24-Week Curriculum
A structured music theory curriculum that takes you from absolute beginner to confident musician. Each lesson includes theory, hands-on practice with our interactive games, and ear training exercises.
How It Works
Complete one lesson per week at your own pace. Each lesson introduces new concepts and pairs them with targeted practice using RITHM's interactive tools: the Note Reading game, Interval Training, Chord and Scale Identification, Pitch Ear Training, Synthesizer, and Metronome. Aim for 15-20 minutes of practice per day for the best results.
Want to play an instrument too?
The 24-week curriculum teaches the language of music. Our instrument lessons teach you to speak it on piano, guitar, bass, or drums — with hands-on widgets, topic modules, and progress that auto-tracks against your game performance.
Browse Instrument LessonsThe Musical Alphabet
Learn the seven natural notes, the piano keyboard layout, and begin reading notes on the treble clef staff.
Sharps, Flats & Accidentals
Discover the 12 chromatic pitches, understand half steps and whole steps, and learn about enharmonic equivalents.
The Staff & Clefs
Master treble and bass clef note reading, learn about ledger lines, and understand the grand staff.
Rhythm & Time
Learn note values, rests, time signatures, and how to count beats using the metronome.
Major Scales
Learn the W-W-H-W-W-W-H formula, build major scales in multiple keys, and start scale ear training.
Minor Scales
Explore natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales. Learn relative major/minor relationships.
Intervals — The Building Blocks
Name and measure intervals from unison to octave. Begin interval ear training with ascending intervals.
More Intervals & Ear Training
Add 6ths, 7ths, and the tritone. Train with descending and harmonic intervals.
Triads — Major & Minor Chords
Build major and minor triads, play common chords on the keyboard, and start chord ear training.
Diminished & Augmented Chords
Complete your knowledge of the four basic triad types and identify all of them by ear.
Key Signatures & The Circle of Fifths
Master key signatures, learn the Circle of Fifths, and read music confidently in any key.
Pentatonic & Blues Scales
Learn the pentatonic and blues scales — the foundation of rock, pop, jazz, and improvisation.
Chord Progressions
Learn diatonic chord construction, Roman numeral analysis, and the most common progressions in popular music.
Seventh Chords & Extended Harmony
Build major 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th, and diminished 7th chords. Learn the ii-V-I progression.
Modes & Advanced Scales
Explore all seven modes of the major scale — Ionian through Locrian — and use them for improvisation.
Putting It All Together
Consolidate the foundations before stepping into jazz harmony and applied theory in Phase 5.
ii-V-I Progressions & Jazz Foundations
Master the cornerstone cadence of jazz harmony in major and minor, and play it fluently across multiple keys.
Extended Harmony — 9ths, 11ths, 13ths
Build and voice extended chords. Learn how altered extensions (b9, #9, #11, b13) create and release tension.
Secondary Dominants & Modal Interchange
Add chromatic color with secondary dominants and chords borrowed from the parallel minor.
Modal Jazz & Voice Leading
Improvise over Dorian and Mixolydian vamps, and apply smooth voice leading to ii-V-I chains.
Song Form & Structure
Map AABA, verse-chorus, 12-bar blues, and rondo. Learn what makes a song shape work.
Melody Writing & Motivic Development
Craft motifs and develop them with repetition, variation, and chord-tone alignment.
Transposition Mastery
Transpose by interval, diatonic step, and to a new key. Build key-signature fluency that real musicianship demands.
Capstone — Ear Training Mastery & Final Piece
Demonstrate Advanced mastery across every game and ship a final 16-bar piece that brings it all together.