Basic Theory II

Curriculum guideline

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Course
MUSC 1202
Discontinued
No
Course code
MUSC 1202
Descriptive
Basic Theory II
Department
Music
Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
Not Specified
PLAR
Yes
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
25
Contact hours
4 hours per week
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Learning activities

Lectures will include explanation of concept by the instructor and practice of the concept by the student in the form of written exercises and/or analysis of music.

Course description
Continuation of the study of musical rudiments with an introduction to harmony, form and the basics of song-writing. Course content includes all the components of the theory assessment for placement into MUSC 1110.
Course content

Content will include, but is not limited to the following:

  1. Scales
    • Chromatic scales
    • Modal scales
    • Pentatonic scales
    • Whole tone scales
    • Blues Scales
    • Octatonic Scales
  2. Rhythm
    • Irregular groupings
    • Irregular meters
    • Syncopation
  3. Harmony
    • Triad types, root position and inversions
    • Seventh chords, root position and inversions
    • Traditional nomenclature of chords
    • Simple figured bass
    • Popular chord symbols
    • Chord progression
    • Cadence types
  4. Transposition  
    • by key  
    • by interval
  5. Musical Structure
    • Phrase and cadence
    • Simple binary and ternary forms
    • Song forms including 12-bar blues and 32-bar popular songs
  6. Song writing
    • Writing melodies
    • Writing harmonic progressions
    • Working with form
Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the successful student should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an expanded working knowledge of the rudiments of music
  2. Analyse simple tonal music
  3. Transpose

Means of assessment

The final grade will be based on the following four components:

Drills & Quizzes (minimum of 10) 20%
Assignments (minimum of 2) 10%
Tests (minimum of 4) 50%
Final Examination (including theory assessment) 20%
  100%
Textbook materials

A required text such as the following:

  • Duckworth, William.  A Creative Approach to Music Fundamentals, 10th ed. Boston: Schirmer, 2010.
  • With Music Fundamentals in Action Printed Access Card for Cengage learning website for text.

Prerequisites

MUSC 1102 or MUSC 1101

Corequisites

MUSC 1203 or MUSC 1204