Music Theory Cheat Sheet
Quick-reference for all core music theory concepts on one page.
| Name | Abbr | St |
|---|---|---|
| Unison | P1 | 0 |
| Minor 2nd | m2 | 1 |
| Major 2nd | M2 | 2 |
| Minor 3rd | m3 | 3 |
| Major 3rd | M3 | 4 |
| Perfect 4th | P4 | 5 |
| Tritone | TT | 6 |
| Perfect 5th | P5 | 7 |
| Minor 6th | m6 | 8 |
| Major 6th | M6 | 9 |
| Minor 7th | m7 | 10 |
| Major 7th | M7 | 11 |
| Octave | P8 | 12 |
| Scale | Pattern |
|---|---|
| Major | W W H W W W H |
| Nat. Minor | W H W W H W W |
| Harm. Minor | W H W W H A H |
| Dorian | W H W W W H W |
| Phrygian | H W W W H W W |
| Lydian | W W W H W W H |
| Mixolydian | W W H W W H W |
| Locrian | H W W H W W W |
| Maj Pentatonic | W W WH W WH |
| Min Pentatonic | WH W W WH W |
| Blues Minor | WH W H H WH W |
| Chord | Symbol | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Major | C | 1–3–5 |
| Minor | Cm | 1–♭3–5 |
| Diminished | Cdim | 1–♭3–♭5 |
| Augmented | Caug | 1–3–♯5 |
| Sus 2 | Csus2 | 1–2–5 |
| Sus 4 | Csus4 | 1–4–5 |
| Major 7 | Cmaj7 | 1–3–5–7 |
| Dominant 7 | C7 | 1–3–5–♭7 |
| Minor 7 | Cm7 | 1–♭3–5–♭7 |
| Half Dim 7 | Cm7♭5 | 1–♭3–♭5–♭7 |
| Dim 7 | Cdim7 | 1–♭3–♭5–♭♭7 |
| Roman | Degree | Quality | 7th |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | 1st | Major | maj7 |
| ii | 2nd | Minor | m7 |
| iii | 3rd | Minor | m7 |
| IV | 4th | Major | maj7 |
| V | 5th | Major | dom 7 |
| vi | 6th | Minor | m7 |
| vii° | 7th | Dim | ø7 |
| Key | # | Sharps |
|---|---|---|
| C | 0 | — |
| G | 1 | F♯ |
| D | 2 | F♯ C♯ |
| A | 3 | F♯ C♯ G♯ |
| E | 4 | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ |
| B | 5 | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ |
| F♯ | 6 | + E♯ |
| C♯ | 7 | + B♯ |
| Key | ♭ | Flats |
|---|---|---|
| F | 1 | B♭ |
| B♭ | 2 | B♭ E♭ |
| E♭ | 3 | + A♭ |
| A♭ | 4 | + D♭ |
| D♭ | 5 | + G♭ |
| G♭ | 6 | + C♭ |
| C♭ | 7 | + F♭ |
| Mode | Starts on | Pattern (vs Major) | Character | Example Key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ionian | 1st | Same as Major | Bright, happy | C D E F G A B |
| Dorian | 2nd | ♭3 ♭7 | Jazzy, soulful | D E F G A B C |
| Phrygian | 3rd | ♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7 | Dark, Spanish | E F G A B C D |
| Lydian | 4th | ♯4 | Bright, ethereal | F G A B C D E |
| Mixolydian | 5th | ♭7 | Bluesy, country | G A B C D E F |
| Aeolian | 6th | ♭3 ♭6 ♭7 | Melancholic, minor | A B C D E F G |
| Locrian | 7th | ♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 | Unstable, dissonant | B C D E F G A |
| Name | Numerals |
|---|---|
| 4 Chords | I – V – vi – IV |
| Blues | I – IV – V |
| 50s | I – vi – IV – V |
| Pachelbel | I – V – vi – iii – IV |
| Jazz ii-V-I | ii – V – I |
| Andalusian | i – VII – VI – V |
| Minor vamp | i – VII – VI – VII |
| Note | Beats | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Whole | 4 | 𝅝 |
| Half | 2 | 𝅗𝅥 |
| Quarter | 1 | ♩ |
| Eighth | ½ | ♪ |
| Sixteenth | ¼ | 𝅘𝅥𝅯 |
| Dotted ♩ | 1.5 | ♩. |
| Triplet | ⅔ | 3:2 |
| Interval | Song Reference |
|---|---|
| m2 | Jaws theme |
| M2 | Happy Birthday |
| m3 | Smoke on the Water |
| M3 | When the Saints Go Marching |
| P4 | Here Comes the Bride |
| TT | The Simpsons theme |
| P5 | Star Wars theme |
| m6 | The Entertainer |
| M6 | My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean |
| m7 | Somewhere (West Side Story) |
| M7 | Take On Me |
| P8 | Somewhere Over the Rainbow |
Music Theory Cheat Sheet
Comprehensive music theory cheat sheet. Quick reference for intervals, scales, chords, circle of fifths, and Roman numeral analysis. Free online reference.
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