The Waay story

Five years ago, I put the final touches on Waay, held my breath, and then clicked a little button that said “Release.” That was the beginning of Waay’s journey, and it’s been an exciting one. From the beginning, my goal was to bring music theory to the people who would make the most of it: songwriters of any level.

Whether they were brand new to music, brand new to theory, or just looking for a new approach, I wanted to present music theory in a way they hadn’t seen before. Inviting. Friendly. Approachable. And perhaps above all, useful. With a rating of 4.9/5 stars on the App Store, I think Waay has really connected with people.

Waay has always had two courses available: Melodies and Chords. In the first course, we look at how almost all the music we listen to is made up of just twelve notes. Then we look at how we can arrange these notes, one after the other, in a way that actually sounds good. We call those melodies. We also learn major and minor keys, scale building, intervals, the circle of fifths, and more.

In the second course, we do something a little different. Instead of combining notes one after the other to make a melody, we learn how notes can be played at the exact same time and still sound great. We call that a chord. We learn all about intervals and how to build major chords, minor chords, diminished chords—not to mention relative major and minor keys too.

Today I’m very excited to announce our third course: Progressions.

Announcing Course 3

So often, we sit down to write a new song—whether it’s our first or 101st—and come up with the most wonderful beginning… only to get stuck just a few chords in. And the longer we get stuck, the greater chance we have of getting frustrated and putting that wonderful beginning aside.

That’s where our new course comes in. In this course, we’ll learn how to identify the key of a progression, shortlist possible chords that’ll fit, and then use your musical judgment to move forward. And there’s a lot more you’ll learn too, like new intervals and how to build ii V progressions.

Once you’re all done, you’ll be able to complete (I’m not kidding) over 2200 chord progressions in a snap. This is music theory you can bring straight to your instrument and use. I’m really excited about releasing it soon.

Here’s a sneak peek of the introduction video. Watch it to learn more, and then sign up for the newsletter to be the first to hear when Course 3 comes available!

Course 3 will be available as an in-app purchase for all Waay users, but I’ll be running a special giveaway for members of the Ten Kettles community. Join here:

Feedback for Waay

Here are just a few excerpts from reviews and emails I’ve received about Waay. I’m deeply appreciative of the time and heart that went into these:

“I struggled for YEARS with music theory, everyone kept raving about how simple it is, and I always felt confused…However I owe everything to this app for finally unlocking the door, it explained everything easily and effortlessly and now I’m able to learn even more theory after using this as my building block.” —beanie_cuves, May 13, 2019

“It’s obvious a lot of time, love and energy has gone into this app. It’s very well thought out, easy to follow and keeps you coming back for more. The developer is super friendly and answers any questions you have. It’s clear he has a real passion for what he does and genuinely wants to help out. Awesome work all round” —thatboyswiss, Jan. 8, 2019

“This is better than any YouTube video, podcast, or music theory book I have read. This truly helps you find an actionable way to put music theory into practice. That was always my frustration over the years…the application of what I read was hard to put into practice.

Within 48 hours of using this app I have actually comprehended what is being taught far beyond any previous comprehension for past products…Honestly they could charge more than double the amount and it would be totally worth it. Thanks to the folks who made this.” —Artice, Oct. 24, 2019

“I’ve always felt like I had a mental block for learning theory. This app is just amazing. Feels like in a while this block will totally melt. Thanks for creating this” —Doreibr, Dec. 30, 2018

“I am a 45 year old father of 2 that thought for the longest time that I was just physically and mentally impaired to learn to play the guitar. Also, as with most of the things in my life I always felt apart from the traditional group of people because I was interested more in learning music theory to just be able to grab the guitar than play or memorize songs of my favorite artists.

I have probably spent thousands of dollars perfecting tone on pedals, instruments (because I believe its easier to learn with a good instrument), amps and apps, posters, printed media, online courses. The BEST PURCHASE has been your Waay app.” —A.P., Apr. 1, 2020

“I think this app is one of the best in the App Store for music theory. I don’t usually comment or give ratings ever, but I just have to make people more aware. I feel that they took a lot of time to make the videos and the games they have to make sure that you actually understand and memorize the lesson all together. I have looked at many videos on music theory and the circle of fifths and I feel that this is the most understanding way that it has been broken down to me.” —Superlink245, Sep. 13, 2019

“Until I found Waay I’d spent quite a bit of time fruitlessly trying to understand keys and chords in music theory. Waay is the first guide I’ve found that has allowed me to have that lightbulb moment where I finally start to get it. The courses are very well presented, and the exercises reenforce understanding. I highly recommend Waay to anyone wishing to understand music theory and how it enables creativity in songwriting.” —Apr. 15, 2016