PLAYLISTS AND GUIDES
Complete multi-part lesson series on specific topics
New To Music Theory? Start Here!
Most of my lessons require a basic understanding of music theory. Here's how you can gain those skills first.
How to Write Chord Progressions
Learn beginner to advanced harmony by crafting your own chord progressions in major and minor.
Understanding The Modes
Watch through these lessons, and you're guaranteed to never be confused by modes again
Perfect Progressions
Take a deep dive into popular music to see how the music theory you're learning actually gets used.
Riffing With Modes
Learn how to write entire songs using modal concepts, with a focus on guitar riffing
Jam Along and Improvise
Learn to improvise and jam in different keys with scale charts and chords displayed on screen
Exploring Harmonic Minor
A complete exploration of the Harmonic Minor Scale and how it gets used, along with a demonstration of its exotic-sounding modes.
ALL LESSONS
Completely free lessons by Jake Lizzio on music theory, songwriting, chords, scales, modes, guitar technique and more!
Showing 21–40 of 89 lessons
Let's Write NEOCLASSICAL and RAP Music with Harmonic Minor
A hands-on songwriting session using harmonic minor. Watch as we compose original music in neoclassical and rap styles using this versatile scale.
Exploring the Modes of Harmonic Minor
A deep dive into all seven modes of harmonic minor. Learn how each mode sounds, when to use them, and how they differ from the modes of major.
Writing Exotic Music with Phrygian Dominant - 5th Mode of Harmonic Minor
Master Phrygian Dominant, the exotic-sounding fifth mode of harmonic minor. Learn how to write music with a Spanish, Middle Eastern, or metal flavor.
7 Ways Musicians ACTUALLY Use Modes
Discover practical applications for musical modes beyond just scales. Learn how to write modal music, break modal structures, use relative modulation, and more.
Analyzing "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong
A deep dive into the chord progression of Louis Armstrong's classic, exploring secondary dominants, borrowed chords, augmented triads, and more.
Analyzing Metallica's Orion: Cliff Burton's Genius Riff
A short breakdown of the genius riff from Metallica's instrumental "Orion," exploring Cliff Burton's use of harmonic minor, tresillo rhythm, and multi-tracked bass.
The SMART Way To Think About Chord Names and Labels
Learn the simple, consistent system behind all chord labels in modern music. Memorize just 5 default chords and build any chord from there.
How Voice Leading Creates Better Chord Progressions
Learn how voice leading transforms simple chord progressions into rich, professional-sounding arrangements. Discover parallel, similar, contrary, and oblique motion to write smoother harmonic movements.
The Awesome Power of the Andalusian Cadence
Discover the iconic i - VII - VI - V progression used in flamenco, rock, pop, and classical music. Learn why this "descending minor" progression is so powerful and how to use it.
How to Write Harmonies for Guitar, Piano, and Vocals
Learn to write harmony lines like Boston, The Eagles, and Iron Maiden. Explore diatonic thirds, sixths, fourths, and fifths to create rich harmonized melodies.
Musical Drones and Pedal Tones
Explore how drones and pedal tones create tension, atmosphere, and harmonic interest in music. From bagpipes to film scores, learn to use these powerful compositional tools.
Why is the 9/8 Time Signature So Confusing?
Understand the difference between simple and compound meter, and why 9/8 means different things to classical musicians vs rock/jazz players.
How To Prepare For Your Band's First Recording Session
Avoid common mistakes that ruin studio sessions. Learn essential preparation tips for guitarists, bassists, drummers, and vocalists before your first recording.
Seventeen Days - Jake Lizzio (Original Music)
An original lo-fi track composed in 33/32 time signature to create a natural "slop" effect. The harmony hovers between relative minor and major keys with ambient Las Vegas field recordings.
Writing and Producing Jazzy Lo-Fi Hip-Hop Beats
Learn how to compose and produce an original lo-fi beat from scratch. Discover the secrets of creating that signature lo-fi "slop" using unconventional time signatures.
How to Write a Sea Shanty or Pirate Song
Learn the musical elements that make sea shanties and pirate songs so catchy and timeless. Covers shuffled rhythms, minor key chord progressions, pentatonic melodies, and the Dorian mode.
43 Music Theory Concepts Every Modern Composer Should Master
The complete music theory roadmap for self-taught musicians: 43 concepts in the exact order to learn them, from the musical alphabet to writing full songs.
Learn AND Apply Two Hand Tapping: Technique + Theory
Master the two-handed tapping technique for guitar. Learn left hand legato, right hand taps, and progress through triplet, sixteenth, quintuplet, and sextuplet patterns with arpeggio theory.
The BEST Way to Learn Scales: Composing with Bebop Dominant
Discover an effective approach to learning scales by composing real music. This lesson demonstrates the Bebop Dominant scale and shows how to turn scale practice into songwriting.
The Bizarre World of Augmented Chords
Demystify augmented chords and learn how to use them musically. Covers aug triads, aug7 chords, voice leading, symmetry, Lydian Augmented, and minMaj7 relationships.