Music Fundamentals

Course Description

The development of fundamental musical skills and understanding through creative application of listening, singing, playing, writing, and analysis. Emphasis on aural development as essential to musical growth. Topics include staff notation, clefs, major and minor keys, time signatures, meter and rhythm, intervals, triads, 7th chords, Roman numerals, and rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic ear training. Open to all members of the University community.

Course Objectives

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

• Notate and identify pitches and pitch classes in treble, bass, and alto clef. 

• Identify and construct pitch intervals, major and minor scales and key signatures, scale degrees, triads,  7th chords, and diatonic Roman numerals.

• Identify time signatures, apply correct beaming, and add missing bar lines to excerpts in compound or simple meter. 

• Aurally identify and sight-read rhythms in simple and compound meters with rhythmic values ranging between whole notes to 8th notes. 

• Transcribe and sight sing diatonic melodies consisting of mostly stepwise motion with skips between Do, Mi, and Sol. 

• Transpose a diatonic melody or chord progression into another major or minor key.