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Music theory games
Learn to read music the fun way, with quick games and short classes for kids and beginners.
Practice reading notes, rhythms, keys, and chords on a real staff, then bring what you learn to your Suzuki violin lessons.
Choose a game
- NotesName that noteA note appears on the staff and you name it. Treble, bass, and alto clefs, from a first Twinkle to the high notes.
- KeysKey signature quizHow many sharps or flats, and which key is it? Learn to read a key signature at a glance.
- TimeCount the beatsMatch the time signature to its beat. From a steady four four to a lilting six eight.
- IntervalsName that intervalTwo notes appear on the staff and you name the distance between them. From a friendly third to a full octave.
- RhythmHow long is that note?A note, a rest, or a pair of tied notes appears, and you work out how long it lasts. From a long whole note down to the quickest thirty-seconds.
- ScalesName that scaleA scale climbs the staff and you name the pattern. Major and minor to begin with, then the seven modes.
- ChordsName that chordThree notes appear stacked on the staff and you name the chord quality. Major and minor to start, then diminished and augmented.
- MarkingsWhat does it mean?A musical marking appears and you pick what it means, from tempo and dynamics to string playing and expression.
- FifthsAround the circleA key appears and you answer a question about it: how many sharps or flats, the relative key, or the neighbor a fifth away.
- HistoryName that periodA composer and one of their pieces appear and you name the period. Baroque, Classical, and Romantic to start, then the music before 1600 and since 1900.
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Classes
- ReadingThe StaffThe basics of reading music: the five lines and four spaces, high and low on the staff, and why every staff needs a clef.
- ReadingTreble ClefLearn to read the treble clef from scratch: the G line, lines and spaces, reading on sight, and handy mnemonics.
- ReadingBass ClefLearn to read the bass clef from scratch: the F line, lines and spaces, reading on sight, and handy mnemonics.
- ReadingAlto ClefLearn to read the alto clef from scratch: middle C on the center line, the lines and spaces, reading on sight, and the anchor that does the work a mnemonic would.
- RhythmRhythmLearn to read rhythm from the ground up: the beat, note values and rests, beaming, dotted notes, and counting a bar out loud.
- ReadingLedger Lines & the Grand StaffRead the notes that climb above and drop below the staff, meet middle C, and see how treble and bass join into the grand staff.
- ReadingOctave NamesNaming the exact octave of a pitch with scientific pitch notation: middle C is C4, A4 is concert-pitch 440, and the number rolls over at each C.
- RhythmTime SignaturesRead the two numbers at the start of a piece: beats per measure, which note gets the beat, common time, and the meter families.
- TheoryIntervalsMeasure the distance between two notes: counting the number, steps and skips, the family up to the octave, and melodic versus harmonic.
- ExpressionDynamicsPlay with volume and feeling: piano and forte, the crescendo, accents, and why dynamics are always relative.
- ReadingTies & SlursTwo curves that look alike: the tie that holds a note longer, and the slur that connects notes smoothly.
- ExpressionTempoThe speed of the beat: Italian tempo words, metronome marks, and how music speeds up, slows down, and pauses.
- ExpressionArticulationThe touch of each note: staccato, legato, accents, and how articulation gives a melody its personality.
- ScalesHalf & Whole StepsHalf steps and whole steps on the keyboard, and the two natural half steps hiding among the white keys.
- ScalesThe Major ScaleThe whole and half step pattern that defines major, how to build it on any note, and the scale degrees that give it its bright pull home.
- TheoryInterval QualityName an interval's exact size: perfect, major, and minor, counting half steps, the major-scale shortcut, and augmented and diminished.
- ScalesMinor Scales & ModesThe darker minor scale, its relative-minor link to major, the three minor forms, and the seven modes as rotations of one collection.
- KeysKey SignaturesThe sharps or flats after the clef: the fixed orders, naming the key at a glance, and the relative-minor pair every signature holds.
- KeysThe Circle of FifthsThe clock of keys that organizes every signature, links closely related keys, and shows how all 24 major and minor keys relate at a glance.
- HarmonyTriads & Seventh ChordsHow chords are built: three notes stacked in thirds, the four triad qualities, and the seventh chords that add one more third on top.
- HarmonyChord InversionsThe same chord with a different note in the bass: root position and the inversions, and how to find the root when the notes are rearranged.
- HarmonyReading Chord SymbolsThe letter-based shorthand on lead sheets: root and quality, seventh and extension suffixes, and the slash chords that set the bass.
- FunctionRoman NumeralsLabeling chords by scale degree and quality: I ii iii IV V vi vii, uppercase and lowercase, and the function families that drive tonal harmony.
- FunctionFigured BassThe baroque bass-and-numbers shorthand: figures as intervals above the bass, the triad and seventh figures, accidentals, and realizing a continuo part.
- FunctionCadencesThe harmonic punctuation that ends phrases: the authentic, half, plagal, and deceptive cadences and the different closes they make.
- FunctionNon-Chord TonesThe notes outside the chord: passing and neighbor tones, suspensions, appoggiaturas, anticipations, and pedal points, and how each resolves.
- FunctionChord ProgressionsHow chords connect with direction: the tonic-predominant-dominant cycle, root motion by fifth, the common progressions, and voice leading.
- FunctionHarmonic SequencesA chord pattern repeated at shifting pitch levels: the descending-fifths and stepwise 5-6 sequences, and diatonic versus chromatic.
- ChromaticSecondary DominantsApplying dominant function to a non-tonic chord: the V of V, tonicizing internal chords, and secondary leading-tone chords, without changing key.
- ChromaticModal MixtureBorrowing chords from the parallel key: the minor iv, flat-VI, and the Picardy third, recoloring a passage without leaving its key.
- ChromaticModulationChanging key within a piece: closely related keys, pivot-chord and direct modulation, and telling a real key change from a passing tonicization.
- ChromaticNeapolitan & Augmented SixthsTwo families of chromatic predominant: the Neapolitan sixth and the Italian, French, and German augmented sixths, all driving to the dominant.
- FormPhrase StructureThe small units music is built from: the phrase and its cadence, motives, the question-answer period, and the sentence.
- FormBinary & Ternary FormThe sectional forms: binary (AB) and ternary (ABA), rounded binary, and how to tell them apart by section and key.
- FormLarger FormsThe forms of whole movements: theme and variations, rondo, and sonata form, and hearing a piece's large-scale shape.
- HistoryMusical PeriodsThe periods of Western classical music, from medieval chant to today, and the music for bowed strings in each, from the medieval fiddle to the violin, viola, and cello.
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Ready for real lessons?
These games make a joyful warm-up. When your young musician is ready for the next step, we would love to help them begin.
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