ABOUT THE CREATOR

Twelve years of research.
Five failed attempts.
One breakthrough.

Like most people, Eric Fine struggled to learn music theory. Drawing on his degree in education and the guidance of musicians and educators, he spent the next twelve years developing a better way to learn it.

The result is Before You Learn—a different approach to music education that students and professional music educators continue to endorse.

A LETTER FROM ERIC

I have spent years around musicians of every kind — from first-day beginners to artists signed to record labels. And I saw the same truth over and over: great music isn't tied to how much theory you know, or even how technically skilled you are. It comes from how a musician connects with and uses what they know.

That insight changed everything for me. Drawing on my degree in education, I set out to build the course I wished I’d had—one that teaches music theory in a way that makes every concept easier to understand, connect with, and use intuitively. A course that helps students understand the music they love while gaining the confidence to improvise and create their own.

It took five failed approaches before the sixth finally worked. The breakthrough was realizing that all music—every genre and every concept in music theory—can be distilled to one unifying concept.

Teaching that concept first has proven to give students an immediate, clear understanding of how all music works and is created. So, instead of learning disconnected pieces and trying to figure out how they fit together, students understand the big picture from the beginning—and see how every new concept connects to it.

That’s what makes Before You Learn a more efficient way to learn music—and why professional music educators praise the course.

My hope is that this approach gives you what I needed when I was learning: a clear understanding of how music works, the confidence to experiment, and the freedom to create your own.

Enjoy, Eric Fine

Creator, Before You Learn Music Theory

PROOF IN THE FIELD

Recognized where teaching standards are highest.

Eric realized that music is fractal—and that the same fundamental pattern repeats at every level. That realization is what finally helped him understand music clearly.

At its core, all music is the interplay of consonance and dissonance—tension and release. Every topic—from intervals and scales to melody, harmony, chords, and rhythm—is a way of creating and varying that interplay. Every emotion we experience in music comes from these variations.

That was the breakthrough.

Now, instead of teaching music as a collection of disconnected rules, Before You Learn organizes everything around this one unifying concept. Each topic naturally leads to the next, creating a clear path where understanding builds confidence.

The endorsement roster

Professors, directors, and program leaders

University faculty

Mannes College of Music · NYU Steinhardt · LIU Post · Hofstra · Molloy · St. Francis · St. John's · Nassau, Queens & Queensborough Colleges

Conservatory graduates

Including the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy conservatori superior de MÚSICA del liceu

K-12 leadership

Great Neck · New Hanover County · Locust Valley · Middle Country — heads of curriculum, arts directors, and music teachers

Community & enrichment programs

YMCA organizations · BOCcES

Social & emotional learning and presentations

Recognized as a valuable resource for SEL, mindfulness, and accessible arts education · presented at the 2026 balanced mind conference, ny · presented at sea cliff arts council 2024

This list identifies some of the endorsers and the institutions where they work or have studied. Their affiliations are provided for identification only and do not imply endorsement by the institutions themselves.