Music is Math
Theory Aide is a free and open-source project for understanding what your music is doing. The goal is to provide a tool that helps people better express creativity while also understanding the theory, or "rules," that underlie it.
Music theory isn't hard. It's just kinda weird. It's not intuitive because, in a very real way, it's just made-up rules. That undersells the fact that modern theory is heavily steeped in math, and the rules we decided upon rely on ideas that go back to ancient Greece. You don't have to speak the language, but it sure does help. As such, I want to do what I can to make this stuff as accessible as possible.
This is that project.
Start the course
Track 1: 12 articles in order, from "what is a note" to counterpoint, each with something to hear. Press next as you go; the spine will hold.
The dictionary
Every theory term in one honest sentence, the same definitions the tools show as tooltips.
The mission
Take the thousands of hours of work and build a free and lasting tool for people around the world to learn to speak the language of music. That mission comes with promises:
- Free stays free. No paywall, no subscription, no locked tier. This site is an act of mutual aid, not a product waiting for a business model.
- You are not the product either. No ads, no trackers, no accounts, and no cookie banner, because there is nothing here to consent to.
- Built to last. Flat pages any browser can read, with no database behind them and no service that can sunset. If this site is useful to you today, it should still work in twenty years.
- It explains, it does not compose. Nothing here will write your music for you. The goal is understanding: why an idea works, why you feel stuck, and what you might try before throwing it away.