Starting a new journey on music theory

How I Started and My Music Background

I’ve owned a guitar since high school, but I never really had the chance to improve my skills back then. For years, it just sat in my room, quietly watching me.

About a month ago, I decided to start a new journey. The guitar had been staring at me 24/7, and I finally picked it up again.

I’ve always been curious about math, and I find music surprisingly similar to it—both hide patterns and beauty beneath the surface. That connection pushed me to start learning music theory, partly to get my head out of endless screens and reels, and partly to rediscover the real beauty around me.

To be honest, I don’t have much of a music background. Still, my friends and my wife often tell me I have a natural gift for music—especially rhythm. Maybe that comes from watching me play Metal: Hellsinger a few times, where I’d stay so focused on keeping the rhythm that tears would come down my eyes because I barely blinked.

Jokes aside, rhythm is pretty much the only strength people say I have. When it comes to music theory, my knowledge is very basic. Here’s what I know so far:

• Cowboy chords (open chords)
• A few spider exercises on the fretboard
• Simple barre chords, like F major
• Power chords—of course, because they’re both the simplest and the best

After not touching the guitar for a couple of years, I finally restrung it and started doing simple exercises to get the feeling back in my fingers

My Plan and Tools for Learning Music Theory

Like most people, I started learning music by watching YouTube videos and reading articles online.

This time, however, I have something I didn’t have a few years ago: AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. They’ve been incredibly helpful—almost like having a private music teacher who always has an answer and can explain concepts with clear examples.

Since I want to truly understand music this time—and who knows, maybe even become a composer someday—I decided to dig into the mathematical side of music with the help of AI.

I started learning music theory in the following order:

• Notes and the chromatic scale (of course! A, B, C, D, E, F, G — easy as pie)
• Notes on the fretboard
• Standard guitar tuning and the reasoning behind it
• Intervals (unison, m2, M2, m3, M3, P4, tritone, P5, m6, M6, m7, M7, octave)
• Interval shapes on the guitar
• Major diatonic scale construction
• Triads and inversions
• Minor diatonic scale construction
• A minor pentatonic scale (position 1)
• Modes

Almost a month has passed since I started, and at some point I decided to share my learning journey here. Writing about what I learn helps me understand the concepts better.

So in this blog, I’ll be sharing parts of my exploration and learning process—unfortunately not always in perfect order, but honestly and thoughtfully.