I go by Mekhi. I play electric. Love what you’re doing please don’t stop! Learning Music Theory
Internal Recap
Overall Lesson Snapshot
Makai is not a true beginner. He has been playing on and off, creates music, knows some scales and chord shapes, and has a strong desire to understand what he is already playing.
This lesson was less about teaching one isolated concept and more about giving him a structure for how to practice and organize his musical growth.
The biggest theme was: he already has instincts, creativity, and songs. Now he needs a system.
What Went Well
You connected with his actual goal quickly. He is not just trying to “learn guitar.” He wants to understand music deeply enough to create neo soul, jazz, blues, and vibey guitar-centered music.
You gave him a strong framework with the four practice pillars:
- Learning songs
- Technique
- Music theory
- Creativity
The notebook idea was probably the most useful takeaway for him:
- One section for theory
- One section for songs
- One section for technique
- One section for creativity
That gives him a practical way to stop feeling scattered.
You also gave him two strong resources:
- MusicTheory.net / Tenuto
- Oolimo
The “connect the dots” explanation matched his need well. He already has many musical dots, but he has not fully connected them yet.
What Did Not Go As Well
There was a lot of delay and setup time before the actual lesson started.
You showed private messages on screen by accident near the end. You caught it and mentioned blurring it, but this is worth putting on your livestream checklist.
There were several long monologues. They were useful, but with a student like Makai, it may help to pause more often and ask him to apply the idea immediately.
Student Profile
Makai is creative, intuitive, and self-directed.
He:
- Writes music
- Raps
- Wants to sing
- Started on piano
- Plays guitar and bass
- Likes neo soul, jazz, blues, bluegrass, and vibey music
- Learns songs but often turns them into his own ideas
- Wants fundamentals now because he realizes raw creativity needs structure
He is the type of student who needs theory explained as a tool for expression, not as schoolwork.
What He Already Knew
He already knew:
- E A D G B E
- The 12-note chromatic cycle
- Some pentatonic scale shapes
- Some barre chords
- Some major/minor sounds
- Basic music creation
- Some fingerboard movement by feel
- Enough guitar to sound good to listeners, even if he cannot name everything
What He Needed
He needed:
- A structured practice system
- A way to track growth
- Theory resources that do not feel overwhelming
- A reminder that he does not need to restart from zero
- A way to identify chords he already plays by shape
- Confidence that his creativity is already valid
Key Teaching Points
The strongest ideas from the lesson were:
Music theory is the explanation of what you are already doing.
You do not need to start over. You need to organize what you already know.
Learning random facts is not enough. You have to connect the dots.
Scales and chords should be learned through:
- Shape
- Sound
- Numbers
- Notes
If he can connect those four, he will understand the guitar much more deeply.
What You Said You Would Send
You said or implied you would send:
- MusicTheory.net / Tenuto
- Oolimo
- Possibly any other resources you remember
- Replay link
- Booking link for another lesson
What He Should Work On Next
His next step should not be “learn more scales.”
He should:
- Start the four-section music notebook
- Use MusicTheory.net for fretboard note identification
- Use Oolimo to identify chords he already plays
- Write down songs he already knows
- Write down techniques he practices
- Write down creations, even if they are rough
- Analyze one thing he already plays and figure out what the chords/notes are
YouTube Titles
Strongest Titles
- How to Organize Your Guitar Practice
- He Could Play Guitar, But Didn’t Know What He Was Playing
- This Guitar Student Needed a Practice System, Not More Theory
- Stop Learning Random Guitar Theory
- The Four Pillars of Guitar Practice
- He Wanted Neo Soul Guitar, So We Built a Practice Roadmap
- You Don’t Need to Start Over on Guitar
- How to Connect the Dots on Guitar
- Music Theory Is Just Explaining What You Already Play
- This Free Guitar Lesson Turned Into a Full Practice Plan
More Personal Titles
- He Has the Sound, Now He Needs the System
- Helping a Creative Guitarist Find Structure
- From Random Chords to Real Understanding
- He Already Sounded Good, But Wanted to Know Why
Clip and Short Ideas
Clip 1: “Music theory is the explanation”
Use the section where you explain that theory is not a mountain, it is just explaining what you are already doing.
Hook:
“Music theory is not as scary as people make it.”
Clip 2: Four Pillars of Practice
Use the part where you name learning songs, technique, creativity, and theory.
Hook:
“If your guitar practice feels random, use this.”
Clip 3: The Notebook System
Use the part where you tell him to create a notebook with four sections.
Hook:
“Here’s how I’d organize your guitar practice notebook.”
Clip 4: MusicTheory.net / Tenuto
Use the screen share of the fretboard note identification tool.
Hook:
“This free website will help you learn every note on guitar.”
Clip 5: Oolimo Chord Analyzer
Use the part where you show how to input a chord shape and identify it.
Hook:
“If you know the shape but not the chord name, use this.”
Clip 6: Shape, Sound, Numbers, Notes
Use the explanation of the four ways to learn chords and scales.
Hook:
“Most guitarists only learn shapes. That’s why they get stuck.”
Clip 7: “You don’t need more scales”
Use the part where you tell him he probably does not need more; he needs to analyze what he already has.
Hook:
“You probably don’t need to learn another scale yet.”
Clip 8: Respect from other musicians
Use the section about being able to communicate with sax players, keys players, and other musicians.
Hook:
“This is why guitarists need music theory.”
Student-Facing Notion Notes
Lesson Recap
In this lesson, we focused on organizing what you already know and building a clearer practice system.
You already have creativity, musical instincts, and some guitar vocabulary. The next step is learning how to connect those ideas so you can understand what you are playing and communicate it better with other musicians.
Main Takeaway
You do not need to start over.
You need to organize what you already know.
Music theory is not separate from your playing. Music theory is simply the explanation of what you are already doing.
Four Areas of Practice
Use these four areas to organize your practice:
- Songs Learn real songs and study what makes them work.
- Technique Practice the physical skills that make your playing cleaner and smoother.
- Music Theory Learn the names, notes, numbers, and explanations behind what you play.
- Creativity Write riffs, chord progressions, melodies, and full ideas of your own.
Practice Notebook Setup
Get a notebook and create four sections.
Section 1: Music Theory
Write down terms, notes, chord names, scales, and anything you are trying to understand.
Section 2: Songs
Write down every song or song section you learn.
Section 3: Technique
Write down exercises, chord changes, picking patterns, scales, and anything you practice physically.
Section 4: Creativity
Write down original ideas, riffs, chord progressions, song concepts, jam ideas, and anything you create.
This will help you see where you are growing and where you may be neglecting practice.
Chromatic Scale
Keep practicing the 12 notes of music.
C, C sharp, D, D sharp, E, F, F sharp, G, G sharp, A, A sharp, B, then back to C.
Remember:
There is no sharp between E and F.
There is no sharp between B and C.
Fretboard Note Practice
Use MusicTheory.net or the Tenuto app to practice fretboard note identification.
Start simple:
- Focus on string 6 first
- Then string 5
- Then expand from there
Do not try to learn the entire fretboard at once.
Oolimo
Use Oolimo when you play a chord shape but do not know the name.
You can enter the frets you are playing, and it will help identify the chord.
This is useful because you already play shapes that sound good. Now you can start learning what those shapes are called.
Four Ways to Learn Chords and Scales
When learning chords and scales, focus on four things:
Shape
Where your fingers go.
Sound
What the chord or scale sounds like.
Numbers
How the notes function. For example: 1, 3, 5 for a major chord.
Notes
The actual letter names of the notes.
The goal is to connect all four over time.
What to Work On Before the Next Lesson
Start the four-section notebook.
Use MusicTheory.net to practice fretboard notes.
Use Oolimo to identify at least three chord shapes you already like playing.
Write down one song you know and try to identify:
- The key
- The chords
- Any scale or melodic ideas you recognize
Keep creating. Do not stop writing music just because you do not fully understand the theory yet.
Create first. Analyze after.
Resources
MusicTheory.net
[paste link]
Tenuto app
[paste link if desired]
Oolimo
[paste link]
Lesson replay
[paste replay link]