Music theory drilled the way it gets taught.

Continuo is a growing library of interactive drills built around the university theory sequence — rhythm, rudiments, ear training, and part-writing — designed so the practice surface matches the way the material is presented in class.

About the site

Each exercise type ships with both a Simple view (the minimum viable configuration — palette plus question count) and an Advanced view (the full surface). Instructors can pin a configuration to a lesson; students get fresh random instances within that configuration. Built-in feedback names the exact pitch or chord the student should have written, not just a "wrong" verdict.

The catalog covers staff reading, time-signature identification, scale and chord building, interval and chord identification by ear, progression identification, and part-writing — including custom-progression authoring with the same voice-leading rules a Theory III textbook applies.

About the author

Continuo is built by Dr. Paul Garza, music theory instructor at the University of Houston. The site started as a set of homework drills for his Theory I-IV courses and grew into a general-purpose practice library.

It's free to use, and there's no advertising. Course content authored for Houston students is publicly readable; the practice library is open to anyone learning theory.

What's next

Music history — a survey course running from plainchant through serialism — is planned for 2027. Theory IV (post-tonal techniques, PC-set analysis, twelve-tone matrices) is in active development. Paid plans are in development; everything is free during the beta.

The exercise catalog keeps growing: each semester's Theory I–IV homework surfaces as a new drill type within a few weeks. If you have a request, the contact form is the fastest way to reach us.