Unit Objectives

By the end of this unit, students will be able to: 

• Demonstrate proficiency in identifying, constructing, and analyzing chords (triads, 7th chords, suspensions, power chords, added chords, and extensions) using lead sheet notation, the Nashville Number System, and Roman numeral notation, and describe how these chord types function stylistically in popular music.

• Construct and recognize modal scales (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian), analyze repertoire for modal characteristics, and evaluate the aural qualities of each mode along a continuum of darkness to brightness.

• Identify and diagram phrase structures (two-part, three-part, SRDC, periods, and sentences) in popular music, and compose original examples of these structures using given motives.

• Differentiate between large-scale forms (AABA, Strophic, and Verse-Chorus), define associated terminology (strophe, refrain, auxiliary section, bridge, lyric-invariant, lyric-variant), and compose a chord progression in AABA or strophic form.

• Identify and define formal sections in verse-chorus songs, diagram songs using tools such as Briformer, and analyze the harmonic and formal function of each section in selected repertoire.