Write a song using music theory (April 2026)

Course details:

Do you want new tricks to help you write songs? Have you ever listened to a song that burned a hole in your ear and wondered why? This class is for you.

In this class, we teach the fundamentals of music theory that empower you to distill the techniques from your favorite artists into concepts that you can use in your own songs.

This class is for students of all levels, from beginners who want to write their first songs, to advanced songwriters who want to go deep on using music theory to further unlock their creative process

By the end of this class, you will:

• Understand common compositional tools used in popular music
• Create a structural map of typical popular songs
• Understand music theory fundamentals such as: the 12 notes in Western music, enharmonics, intervals, triads (major, minor, augmented, diminished), diatonic chords.
• Learn how to identify the key center of a song.
• Understand roman numeral representation of chord progressions (e.g., I IV V, I V vi IV, etc.).
• Identify and use the following cadences in your own songwriting: half, authentic, plagal, deceptive.
• Identify and use secondary dominants and borrowed chords in your own chord progressions.
• Write a song using your new music theory analysis skills.
• Receive community feedback and benefit from the accountability of working through the class together with a group of peer musicians.

Course Logistics

• Duration: 4 weeks
• Dates & time: 4-5pm PT on 4/16, 4/23, 4/30, and 5/7
• Format: Weekly live 1 hour classes on Zoom
• Prerequisites: None
• Teacher: ab Menon
• Estimated time commitment: 2 hours/week total: 1 hour weekly for class, 1 hour weekly for homework.

Course Outline

• Class 1
  • Define music theory.
  • Fundamentals: 12 notes, major scale, half/whole steps, relative minor, intervals, triads (major, minor, augmented, diminished), seventh chords, diatonic chords, diatonic chords in relative minor.
  • Prompt 1:
    • Complete a series of exercises on the major scale, diatonic chords, functional notation, and transposition.
    • Songwriting exercise: write a song using your work on a given chord progression. Share in our Discord for feedback.
• Class 2
  • Define songwriting: arrangement, performance, production, composition.
  • Cadences: authentic, half, deceptive, plagal. Examples in popular songs.
  • Common chord progressions, their roman numerals, examples in popular songs.
  • Prompt 2:
    • Identify cadences and their impact in a song of your choice.
    • Active listening exercise.
    • Songwriting exercise: write a song by assigning cadences to important lyrical moments. Write out your chord progression using roman numerals. Share in our Discord for feedback.
• Class 3
  • How to determine the key center of a song.
  • Suspended chords.
  • Seventh chords.
  • Borrowed chords.
  • Secondary dominants.
  • Applying all concepts from class in the deep analysis of one song.
  • Prompt 3:
    • Identify the key center in a song of your choice.
    • Score annotation exercise: working with a score, labeling chord tones of melody, identifying melodic themes, identifying 7ths, connecting theory to deep listening.
    • Songwriting exercise: using non-diatonic chords, writing melodies with chord tones, adapting melodic theme to diatonic and non-diatonic chords. Share in our Discord for feedback.
• Class 4
  • "Masterclass" format: all students bring in their songs for live, detailed feedback and discussion from the teacher and peer students

About your teacher

ab Menon started playing music at a young age and graduated from Sonoma State University with a B.M. in Jazz Studies and Applied Music before continuing on to complete his M.M. in Jazz Studies at University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He has taught music for over a decade.

ab has worked in numerous songwriter-focused bands, shepherding songs from initial vision to full band arrangements. He combines his deep guitar chops, knowledge of theory, and songwriting experience with a friendly and approachable teaching style, making him a perfect teacher for both experienced songwriters and those new to the craft.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What if I can't make a class?

  If you can't attend a class, you can still participate by watching the recordings and working through the exercises at your own pace. We will have a Discord community set up where you can ask questions and get help from other students. Refunds are not given for missed classes.

• What skill level is required to take this class?

  This course is designed for people of all levels to benefit. For beginners, we try our best to fully explain concepts from the start; for advanced players, we hope you'll be able to take these concepts and run even farther with them through the prompts and accountability of the group.

  You will get the most out of this class if you know how to play a few chords on your instrument.

• What is your refund policy?

  If you try the first class and decide it's not for you, we can offer a refund. Once the second class begins, we don't offer refunds.

Student Testimonial:

This class helped me get unstuck. Along with giving me more tools in my songwriting and music playing toolbox, it helped me see where I have holes to continue to learn and develop. It was also just really fun to be there. Ab was a great, energetic and informed instructor; and Devin came in with so much knowledge and support. I truly felt like the space opened up a place for creation, with very helpful exercises and prompts. I like to write, play, and listen to music to feed my soul, and explore the human experience through song. I did this, but with more structure, guidance, and feedback. I'd highly recommend this to any aspiring or current songwriters!

-Kit, Nov. 2025 student