Course

Materials of Music II

Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Department
Music
Course code
MUSC 1201
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
25
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
Winter

Overview

Course description
This course continues the study of the materials of tonal music. It includes comprehensive analysis of short pieces in a variety of classical and popular forms, as well as an introduction to aspects of song writing. Course content includes all components of the theory assessment for placement into MUSC 1110.
Course content
  1. Melody: review of tonal scales; introduction to modes and other types of scales such as pentatonic and blues; the role of motive, sequence, and non-chord tones in melodic construction.
  2. Rhythm: review of simple and compound metres; introduction to additive and asymmetrical metres; the role of syncopation and repetition in rhythmic construction.
  3. Harmony: review of triads; introduction to seventh chords in root position and inversion; basic harmonic progressions and cadences; Roman numeral labels; lead-sheet chord symbols and figured bass inversion symbols.
  4. Texture and Timbre: techniques for analyzing various types of scores (such as piano, piano/vocal, choral, instrumental ensemble, and orchestral); introduction to transposing instruments and instrumental transcription.
  5. Structure: introduction to phrase structures and basic forms; period structures; simple instrumental forms; song forms such as strophic, through-composed, 12-bar blues, 16-bar and 32-bar popular song forms.
  6. Song writing: basic aspects of melodic and rhythmic organization, harmonic structure, text setting, and accompaniment; short compositional exercises.
Learning activities

Classes will include explanation and demonstration of concepts by the instructor and practice of the concepts by the student in the form of written, verbal, individual and group activities.

Means of assessment

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in a course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation must be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.

The following is a sample grades breakdown:

Homework (no individual grade weighted at more than 2%)  5%
Assignments (minimum of 2) 5%
Quizzes, Speed Drills, In-class Activities (minimum of 10)  25%
Tests (4 tests, top 3 grades recorded @ 10% each) 30%
Final Project 10%
Final Examination 20%
Class Participation 5%
TOTAL 

100%
Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • communicate an expanded working knowledge of the rudiments of music;
  • demonstrate notational fluency with basic tonal and rhythmic materials;
  • provide a harmonic analysis of a given passage of music;
  • provide a structural analysis of a given passage of music;
  • compose short musical exercises using specified materials;
  • create a musical score using notation software;
  • participate constructively in the college classroom. 

 

 

 

Textbook materials

A required text and/or digital resource may be assigned by the instructor. 

Text example:

Current edition of Henry, Earl, Jennifer Snodgrass, and Susan Piagentini. Fundamentals of Music: Rudiments, Musicianship, and Composition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Digital resource example: 

Student subscription to Artusi Music (www.artusimusic.com)

 

Requisites

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for MUSC 1201
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU MUS 1XX (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU MUSI 1XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU CA 1XX (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU MUSI 2XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU MUSI 1XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) DOUG MUSC 1201 (3) & DOUG MUSC 1204 (3) = UBCV MUSC_V 104 (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC UNSP 1XX (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) No credit
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC MUS 101B (1.5)

Course Offerings

Summer 2025