MUSIC 2101 - Tonal Theory I

(LA-AS)

Fall. 3 credits.

Prerequisites: admission by departmental diagnostic exam and concurrent enrollment in or previous credit for MUSIC 2103, or equivalent. Intended for students expecting to major in music and other qualified students.

R. Moseley.

Detailed study of the foundations of tonal music as conceived and practiced throughout eighteenth-century Europe. The course combines modern pedagogical methods with the study of relevant historical sources and incorporates active learning at the keyboard. Topics to be covered include rudiments such as scales and triads; melodic and harmonic principles; voice-leading strategies; species counterpoint; improvisation, including embellishment and the realization of solfeggi and partimenti; rhythm, meter, and the embodiment of social gestures; affect and topoi; and the study of form via the concatenation of musical schemata.