THE FRAMEWORK OF MUSIC THEORY

Hello Team Jellyfish!

I’ve been blown away by how many of you are loving the daily music theory quiz questions I’ve been posting in the YouTube community section. It stoked to see so many of you digging into the deeper side of music. It proves something important: you don’t just want to memorize shapes — you want to actually understand music. And that’s awesome.

So today, let’s zoom out. Instead of another single concept, I want to give you the framework of music theory for guitar players. Think of this as your roadmap — the five pillars that tie everything together. I use these everyday in my thinking and playing practices.

TODAY’S LESSON — THE FIVE PILLARS OF THEORY

Pillar 1: The Major Scale
This is the alphabet of music. Every chord, every mode, every key comes from here.

Pillar 2: Intervals
Intervals are the distances between notes. Learn these, and you stop guessing — you hear the theory. Intervals also sound beautiful due to their simplicity.

Pillar 3: Roman Numerals / The Nashville System
This is the universal translator. I–IV–V works whether you’re in C, G, or F♯. Once you see this, keys stop feeling like separate planets.

Pillar 4: The Circle of Fifths
This is the map. Keys, chords, and progressions all live here. It’s the best tool for connecting dots across songs. I use my chord wheel every single day to tie it all together.

Pillar 5: Triads & Chord Tones
Your building blocks. Riffs, solos, chord substitutions — it’s all triads and chord tones. Learn them everywhere, and the neck lights up. You know I will preach the importance of triads until I am blue in the face. They are the spine of music and you need to know them.

Every single quiz question I post ties back to one of these five pillars. If you start looking for which pillar each question belongs to, you’ll see the system unfold in front of you. You will always hear me telling you to, “connect the dots.” That’s exactly what we are doing one day at a time.

Want a quick challenge? Pick a chord progression you love (maybe G–D–Em–C). Try to map it: What’s the scale? What’s the interval pattern? What Roman numerals? You’ll be surprised how quickly it all clicks. Music is a journey, so be sure to embrace it with every ounce of your being.

GEAR CORNER — TURN THEORY INTO MUSIC

You all know I love pedals, but today I want to highlight one tool that helps me actually practice theory: the looper pedal. I often use this pedal when I make videos with my electric guitars. It’s one of my most essential pieces of gear.

Here’s why:

• You can record a quick I–IV–V in any key.

• Hit play, and suddenly you’ve got a living, breathing backing track.

• Then… test your scales, triads, or modes right on top.

I’ve used my looper for years to cement theory concepts. It turns “homework” into a jam session. If you don’t already have one, grab a simple looper and make theory musical. You can even record a loop right into your phone to spice things up a bit. After all, music is supposed to be fun!

COMMUNITY UPDATE — THE QUIZ PROJECT

Posting one music theory quiz a day has been so much fun. I’ve had emails from some of you saying these questions are the highlight of your day. That’s what keeps me going, my friend. I love hearing your stories about those light bulb moments that keep us moving forward.

Behind the scenes, I’ve been organizing these into categories: scales, chords, rhythm, and ear training. That way, we’ll eventually have a huge library of challenges to pull from. I can already tell this is helping people connect the dots in new ways, and we are going to keep it rolling.

COMING SOON — 5 Pillars Video Series

Pillar 1: The Major Scale — Your Alphabet

• Video: “The One Scale That Rules Them All”

• Learn how every key, chord, and mode comes from this single scale.

• Exercises: play major scale in 1 position, then apply to 3 songs.

Pillar 2: Intervals — The Language of Music

• Video: “Stop Guessing: Learn to Hear Intervals”

• Ear-training drills + fretboard shapes.

• Connect hearing → playing.

Pillar 3: Roman Numerals / Nashville System

• Video: “Unlock Any Song in Any Key”

• Learn to see I–IV–V everywhere.

• Practice: transpose 3 famous songs instantly.

Pillar 4: The Circle of Fifths — The Map

• Video: “The Map of Music Explained for Guitarists”

• How keys relate, how to modulate, how to find relative minors.

• Jam along: progressions in 3 keys using the circle.

Pillar 5: Triads & Chord Tones — The Building Blocks

• Video: “Triads Will Change Your Playing Forever”

• Break down major, minor, diminished triads across the neck.

• Application: use triads to solo or add fills into rhythm parts.

👉 By the end of this series, you’ll see how the 5 Pillars connect into one framework. It’s going to make theory less about memorizing and more about making music. Stay tuned!

Team Jellyfish for the win and keep it flowing! 🪼