Undergraduate Music Fundamentals

Music Fundamentals

MU111 
Fall Semester
Credits: 2 
Prerequisites: none
Meetings: one 110 minute class weekly, one 50 minute class weekly, and one 5 minute keyboard playback meeting weekly

Course Objectives

The four semester harmony and counterpoint sequence provides the means and the vocabulary to understand, imitate, and analyze music of the Common Practice Period – Baroque, Classic, and Romantic (1600–1900).

Music Fundamentals is a remedial course designed to reinforce knowledge of the rudiments of music as well as to provide the information taught in Harmony & Counterpoint 1. After successfully completing Music Fundamentals students continue on to Harmony & Counterpoint 2.

The objectives specific to Music Fundamentals are the ability to write and to make a harmonic analysis of four-part chorale style exercises using root position and first inversion triads. These skills will be achieved through an understanding of, and proficiency in applying the following:
• key signatures, scales, and intervals
• understanding of rhythm and time-signatures
• inversion symbols and figured bass
• diatonic triads in major and minor keys
• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd species counterpoint
• identification of 7th chords
• principles of voice leading
• root position and 1st inversion part writing
• harmonic progression
• harmonizing a melody
• harmonizing a bass line 

Midterm Project

Composition of a non-modulating four-part Chorale

Final Project 

Composition of a keyboard prelude modeled on Bach's Prelude No.1 in C Major BWV 846

Textbooks

THE MUSIC THEORY HANDBOOK 
Marjorie Merryman
Wadsworth Publishing
ISBN: 978-0155026629

371 HARMONIZED CHORALES
Johann Sebastian Bach           
Alfred Publishing Company, 1986
ISBN: 978-0793525744 

Grading 

Class Participation and  Homework 40%
Midterm Project 15%
Final Project 15%
Final Exam 30%