Students in the Music Theory and Composition class will learn about the structural and compositional elements of music. This course encompasses a thorough study of basic harmony and counterpoint covering scales, modes, major and minor keys, triads, four-part harmony, voice-leading, chord progressions, inversions, figured bass, form, analysis, and five species of counterpoint. Students will work with state-of-the-art music composition software called “Finale 2001.” Students will be required to write compositions of varying lengths covering different musical forms. An emphasis will be placed on using available technology to create original student works.

Students in this class will analyze music through time-period examples as well as examining basic music theory/compositional techniques behind each piece. A quick review of basic music fundamentals and time periods will be presented. The key aspect of this class is the student involvement in the development of this class, right from this course description to the materials actually covered in the course. Students will bring in specific pieces that they wish to analyze with the class, as well as choosing music from a listening list of music from different time periods established by the instructor and class members together. This course will looking at the music of today first, and then work backwards through time… in the order of Twentieth Century/Twenty-first Century (include variations of rock, jazz, blues, and contemporary art-music), Romantic, Classical, Renaissance, Baroque, and Medieval music, along with some non-Western music. In addition, students in this class will study Jazz History, Theory, and Improvisation at an introductory level. Students will be actively involved in the selection of the music that they will be studying, with representative music from all styles above being covered. Students may be required to write short compositions and one longer form composition demonstrating an understanding of the stylistic elements of each artistic period. An emphasis will be placed on using available technology to create original student works. Students will come away from this class learning about the history of Western Music and how contemporary composers are influenced by earlier ones.