Description
This course is part 2 of a two-part course in basic music theory and includes elements of notation and musicianship.
Part 2 is made up of 21 lessons of about 30 minutes duration. This amounts to one semester at one lesson per week or a 6-week course at one lesson every two days.
Although each lesson is self-contained, the lessons are designed to run in numerical order.
Lessons are grouped in modules of just a few lessons. You don’t need to commit to the full course; just work though one module at a time.
Requirements
Part 2 assumes that you have completed Part 1 of this course or have an equivalent understanding of the following:
- basic music notation
- counting in bars and beats
- simple time
- scales, keys and key signatures
- major, minor and perfect intervals
Although Part 2 includes music notation, like Part 1, musicians who play by ear are well catered for with plenty of audio, video, text and illustrations.
Recommended Additional Resources
This is primarily a music theory course. The notation exercises included are far from comprehensive and may be supplemented by music reading, beginner music theory workbooks and transcription exercises.
The musicianship/ear training exercises in this course are also far from comprehensive. I have focused on the most generally useful skills for this course. There are a number of dedicated musicianship courses available to further develop these skills.
Outcomes
An Understanding Of The Following Musical Concepts
- Syncopation in simple time
- Compound time
- Triplets in simple time
- Swing notation
- Anacrusis (upbeat)
- Harmonic minor scale
- Melodic minor scale
- Augmented and diminished intervals
- Inversion of intervals
- Major and minor triads
- Modal (open/power) chords
- Inversions of triads
- Doubling
- Relative chord names
- The chords of the major scale
- Dominant 7th chords
Musicianship Skills
- Tap or play syncopated rhythms in simple time down to semiquavers
- Tap or play simple rhythms in compound time down to semiquavers
- Count in for an anacrusis
- Sing major and minor triads in all inversions
- Recognise and name major and minor triads in all inversions
- Recognise notes that belong to a major or minor chord and sing them in your octave
Notation
- Triplets
- Time signatures in compound time
- Swing notation
- Octave up/down
- Anacrusis
- Basic chord symbols
- Relative chord names and symbols