I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Music Theory and Musicianship I: Aural

2. Course Prefix & Number:
MUSC 2511

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 2

Lecture Hours: 2

4. Course Description:

The study of the basic elements of music and how they work together. Includes analysis, composition, sight singing, ear training, and improvisation of Western and Non-Western musical styles. Emphasis is on beginning harmony and part-writing exclusively from the Aural perception. Aural recognition of the elements of music through music performance, dictation, and improvisation using a variety of musical styles from Western and non-Western traditions. Students must take MUSC 2512 concurrently.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

9. Co-requisite Courses:

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

Bemidji State University: MUS 2201: Music Theory and Musicianship I
Moorhead State University: MUS 107B: Aural Skill I

 

 

2. Transfer - regional institutions with which this course has a written articulation agreement:

Bemidji State University, August 24^th, 2020, Bachelors of Music Degree

 

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):

Associates of Fine Arts Degree in Music

 

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate oral communication skills	Identify musical examples through concentrated listening and dictate them correctly on music staff paper.
Demonstrate written communication skills	Orchestrate and identify music fundamentals such as pitch notation and rhythm divisions from an aural source.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Identify simple and compound meter through melodic and rhythmic dictation;
• Recognize conventional rhythmic patterns through dictation of short diatonic melodies;
• Recognize the mode of a given work (major or minor);
• Identify the size and quality of simple intervals;
• Dictate short (4–8mm) diatonic melodies that employ primarily stepwise motion or that outline the tonic or dominant triad;
• Identify the quality of diatonic triads and seventh chords;
• Identify the presence of a cadence without a score;
• Identify tonic and dominant function in a harmonic context, identify chordal inversions;
• Dictate the soprano and bass of a short (4–8mm) phrase that employs both a melodic component as well as a harmonic accompaniment (e.g. the opening phrase of a Classical piano sonata or string quartet)

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Simple and compound meter 
2. Melodic and rhythmic dictation 
3. Conventional rhythmic patterns
4. Dictation of short diatonic melodies
5. The mode of a given work (major or minor) 
6. Size and quality of simple intervals
7. Dictate short (4–8mm) diatonic melodies that employing primarily stepwise motion or that outline the tonic or dominant triad 
8. Diatonic triads and seventh chords
9. Cadence without a score 
10. Dominant function in a harmonic context 
11. Chordal inversions
12. Soprano and bass of a short (4–8mm) phrase that employs both a melodic component as well as a harmonic accompaniment  diatonic phrases that employs primarily stepwise motion or outlines the tonic and/or dominant triad
13. Sing a major, natural minor, melodic minor or harmonic minor scale