Music 171
Western Music Theory: Introduction and Foundations
Forrest Tobey Syllabus,
Fall, 2011
Course Description:
This is the first course in a sequence of three music theory courses at Earlham College. It serves two purposes. It prepares a certain population of the class —largely but not exclusively those majoring in music — to proceed into more advanced compositional work. It also provides any Earlham student interested in music with a firm grounding in Western classical music theory.
The course presumes a basic knowledge of the rudiments of music. These rudiments include:
- Knowing the names of the notes using the treble and bass clefs (grand staff)
- Knowing how to perform basic notated rhythms involving whole, half, quarter, dotted quarter, eighth, dotted eighth and sixteenth notes.
- Having a basic understanding of key signatures and scales – although we do cover this material in greater depth in the main body of the course.
- Having some experience with musical directions: dynamics, tempo and so forth.
Students without this rudimentary knowledge of musical notation should take the one-credit Music Rudiments class (Music 170), which will meet on W and F at 8AM for the first half of the semester.
Course Materials:
- The software Practica Musica, available behind the desk in the bookstore.
- Any version of Finale or Sibelius. For most of you, this will mean purchasing the $10 version of "Finale Notepad"
- The website “A Feeling for Harmony:” http://www.earlham.edu/~tobeyfo/musictheory/
The Importance of having a reliable computer
- This class is completely based on the assumption that you have a personal computer that will run Practica Musica and will give you ready access to the course website.
- Please speak with me if this is going to be a problem for you.
Course Details:
This course is conceptualized around 6 main areas that spiral upwards as our understanding of music deepens. These 6 areas are:
- Scales, modes and their affect •
- We learn to think of scales in terms of their affective quality, and relate that to some concepts found in non-Western theories of music.
- We learn to identify the various modes by ear and to sing them using solfege syllables
- Melody, rhythm and counterpoint •
- We learn to set poetry to melodies in a variety of modes (over a drone bass) in order to better understand melodic shape, to grasp the relationship between language and rhythm, and to make a first step into the process of composition
- We also learn the basics of two- and three-part melodic counterpoint, which is the art of combining melodies according to the principles of consonance and dissonance
- Harmonic resonance
and acoustics -- the physics of music•
- We look at harmonic resonance and musical acoustics from the standpoint of both Pythagorean thought (the bedrock of Western music theory) and contemporary physical acoustics
- Functional harmony and key center/modulation •
- We learn the fundamentals of chord structure and triadic harmony as they present themselves both in music from the Classical repertoire as well as the music of jazz and rock
- We study Harmonic Polarity (Harmonic Dualism) both as a theoretical and a philosophical orientation towards harmonic organization
- Musical
Form •
- We gain some familiarity with a variety of musical forms, largely from the classical tradition, but make the connection also to popular song form
- Musical meaning and music’s “ineffability”
-- the metaphysics of music
- Throughout the course, we will also ask the question: how does music mean? Does music express specific emotions? Does it tell a story or convey a narrative? Is music only a social construct, or is there something to music that ultimately remains mysterious and, indeed, "ineffable."
Assignments
- There is an assignment for virtually every class this semester. All assignments will be found on the “Feeling for Harmony” website. These assignments are broken down into:
- Written assignments on music theory
- Ear training assignments using Practica Musica
- Assignments are always due in class as listed and late assignments without prior knowledge are not accepted. Period.
- If you are ill, I will accept a late assignment if you email me that you are too ill to attend class. This is also true if you have traveled over the weekend, but you must email me ahead of time.
Exams
There are five exams, and two quizes (counting as one exam) which cover:
- Notation, Meter, and intervals
- Musical resonance and acoustics
- Speed intervals and aural interval recognition (quiz)
- Key signatures and cycle of fifths (quiz)
- Counterpoint
- Functional harmony through four-part writing using primary chords
- Functional Harmony up through four-part writing using secondary chords and secondary dominants.
There will also be a final project which counts as an additional exam grade.
Concert Attendance
In order to carry your musical studies outside the theoretical, part of your grade for this course will be the attendance of 3 concerts given by the Earlham music department. You can choose among:
- Noon Brown Bag Concerts (these count at 0.75 of a concert, so you'd need four of these.
- Any music department ensemble concert (Orchestra, Choirs, Chamber music, Percussion groups, Jazz, Gospel Revs).
- Richmond Symphony Orchestra Concert
A short, less-than-one-page acknowledgement of attendance, along with the program, is proof of attendance. You don't need to write a review, but if you have anything to say, feel free. In other words: "Hi, I attended this concert, here's the program, it was cool, signed, Johann" is all that is needed. But "Hi, I attended this concert, here's the program and what I really liked was how........ (fill in information here). Signed, Ludwig " is better!
Grading
Grading is based on:
Successful completion of written assignments: 20%
Successful completion of Practica Musica: 20%
Exams: 53%
Concert attendance: 07%