Scroll down this page to download and print a whole load of music education resources designed to make your teaching more organised and less stressful


How To Teach Music Theory


The most important factor in teaching music theory properly is to teach things thoroughly and in the right sequence

You can download a whole load of free music classroom resources from this page that are drawn from every step of that sequence

When it comes to teaching the harmonic and melodic element of music theory (note naming, basic intervals scale construction along with chords and how they function within keys) examining bodies around the world tend to "drip feed" information to students with "more difficult" scales and keys being introduced as they progress through the grades

Whilst this is perfectly wonderful for the bank accounts of the awarding bodies it is not in he interests of our students who are entitled to understand how music works and who can be taught in a single session things like the fact that "all Major scales follow the same sequence of whole and half-step intervals"

Five Steps To Teaching Basic Music Theory

There are five steps to teaching the melodic and harmonic elements of music theory effectively

Free Resources from each stage of the teaching process

Below you will find some free resources taken from each stage of the five step process designed to take students from a standing start to a place where they "get" music theory


Step 1: Naming Notes Correctly

Click to download a free note naming worksheet

Find out more about How to teach Note Naming


Step 2: Whole and Half-Step Intervals

Click to download a free intervals learning pack

Find out more about How to teach Whole and Half-Step Intervals


Step 3: How Scales are constructed

Click to download a free Major Scale "explainer" handout

Find out more about How to teach Scale Construction


Step 4: Chord Construction

Click to download a free Chord Worksheet"

Find out more about How to teach Chord Construction


Step 5: Chords in Keys

Click to download a free Chords in Keys worksheet"

Find out more about How to teach the way that Chords Work In Keys


A Free Music Theory Test Paper

One page music theory test papers are a great way to track the progress of our students

Music theory exams and tests

There are 20 tests in the download

Of the twenty tests inluded in the download ten are pitched at the level of the one featured in this free download and the rest are aimed at intermediate/ advanced students They feature more involved concepts such as the construction of seventh chords and Blues Scales etc

Follow the link below to find out more about the tests and the free student tracking system that allows you to easily log and assess student progress and acheivement



Music Theory Exam Results "Going Through The Roof"

The material on this site is not aimed towards enabling students to "jump through hoops" at the behest (and for the profitability) of some exam board but students who properly understand scales chords and keys will find their exam performances "going through the roof" as a result of our their genuine understanding of the subject)

The resources (particularly during the beginner/intermediate stages of study) do not rely on notated music at all in order to convey the required understanding and meaning of note names, scales, chords and keys and as a result they are ideal when it comes to developing "real" knowledge of music theory among students who are approaching the subject with a background in "popular" (as opposed to "formal") musical forms

In most regular classroom groups such students can make up the majority of learners and can often become frustrated and discouraged by the fact that in order to grasp a set of concepts that they do not (yet) understand (music theory) they are required to approach it using a language (notated music) that they do not (yet) speak

This material can be regarded as a "secret weapon" when it comes to the exam performance of our students!

You Can Download Everything That You See On This Website (over 400 pages of resources) And Use It Forever For A Single Payment Of $18.00

There is no club to join or anything to sign up for

I will not chase you around cyberspace trying to get you to part with even more of your money I hate that and I presume you do too?

I originally produced these materials because they made up the resources that I could not easily find anywhere else for my own classroom teaching

$18.00


More Free Stuff.........

A Complete Basic Music Theory Course in 12 PDF Packs

Download and print a free pack Now!

Music theory resources designed for classroom, distance and online working

Self Contained Basic Music Theory Course

An Entire Basic Music Theory Course In Twelve Parts that takes students from a position where they have no functional knowledge of music theory to a place where they "totally get" note names, scales,chords and keys

The worksheets (and answer sheets) that make up this part of the download can be used as classroom resources and can also serve as targetted revision material as well as being great to put up there on any school IT systems such as "blackboard" etc

Twelve Music Theory Learning Packs

The packs are sequenced to take a student from a position where they have no functional knowledge of music theory whatsoever to a place where they "get" note names, intervals, scales, chords and keys

The packs do not use musical notation at all!

Understanding how music theory works has nothing to do with being able to read (or understand) notation

I'm not trying to start a fight here but why teach somebody something they don't understand (music theory) using a language they do not (yet) speak (notated music)?

If our students can count to twelve and are able to recite the alphabet from A to G then they already have the tools at hand to understand the melodic and harmonic elements of all Western music


The materials are designed to take a student from the point where they have no functioning knowledge of music theory to a place where they "totally get" note names, scales, chords and keys

Download a free music theory learning pack now!


The pack that you can download is the third one which looks at the (often neglected or brushed over) topic of naming musical notes correctly and it contains an "explainer" document as well as two worksheets (with answer sheets)


Download over 400 worksheets and handouts that you can use for ever for only $18.00 (thats much less than the cost of a single conventional music theory text book!)

$18.00

Just keep scrolling down to get a whole load of free resources for your music classroom.........

Music Theory: Getting "The Basics" Right and teaching topics in the correct sequence

Naming Notes Correctly

If our students cannot confidently supply the correct name for a note or the correct choice of names that are assigned to accidentals then they will struggle with every other aspect of music theory


Music Theory note naming PDF worksheets to print

The Principles of Note Naming explained clearly and simply

The explainer below sets out to make sense of the situation in which some notes on the keyboard (the white ones) can have only one name while others (the notes found under the black keys) can be assigned one of two names

Effective Learning from the Start

Above you can see the Music Theory "Explainer" and below two of the five note naming worksheets in the download. If you study the worksheet you will see that students are required to identify the name of the note to be found under the white keys and to supply the two possible letter names (with appropriate sharps and flats) for the notes located under the black keys.

If they can always identify a note of C then they can always work out the name (or choice of names available) for any other note

The "explainer" encourages students to commit to memory the fact that they will always be able to find a note of C immediately to the left of any grouping of two black keys. From there it is possible to work out the location of any other note

I am trying to sell you printed resources but I can't stress enough that it is no good if the "knowledge remains on the paper"

We want them to know how music theory works not just have a pile of paper where they can look things up if they have to fill a worksheet in at some point


Music Theory note naming PDF worksheets to print

The "explainers" are designed to work with or without the paid for resources. You can distribute them to students, pin them up in your classroom or put them up on school IT systems for students to refer to. You can't distribute them online or sell them but the "explainers" are (I hope) a valuable "freebie" for music educators

I only ended up making these materials because I could not find them anywhere else in an easy to use and inexpensive format


Music Theory pdf resources to print

Download everything that you see on this website for $18.00

Over 400 pages of resources designed to make your teaching better and less stressful

$18.00


keep scrolling for more freebies

There are a whole series of FREE "Explainers" and worksheets to download and use as you progress down this page

Making the knowledge "secure" with worksheets

The materials are designed to help students become aware of, and then familiar with the principles that govern music theory

If our students do not get this early stage absolutely right then they will struggle with every other area of music theory

The explainers (and the resources if you decide to buy them?) can be distributed to your students during lessons or can be sent to them by email as well as being uploaded to a school or college IT system so that they can access it for home study. The Explainers can also be laminated and pinned up on a music classroom wall for "quick reference" during lessons and workshops


The free worksheet that you can download by clicking the text above is one that you can use during classroom sessions towards the beginning of a course to ensure that your students


"Get the Basics Right"


The early stages worksheets do not rely upon notated music

During the early stages of study (until students understand note names, whole and half step intervals, together with basic scales and chords) notation is not relied upon at all. The logic underpinning this is that for too long we have tried to teach our students a system that they do not currently understand (music theory) in a language that many of them do not (yet) speak (notation)

If our students can count from one to twelve and know the alphabet from A through to G then they already have the tools that they need to "get" music theory.


free music teaching resources

After note naming the next topic is whole-step and half-step intervals

As a prelude to understanding scales our students need to become aware of the two types of musical intervals (whole and half-step intervals) that combine in sequence to create the scales that underpin just about all of the music that we hear today

Click To Download The Explainer and 2 Worksheets Shown Above

The "explainer" and worksheets shown above make up one of our

  • Classroom, Online or Distance Learning Packs

  • and you can download them free by clicking the panel below



    A lifetime supply of Music Teaching Resources in a "one click" download


    Download over 400 worksheets and handouts that you can use for ever for only $18.00 (thats much less than the cost of a single conventional music theory text book!)

    $18.00


    Using the Music Theory "Explainers" with Worksheets

    Music Theory Teachers can help to make sure that students retain and reinforce their knowledge of this material by combining them with worksheets. When students are familiar with the concept of applying the correct name to a note and with the principles that underpin movement through whole-step and half-step intervals then they are ready to use that knowledge to investigate the construction of scales

    Understanding whole and half-step intervals "unlocks" scale construction for our music theory students

    free music theory worksheet on scale spelling

    The music theory explainer document above is a great reference for your learners. It explains clearly and concisely how the two basic intervals of a whole-step and a half-step combine to construct Major scales. You can print and give them to your students during classroom sessions. You can also send them via email or upload them to school or college learning portals or IT systems for distance learning.

    Constructing Scales

    When (and only when) a learner can assign the correct name (or potential choice of names) to any given note and are familiar with whole-step and half-step intervals are they ready to move on to study scales

    $18.00


    A range of music theory worksheet on scale spelling

    Using the "explainer" alongside the worksheets

    If you look at the graphic above you will see that the two worksheets on the left require that students only provide the letter names for each note of the scale while the worksheet on the right can be used with more advanced students or students who have a "traditional" and formal musical training within a group who are familiar with notation etc. The use of two worksheets covering similar material at different levels is a great way to demonstrate to those who judge us on concepts such as "differentiated learning" etc where we need to engage a group of students who have wildly different experiences and "prior learning" history before coming into our classrooms (which when you think about it is every student group that we teach)

    Effectively teaching Whole-step and Half-step intervals

    The picture below shows a close up of the Major Scale construction Worksheets from our download. Notice how the sequence of whole and half-step intervals is specified by the letters "W" and "H" in the shapes that link the circles where students supply the letter names. This device gives students a visual cue every step of the way and in the early stages of study, helps break down the sequence of intervals that make up the scale into a set of simple, manageable steps

    A range of music theory worksheet on scale spelling

    Minor Scales

    Having firmly established the logic underpinning the construction of Major scales it is now a good time to turn our attention to minor scales. To see that they too are constructed from a series of whole and half-step intervals (just in a different order) and to take a closer look at the differences (and similarities) between the two scales

    The study of this material is the perfect preparation for the next topic where we turn our attention to the study of Major and minor chords

    music theory worksheet on major chord construction

    Get The Scale Spelling "Explainer"

    When our students can construct scales it is time to move on to chords

    When they understand how scales are constructed then our students are ready to look at the how chords are created from scales. The best way to do this is to have them construct a given scale and then to identify the notes of a (three note) chord that can be derived from it

    Basic Triads

    Below is a Free Printable Music Theory Worksheet which invites students to examine the notes that make up major and minor triads and to go on to identify the chords in question. This music theoryworksheet (like all of our resources) can be used in the traditional way during classroom sessions or can be compiled with others to make up "revision booklets" etc. You can also use these materials in order to "stretch" more capable students of music theory while you spend some time helping less able members of the classroom group to get to grips with concepts that they find difficult?

    free music theory worksheet on major and minor chords

    Get this useful Free Major and minor chords worksheet


    When a student understands major and minor triads then they are ready to move on to investigate how Major, minor and diminished chords combine to create Keys


    Download over 400 worksheets and handouts that you can use for ever for only $18.00(thats less than the price of a single text book!)

    $18.00


    All of the teacher's music theory worksheets in the download

    More than 400 PDF Handouts and worksheets designed to make your life easier and the quality of your teaching better



    Free Music Theory Lesson Plans


    music theory lesson plans

    Print a FREE Music Theory Student Progress Tracker

    music theory worksheets

    Free Music Theory Tracking System
    for your students

    The tracking system above is designed to provide simple and reliable data to music teachers (and their students) with regard to the learners functional understanding of the harmonic and melodic elements of music theory. The other materials on this site offer classroom music teachers a structured series of music worksheets designed to take students from a point where they have little or no functional understanding of how harmony and melody works to a place where they understand scales, chords, key signatures and harmonic systems


    Download EVERYTHING that you see on this website (over 400 worksheets and handouts) for only $18.00


    The Tracker In Use

    Below you can see an image of the tracker and hopefully you should be able to see just how simple (and foolproof!) it is to use. Each of the skills and capabilities required or desired from our students is listed and the completed worksheets give us evidence of progress to date. The tracker also comes with a "diagnostic" document that I get my students ti complete during a very first music theory session which allows me (and them and the administrators who always seem to require "evidence" of stuff before they leave us alone to get on with our jobs) to see how far there is to go from the outset of a course

    music theory student results tracking system

    Music Theory Diagnostic Test

    The graphic below shows the free music theory diagnostic test that comes with the free tracking system. I use the test with any new group of students during a first session. It is a quick and reliable way of finding out just where that are with relation to knowing how music works and is a great way of getting a "snapshot" of where any individual student is starting from before a programme of study commences

    It is not an examination!

    It can be important to stress to students that the test is not an examination and is only there to help you (the teacher) to work out what needs to be done during the course of upcoming sessions. Take the pressure off by predicting that most people in the room will struggle to get any of the questions right but that by the end of the process everybody (just so long as they pay attention!) will "breeze it"

    music theory student diagnostic test

    The "Explainers" are designed to work on their own or with our worksheets

    The reality is that most people who visit my site are not music teachers who will buy my stuff but are folks who have been pointed here by search engines because they have a query that an algorithm somewhere thought that I'd be able to help with. If you fall into that category please feel free to download the freebies and I genuinely hope it helps you. I use the internet as a huge source of free information too (such as for the correct way to spell algorithm just now which I was convinced had an "h" in it till google told me better?)

    That leaves music teachers (like me) who are looking for stuff (preferably free) to make their lives easier and their teaching better. Again, use the explainers and all of the other stuff you can download gratis from this site to help you to do the things you do. If it helps you to spend less time on lesson preparation so that you can devote more of your life to filling forms in for those wonderful administrators who run our schools and colleges then its mission accomplished

    I put the worksheets on this site together in the first instance because I couldn't find them anywhere else.

    I do not own or sell knowledge. I try to sell the tools to help teachers to transfer knowledge from their own brains into those of their students. It is that simple. Music got along just fine before I started messing with it and it will get along just fine when I stop. I do not "own" knowledge of music theory. What I do own though is the rights to a bunch of worksheets that I originally started to put together to make my own teaching life easier. I was tired of photocopying things from books and nailing a scheme of work together from a whole load of different sources, the owners of which would prefer to sell me and my students graded books that "drip-feed" stuff like major scales a few at a time as the grades progress. The resources on this site have all students understanding how all major scales (up to 5 sharps and flats) are constructed from the third lesson

    "Telephones to Toilet Rolls"

    When I realised (during my classroom sessions) thet the materials really worked for me I decided to try to sell other folks in my position the option to use hundreds of worksheets in a logical "common sense" sequence for less than the price of one of the graded books I used to rely on when I started classroom teaching. Its that simple really. I don't like all of the "this product will change your life" malarkey that we see attached to everything from telephones to toilet rolls but after purchase loads of folks are good enough to get in touch and tell me how much easier parts of their life are because they no longer have to scurry around cobbling things together before walking into a classroom pretending that they have it all under control (we've all been there!)

    I'm "doing the internet wrong"

    I (genuinely!) have customers tell me that the stuff is way too cheap (although they predictably tell me this after they have paid for and downloaded it). I've also had a few wiser (and richer) people than me tell me that I'm "doing the internet wrong" and that stuff like this should be presented as part of a subscription service. That I could make loads more money if I wasn't such a "Digital Hillbilly"

    I (briefly) looked into it and it made me nervous. I don't like signing up to stuff and I hate getting "follow up" emails from anybody I might have given money to in the past who now imagines that because of this I'm a good bet to give them some more. I'm not. I'm Mr "unsubscribe from this mailing list" as I dont have enough money for the things I genuinely want without having somebody creeping into my inbox to try to prise cash out of me so they can buy another yacht.

    I hate being "cyber-stalked" too!

    If you buy my stuff you will get a single follow up email (normally within a few hours) asking if the materials downloaded ok. If you respond to that saying there was a problem then I sort it out and you get a new link. After that you can use the worksheets for the rest of your life and I promise I will never bother you again. There is no club to join and no subscriptions to be paid.

    All you need to do is download the (free) handout that you can see below and decide if your life would be easier and your students learning would be better if you had a bunch of worksheets that would build on and reinforce the knowledge that they can get from the sheet

    If that seems like a good idea give me $18.00, download the resources and we're done! I promise I will not chase you all over the internet trying to wring some more money out of you


    Download over 400 worksheets and handouts that you can use for ever for only $18.00(thats less than the price of a single text book!)

    $18.00



    Get Instant Access to Over 400 Music Theory Worksheets Now

    Simple "one click" Download

    Buy your printable music theory worksheets in complete safety via any major credit card (through paypal) or directly through your paypal account if you have one. If you choose to use a credit card, rest assured that we never see your credit card details as paypal do all of that for us.

    When Paypal receive your payment you will be immediately invited to click a

    "RETURN TO SELLER"button.

    Click the button and you will be taken to a page from where you can download the music theory worksheets and handouts that you have paid for NOW!
    In the (rare) event that something should go wrong with the order/download process just email me at robh@teachwombat.com
    I will check the order and send you the links that will get you to your stuff.
    Cheers! Rob!

    $18.00