Overview
This course is an introduction to western music notation, rhythm, scales, intervals, triads, and chords. Students successfully completing this course are encouraged to enrol in MUSC 105: Foundations in Tonal Music to continue developing their musical skills.
Students are not required to have a musical background to take this course. We begin with the fundamental foundations of music, so students who have never studied music can, with diligent study, achieve excellent results in this class. While one part of this course involves studying, applying, and singing the musical materials, another involves collaborative discussions about many of the diverse ways in which these materials are applied in different musical practices. As such, students with diverse backgrounds, both musical and non-musical, have opportunities to succeed and thrive in this course.
You do not have to have experience playing a musical instrument in this class. We will be singing most of our musical examples, which means everyone has an opportunity to participate.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Explain fundamental elements of musical notation such as the grand staff, notes in treble and bass clefs, accidentals, and note values/rests in order to read/write/perform simple printed music.
- Identify and build scales, chords and intervals, progressions and cadences in order to analyze, possibly compose, and understand the basic structure of music.
- Reproduce, by singing and/or playing on a keyboard, the elements of music (scales, chords and intervals) that you have learned in order to reinforce what is written through sound.