# Music Theory for Songwriters: From Beginner to Producer - review & insight | Gareth B. Davies Source: https://garethbdavies.com/course-insights/music-theory-for-songwriters-from-beginner-to-producer/ [← All courses](https://garethbdavies.com/course-insights/) Music & Audio · Solid intro · Rated 7 /10 # Music Theory for Songwriters: From Beginner to Producer By Gareth B. Davies · Updated July 2026 Mike Barnes · Music Instructor Beginner · 102 min A UK musician-teacher walks total beginners from note names to a finished, produced song in under two hours. [Get a Free Month on Skillshare](https://skillshare.eqcm.net/c/3155494/298081/4650?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.skillshare.com%2Fclasses%2Fmusic-theory-for-songwriters-from-beginner-to-producer%2F370581257) New to Skillshare? Your first month is free, enough to take this course at no cost. ## A practical, keyboard-first path through theory basics Mike Barnes structures this course as a straight line from the absolute basics to a finished song, and that arc is its biggest strength. It opens by naming the 12 notes on a keyboard, explaining sharps and flats, and defining whole steps and half steps, then builds directly on that foundation to derive major scales, minor scales, chords, extended chords, and chord progressions. Nothing is introduced without being used a few lessons later. By the time inversions and the circle of fifths show up, the viewer has already handled every building block needed to understand them, which makes the pacing feel earned rather than rushed. The chord-construction stretch, covering 7th chords, extensions like 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths, add chords, sus chords, and inversions, is where the course does its most useful work. Each concept is demonstrated by ear on the same running song example, so a learner hears exactly how adding a major seventh or dropping a chord's root note down an octave changes the color of a progression. The circle of fifths lesson is the clearest payoff in the whole course: rather than making students calculate every diatonic chord from the major scale formula, it hands them a lookup tool for finding the chords that belong to any key almost instantly, then shows that trick applied on both keyboard and guitar. ## Where it falls short The course leans heavily on a single running example, a chord progression in A major built out over the second half of the class. That choice keeps the material concrete, but it also means several topics, minor keys, extensions, sus chords, get less repetition across different musical contexts than they would in a course built around varied exercises. There is no structured practice section, quiz, or checklist for the learner to test retention before moving on, so absorbing the material depends entirely on rewatching and personal practice outside the lessons. There is also a factual correction mid-course, where the instructor backtracks on a mislabeled seventh chord (calling a dominant seventh a minor seventh in a few examples), which is handled honestly but signals that the explanations are conversational rather than tightly scripted. Notation is skipped entirely in favor of numbered scale degrees and MIDI grid screenshots, which suits the stated audience but means anyone who wants to connect this knowledge to sheet music will need a separate resource. ## Who it suits This is a course for people who make music on a computer or keyboard and want just enough theory to stop guessing at chord progressions, not for anyone pursuing formal music education. A songwriter who already noodles on guitar or piano by ear will get the most out of it, since the course explicitly translates abstract concepts into things to try immediately. Producers who want to understand why a progression they downloaded as a MIDI loop works, or how to extend it, are also well served. Listeners who already know how scales and chords are built will find the first half repetitive, since roughly the first third of the runtime is spent on note names, intervals, and the major scale formula before anything songwriting-specific appears. At 102 minutes covering everything from note names to song arrangement, depth is necessarily traded for breadth, and the course works best as an entry point into theory rather than a complete reference. The standout The circle-of-fifths shortcut for instantly picking out the chords that belong to any key removes the need to calculate scale degrees by hand every time. ## What you will learn - · Identify all 12 notes and sharps/flats on a keyboard, and locate whole-step/half-step intervals - · Derive any major or natural minor scale using the whole-half step formula, plus a shortcut for finding relative minors - · Build triads, 7th chords, extensions (9/11/13), add chords, and sus chords from scratch - · Use the circle of fifths to quickly find which chords belong in any key and build chord progressions - · Apply inversions to make a chord progression sound smoother and more professional - · Write pentatonic melodies, basslines, and layered instrumentation to develop a finished song arrangement Best for: Complete beginners to music theory who want practical, keyboard-based knowledge they can apply immediately to songwriting or production, not academic notation study. Skip it if: Anyone who reads sheet music, already understands scales and chord construction, or wants rigorous classical theory with exercises and quizzes to test retention. Engaging Teacher Clarity of Instruction Helpful Examples Organization of Lessons [Get a Free Month on Skillshare](https://skillshare.eqcm.net/c/3155494/298081/4650?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.skillshare.com%2Fclasses%2Fmusic-theory-for-songwriters-from-beginner-to-producer%2F370581257)