]

Hi, Thanks for the video. I'll add my theory 2 cents just to clarify things about why there are flats and sharps representing the same perceived note (like D# and Eb). You said that it was to also have the flat version (above) of the same sharp note (below). What seems more appropriate is to says that the third is 2 letters above the root. Ex : If the root is B, you skip the C which is the 2nd and you have D as the letter representing the 3rd. D is only 1 and a half step above B so it's the minor 3rd. You need a sharp to make it major. So D# is the 3rd of G. If you want the 3rd below G, it's also 2 letters below (you skip the F) so it's E. Between E and B, it's a minor 3rd so you have to flatten the E to have a major 3rd. This means that even if D# and Eb sound the same, they don't have the same meaning in a chord or a scale. A known example is the Jimmy Hendrix chord (E7#9) which is like containing a major and a minor 3rd. The root is E, the major 3rd is G#. As the 3rd (G) is already used, the "minor 3rd" is called a sharp ninth (=sharp 2nd) which is F##.

[@LewisBuckles]

All of this same information is available easily in the circle as well.

[@Кровушки]

Amazing Once I tried to make up a 2d piano keyboard layout and this scheme was one of variants I came up with

[@georgee5216]

Never heard of this but worth reviewing. Thanks for sharing. I can print out the chart and use it for Chinese checkers.

[@SalvvOrtiz]

I thought the same, I can use my Chinese checkers to apply this.

[@garysnowdon1918]

My dad played the Accordion the chord buttons were based on this. I can see the application if it was the buttons on a instrument. To visualise this takes more effort than the pay off. A easier method is to allocate a mnemonic to use on the fly to describe the 1 3 and 5. All you need to do is be aware of the key of the one and make adjustments to the 3rd and 5th to make it a minor or diminished. Here it is. C Cheryl Eats Grapes D Don't forget Appegios E Elephants go Bowling F FACe G Great Big Dog A ACE Thank me in the next life when we are cats.

[@LoudPaul1]

I've never found mnemonic tricks to be helpful at all when learning music theory stuff personally

[@davidlegalley1161]

Wow! Another tool to help expand & simplify understanding music chord building; thank you Brian 👍🏾👍🏼

[@johnlorraine204]

💪🏻👈🏽

[@dieselman7453]

Brian thanks for all your videos top class lad cheers from Ireland 🇮🇪!!! Brian

[@nomandad2000]

Hey man, keep up the great work. Such great content.

[@Lillywright501]

Never heard of it It’s ABSOLUTLY brillant

[@Atticus_Moore]

This is kinda useful but honestly I feel like doing it your own way is best. I'd love to make my own app where I can organize chords and scales and shapes as I like color coordinating them all and giving anything names to suit my needs. But sadly there isn't an app out there yet that is as customizable as each individual would need for themselves.

[@bruce-le-smith]

pretty cool poster or cheat sheet, also up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a :D

[@michaeld2716]

Thanks, You did so much work. Only limitation was that pointer. A red one and a slower pace, might help.

[@zombieguitar]

You gotta watch part 2 😁

[@cg9747]

Dude! This was excellent 🙏🏻

[@frederickthompson8686]

Brian, props to you for taking on this thankless task...

[@TheRoadDawg]

I loved that used an EtchoSketch to lay this out! Great video even still.

[@cwize]

Thanks for sharing this! It makes complete sense - but I certainly have never seen or heard of it in all my 58.5 years. And I am part of a “musical family”! About to hit up my niece and nephew (cousins not brother & sister) that both went to Berklee to see if they were exposed to it.

[@gonzinigonz]

I've got an Akai Force here that has a Tonnetz option layout on the pads. Its a 64 pad grid. I must go back an have a look!

[@squirelova1815]

This channel should be called "Apocalypse" Guitar for all of the useful Revelations here. Wonderful job, as usual.

[@zombieguitar]

That's awesome!! Thanks man 😁

[@paper5193]

Verrrry helpful. im a "visual learner" and this helps a lot.

[@lukesteverything627]

WOW, that brilliant. It's a lot to take in but I'm getting the relationships that explain so much I didn't know. Thanks Brian.

[@zodak9999b]

Holy mackerel, I wish I had known about this from the start. Thanks a million!

[@maxkelter3561]

I remember playing accordion years ago. I wish I would have known this. Would have helped alot. Tnx Brian

[@williamhogge5549]

I can/ have taught first year Theory in 4 total hours by text and pictures over the phone. All Theory needs are good teachers and willing students.

[@hipsig]

I may be missing something, but isn't it just easier to learn the triads and flatting the 3rd for minor, adding a semitone below the tonic octave above for M7, sharping the 5th for an aug5, etc ... or is this about something more than chord structures and scales?

[@zombieguitar]

You might like part 2 😁 kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2TOn4lpj7Z1mbs

[@maybeyoureright4334]

I'm going to have to work out every day for the next 2 years to get THAT chart tattooed on my arm.... lol, awesome video. Thanks!

[@nyquilthegreat]

Reminds me of Bartok's pitch axis theory being explained through the harmonic wheel. I like the lattice more, I think, since I don't have to keep tilting my head 😅

[@Neptoid]

2:01 The tonnetz doesn't have to be infinite, just like how things loop on a circle. If you have a repeating pattern like ...ABCABCABC... it is a cycle, in this case the 3-cycle (ABC), but that could be read on a circle. Drummers map rhythms onto a circle (for neighborhood analysis?). Cycles have the topology of a circle, meaning the neighbors of the points don't have to break, just like how everyone can hold hands in a circle. In that sense a triangle is a circle, it has the topology of a circle. Since the pattern repeats in x and y it has the topology of a donut. For your tattoo, you'd need to break it and just let it have the topology of a cylinder around your wrist, if that isn't too hard to line up

[@Neptoid]

It could technically be finite in a way

[@Neptoid]

Maybe you could have a donut with the network on it

[@hughwheaton2705]

Isn't the primary utility of this for neo-Riemannian theory of chord progression? I'm no musician, but I remember seeing these diagrams when I was looking up non-diatonic theory.

[@marcus.guitarist]

Awesome info. I might recommend that for other videos like this that you use some kind of larger mouse pointer or something because it's hard to see what you're doing on the chart, thanks.

[@zombieguitar]

I swear I did do that!! The screen capture software made it small again!! That's also why I made part 2, which is a bazillion times better 😁: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2TOn4lpj7Z1mbs

[@ErroneousTheory]

I was skeptical, but that is useful. Thanks! Oh - and I've been playing since '84 and have never seen it before.

[@HandbrakeBiscuit]

Each time Brian described another thing this chart elegantly maps out, I swore. Now I think I've got Tonnetz Syndrome...

[@billligon4005]

Interesting. Where do I get a copy of this scale?

[@markdeffebach8112]

I can see the usefulness of this as a button pattern for a button accordion.

[@Turbo2Pete]

Great info! I kinda get it, but immhaving trouble seeing the cursor trying to follow... id suggest a colored, larger cursor for things like this (please!) Im going to have to watcha few times to get the idea, but it looks very interesting right off!!

[@zombieguitar]

Checked out the pinned comment

[@Guillaume-nt1qq]

This is brilliant! Thank you 🙏

[@zejalt8608]

@3:26 D# and Eb might be the same note on the keyboard, but whenever there's a harmonic context, they should be named differently because they imply different tonalities. @4:28 "there's no such thing as a Cb" Yes there is. What would you call the 4th degree of the Gb Major scale? If you were to call it B, there would be a Bb AND a B on the same scale, and would skip the C entirely. That's not the main reason, though. While determining an interval, the number (second, third, forth, etc.) will dictate the name of the note. For example, the minor third from C will NEVER be called D# because the "third" implies the third letter, starting from the original note (C). Likewise, the perfect forth (4th degree) in the Gb Major scale should NEVER be B, because the number of the interval G - B is a third (independently from the amount of flats and sharps: the interval Gbb - B## IS STILL A THIRD). While teaching music theory and harmony, not making these concepts clear might cause confusion in the future.

[@zombieguitar]

Pinned comment

[@5thearth]

All valid points--but also all artifacts of the western note naming system that uses only 7 letters to name the 12 notes actually contained in an octave. This (eventually) leads to the necessity of conventions like treating enharmonic notes as different, and requiring the use of sharps and flats to ensure that a western scale does not have two notes named with the same letter, etc. They are necessary conventions, for the reasons you outlined, but they stem from what is, I think, a fundamental flaw and not a feature--the decision to continue using only 7 basic identifiers for the 12 tones, a holdover that traces its roots back to a time before "different keys" and the 12-tone octave was even a concept. Imagine instead that notes were numbered chromatically--A=1, A#/Bb=2, B=3, etc. up to G#/Ab=12. In that case, the interval between what we call a major third would always be a simple difference between two numbers, this case 4. You could find the "major third" of any note by just adding 4 to it, no messing around with sharps, flats, or doubles thereof. A major triad would be defined as just "your base number, plus 4, and plus 8", regardless of what number you started on. Enharmony becomes an unneeded concept because you no longer need to conceptually differentiate between Cb and B to clarify what you mean by a "third" or a "fourth". The number of steps up the chromatic scale that defines the interval you want is always mathematically explicit. I'm not saying we should all drop western notation, after all we've got centuries backing it up, but it's worth remembering that western music theory is built out of the language being used to describe it. If we used a different language to describe music then comments like "Cb and B are the same note" would be equivalent to saying "3 and 3 are the same note". In one language the difference between them is meaningful, and in another it is not. LIkewise, contrast saying "G-B and Gbb- B## are both a third" and "3-5 and 1-7 are both a 'third'". In one it's a meaningful statement, and in the other it's clearly not. But you can still describe the same concepts in either system with the right words: a major scale can be either "whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half", or "+2+2+1+2+2+2+1"

[@davesdream]

AMAZING. Thanks for sharing!

[@bradhill935]

holy crap...things just make so much more sense! cheers!

[@martynspooner5822]

Looked cool but to be honest I wasn't quick enough to find the triangle, I will go through this a few times and hopefully I will eventually twig. Thanks for sharing, it is something I had never seen or heard of before

[@timg.8656]

Pretty cool. I didn't know about this. Thanks!

[@EvanEdwards]

The Nashville Numbers are (shift one to the left, so I is on your starting point): IV I V, then directly under them are ii vi iii vii. Which is easy to read if you take a moment to figure it out.

[@rickthomas393]

Is there a ‘Coltrane’ for this era, who could turn this into a 21st century, ultimate Giant Steps?

[@Codeaholic1]

Wow that's really cool!

[@tumekeehoa3121]

Perfect this and perfect that... I'm thinking perfect wallpaper. Thanks heaps Brian.

[@thomasm514]

That's some crazy shit, man. Maybe it gets a little convoluted at some point but the major to minor relationships in the very least are pretty cool laid out like that

[@danielhajnik3707]

Watched the whole video and I think the tonnetz chart is a giant nasty mess. The circle of 5ths is a 1000x better. Brian does an amazing job explaining how the circle of 5ths can get you all the same info and more in the 16 practical applications of the circle of 5ths video.

[@zombieguitar]

I agree. I like the Co5 better too 😁

[@MikeGuerr]

I agree, and can see why this isn’t “popular”.

[@xylemphlem5683]

I donno.. I thought it was confusing... But this is a pretty amazing chart to understand chords. Major = Triangle down🔻 Minor = Triangle up 🔺 Diminished = Slash going up ↗️ Augmented= Slash going down ↘️ Min7 = zig zag N ( /\/ ) Min9 = zig zag M ( /\/\ ) Maj7 = trent reznor N ( \/\ ) Maj9 = zig zag W ( \/\/ ) Dom7 = normal check mark ✔️ ***Just wanted to see the other ✔️ patterns as I'm typing this*** AugMaj7 = Backwards upright checkmark (leaning back L shape) MinMaj7 = Upside down checkmark (leaning forward 7 shape) Min7b5 = up3 notes, down1 checkmark ↗️↗️↗️↘️ Not to mention being a circle of fifths chart too with every flat line I donno.. interesting way to visualize chords and theory

[@kylezo]

This is how accordion keys are laid out. Calling it a mess is like calling a guitar fingerboard a mess.

[@MaggaraMarine]

This chart has different uses than the circle of fifths. The circle of fifths is a way of organizing the key signatures, and shows you the most obvious key relationships (the keys closest to each other share most common tones). This chart shows relationships that aren't as easy to see from the circle of fifths. Like, C major and C minor are obviously really close to one another, but on the circle, they are fairly distant. Actually, the circle suggests that C major is as close to F# minor as it is to C minor - but this is obviously not the case. Yes, if we only look at the key signature, this is true. But the relationship between C major and C minor isn't about key signatures - it's a parallel relationship. C major and F# minor on the other hand are pretty distant. And this is why you can't really say the circle of fifths is better. Yes, it makes one kind of a relationship clear, and is really good at showing it. But it makes other relationships less obvious. Like, let's say I want to go from C major to E major. The circle of fifths shows you two (obvious) ways: C - G - D - A - E, and C - F - Bb - Eb - Ab - Db - Gb/F# - B - E. But the tonnetz shows you some much shorter ways, like C - Em - E (you only move one note at the time: C moves to B, G moves to G#). And why not just go straight from C to E? I mean, they share a common note E, which already connects these chords. Or let's say you want to go from C major to B major and want each chord to have at least one common tone. C - G - B. That's it. C - E - B would be another possibility. Or C - Em - B. You could also get more experimental and do something like C - C#m - G# - B. On the circle, you would have to go C - G - D - A - E - B. Or let's take something even more distant like Am to F# major (when we look at the key signature, these are the most distant keys, and only share one note in common, which is B natural). On tonnetz, you'll notice that you can just go Am - D - F#. This kind of a relationship would be really difficult to see by looking at the circle. So, when looking at "weirder" chord progressions, the tonnetz can be a really good tool. Neither of the charts was designed to explain basic concepts like chord construction or intervals, and if that's the stuff you try to find from them, then sure, it isn't that simple. But that's not what they were even designed to do. They show key/chord relationships - that's what they were designed for. The circle is a simpler chart, which is why it may seem "better" if you want to figure out some basics (still, you don't really want to use it for most of the basics, because those concepts are actually much easier to understand without using the circle - use it for key signatures and stuff like 2 5 1 progressions and other progressions moving in 5ths). But that is actually using the chart for a different purpose than what it was designed for. The point is, neither of them is "better". They are simply different, and show you different things. For one purpose, the circle of fifths is better, but for another, this chart is better.

[@pheldonmajors2999]

Thank you soo much! Sharing as I speak.

[@KevTCC]

Never heard of it before. I can see the value. Will need to watch again.

[@Nekomesha]

So if you made an instrument in this shape how would it look to play it

[@zombieguitar]

People have been saying that this is how an accordion is laid out 🤷

[@Time-Shepherd.]

Awesome mate 🤠👍👍👍👍👍 cheers!

[@umatgeratonleik2584]

Tonnetz is German for "Tone Net", but that really isn't the word used for this layout. It's usually called 'Stradella' or 'Stradella Bass System' Many folk instruments have this layout, but folk players often don't learn the system behind it.

[@Snoozelightable]

You can find all intervals if you know the moves. Minor second is one left, one left-up. Major second is one left, one left-down. We know major and minor for third. Perfect fourth and fifth are the same, and the note between is obvious. But the diminished fifth is just the minor second move from the fourth: two left, one left-up. The augmented fourth is two right, one right-down. (Do this to properly name them by the interval you are using. Example is E, with the B flat up and leftwards, passing over the perfect Fourth to get to the Diminished Fifth Minor sixth is directly left-up, Major sixth is directly left-down. By now if you find the minor and major seventh alone you’ll see the pattern can be applied for intervals as well as chords by just finding the starting note. Apply to different modes and the scale structure is a web that can be cast over the bones of this pattern. By the way, minor seventh is one right, one up-right, and going the mirrored way downward for the major seventh.

[@zombieguitar]

Yessir 😁

[@MaggaraMarine]

You can also learn intervals by simply counting notes. Let's start from A. "1st" (i.e., unison) is A. 2nd is A B. 3rd is A B C. 4th is A B C D. 5th is A B C D E. 6th is A B C D E F. 7th is A B C D E F G. 8th is the same as the octave, which is the same as the note you started on (A B C D E F G A). Interval qualities: There are two kinds of 2nds and 3rds - a smaller one (minor) and a larger one (major). Minor 2nd is a half step, major 2nd is a whole step. (Just remember: B-C and E-F are half steps, everything else is a whole step.) Minor 3rd is whole + half, major 3rd is whole + whole. 4ths and 5ths are easy: All 4ths and 5ths are perfect, except B-F 5th and F-B 4th (which is when you need to raise the F or lower the B) - that's the tritone that's right between the perfect 4th and 5th. 6ths and 7ths are easiest to count as 2nds and 3rds down from the octave. M7 = m2 below the octave. m7 = M2 below the octave. M6 = m3 below the octave. m6 = M3 below the octave. No need to check any charts - just count note names and half/whole steps. Pretty simple, and comes with the benefit of actually understanding why the intervals are named the way they are (number means note names, major/minor simply means larger/smaller). Also, takes less time to memorize than how to find each of these intervals from the chart (because you can kind of deduce it from the way the intervals are named if you understand what the interval names refer to).

[@zombieguitar]

@@MaggaraMarine it's just another tool in the toolbox man 😀

[@kenwatanabe2599]

Very Interesting, But what is the purpose of the numbers in each of the circles with the note, I noticed some of the 3's were inverted , which leads me to believed the 6" are inverted as well, and noticed the the numbers 0 and X, whats that all about? Thanks Brian, for the video and possibly an answer to my question

[@naycnay]

I just said this in another comment. I believe it's base 12 counting, also known as duodecimal. There are 12 notes in the chromatic scale. Each note from A is given a number, so you can see where it sits in relation to A. I imagine you could put 1 on any note and build the new diagram from that. Here is an interesting picture for you: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duodecimal#/media/File:Keys_in_dozenal_clock.svg X is known as Dek. The E is known as El. Rather than writing 12, which actually would be "Ten" in duodecimal, it uses 0 to represent 10, which converted from the duodecimal to our typical numbering system would be what we count as twelve. If base 12/duodecimal is hard to wrap your head around, start with binary. Base 2.

[@jeffberkeley9656]

Thanks for the intriguing musical help. Euler was a true mathematical Giant. It is my understanding that the natural base "e" was also chosen to honor him.

[@StarDarkAshes]

What are all the numbers below the notes? Such as the 0729 and the X? I didn’t name all the numbers I just named 072 and 9.

[@MrEverson7]

Cheers, mate! Never heard of it myself. I’ll definitely give it a try. Nice one!

[@timealchemist7508]

That’s fun. It would maybe grab more likes if there were some cool geometric “magical” symbols overlayed … Love music theory and had to check it out. Cheers!

[@zombieguitar]

Check out part 2 😁

[@alexcustos]

This chart looks like a 17th application of the Circle of 5th to me :) That thing with flats/sharps comes from this simple rule: we have to make the 3rd flat for Minor or sharp for Major. Besides this, those triangles look the same on the two layer Circle of 5th.

[@joaquinjaraberon7615]

not every 3rd is flat or sharp

[@alexcustos]

@Joaquín Jara Berón I don't follow what you're saying, but to be clear... Look at the triangles (patterns for triads) on the Circle of 5th. If you pick a Major triad, the second note will be the major 3rd. If you add flat (first, second, or cancel sharp), it becomes a parallel Minor triad. The same with Minor triads, except we're adding sharp. This little trick helps to extract the same information from the Circle of 5th without navigating that messy chart.

[@mountfoolish]

I agree. It really is just another use of the circle of fifths. Each row is just the circle of fifths in a straight line. I hope Brian does a deep dive into comparing the pros and cons of the circle of fifths Vs tonnetz and how to use them together while searching for different things. I never get tired of his circle of fifths videos. This would be a great reason to do another one.

[@edgaralansmithee8638]

This awesome! Thanks man!

[@bryandoyle7055]

It seems cumbersome and I think understanding the existing pattern of how fretboard laid out in fourths and knowing your intervals in relation to the Root, and how chords are built would serve a guitarist better and keeps focus on fretboard as the guide. Remember the notes in order of Fourths and how it continues down the neck is something very few people talk about. Here's how to get started: Remember BEADGCF (edited/typo). This pattern will continue horizontally toward the floor. The pattern will shift one fret towards body on the b string because of the tuning. The notes will continue into flats on same fret but you can continue following natural notes in fourths (BEADGCF) by shifting a fret towards body when you restart pattern with the natural 'b' note again. There are other tips a lot of channels shared in order of figuring out all the notes that can help in conjuction, but knowing how all your interval patterns, including octaves and unison notes. Ry Naylor has one of the best guides on the knowing the fretboard and it's free.

[@zombieguitar]

But this isn't just for guitar. It's general music theory 😁

[@funkypou]

Hi, Just a quick message so that you edit your message not to confuse people. The 1st time you wrote the pattern, you made a typo : you switched the C and the F.

[@thedeathcake]

Looks great! Although I think I missed something. The natural minor scale of D doesn't have a B flat in it?

[@zombieguitar]

It does though. Same key signature as F major...the key with 1 flat in it 😀

[@thedeathcake]

@@zombieguitar I was thinking of D minor in the key of C, and just the triad notes! Thanks for the reply.

[@DrProgNerd]

This is my first time seeing this. Very cool.

[@dmrobby4309]

Music theory cheat sheet tattoos seems like the biggest game changer haha