Elements of Music The purpose of this course is to prepare
students for success in the theory/aural skills sequence. The primary
objective is to equip students with fluency in the fundamentals
of music notation, rhythm reading, and pitch discrimination.
Theory I focuses on a review of the fundamentals of musical
notation, an introduction to two-voice counterpoint (1st species),
and four-part chorale style writing using primary chords.
Theory II continues with four-part chorale
style writing while expanding the harmonic vocabulary to include
all diatonic chords in major and minor keys. Analysis, harmonization
of melodies, realization of figured bass, and melodic writing are
emphasized. The small forms, binary, rounded binary, and ternary,
are introduced in this semester.
Aural
Skills I is an ear-training course that concentrates on
two main areas: sight-singing/rhythm-reading and dictation. Students
are required to read rhythms confidently while conducting in 2/4,
3/4, and 4/4 using divisions of the beat up to the 16th note/rest.
Melodies for sight-singing are performed using moveable do solfege
and are confined to stepwise motion only during the first semester.
Dictation skills such as interval, scale, and chord recognition,
are introduced in class and practiced in the computer lab.
Aural Skills II continues to develop skills begun in Aural
Skills I with the emphasis shifting more to sight-singing, melodic
dictation, and harmonic dictation.
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