Course Description
"Solfege at your Fingertips: Mastering Tonality and Scales" is an intermediate-level music theory course offered by UMontrealX. This comprehensive course is the second in a series of four MOOCs designed to elevate your understanding of music theory and its practical applications. Whether you're an aspiring music student or an amateur musician looking to enhance your skills, this course will take your musical abilities to new heights by delving deep into the world of tonality, major scales, and minor scales.
What students will learn
- In-depth understanding of tonality in music
- Mastery of major and minor scales
- Comprehensive knowledge of music theory fundamentals
- Enhanced sight-reading and ear-training skills
- Improved music composition basics
- Advanced understanding of key signatures in music
- Practical application of tonal harmony concepts
- Proficiency in musical notation and reading music scores
Prerequisites
While this is an intermediate-level course, it is designed to be accessible to both music enthusiasts and those preparing for pre-university or university music programs. A basic understanding of music theory, such as note names and intervals (covered in the first course of the series), would be beneficial. However, the course is structured to accommodate learners with varying levels of musical background.
Course Content
- The major scale: tones, semitones, degree names, pentacord and tetrachord
- Key signatures in sharps and flats
- The cycle of fifths and enharmonic scales
- Minor scales: natural, harmonic, and melodic
- Relative and parallel minor scales
- Accidentals in minor keys
- Solfeggio and dictation preparation
- Sight-reading practice
- Tonal attractions and arpeggios
- Harmonic and natural tetrachords
Who this course is for
- High school students preparing for college or university music auditions
- Amateur musicians looking to enhance their theoretical knowledge
- Composers seeking to expand their understanding of tonal music mechanics
- Instrumentalists and vocalists aiming to improve their sight-reading skills
- Music enthusiasts wanting to deepen their appreciation of music theory
Real-world Applications
- Improved sight-reading for faster learning of new pieces
- Enhanced composition abilities for creating original music
- Better understanding of musical structures for more nuanced performances
- Increased proficiency in using music software programs
- Improved communication with other musicians using proper musical terminology
- Enhanced ability to analyze and appreciate complex musical works
- Stronger foundation for further studies in music theory or composition
Syllabus
Module 1 - The Major Scale
- Tones and semitones
- Names of the degrees
- Pentacord and tetrachord
- Key signatures in sharps and flats
- The cycle of fifths
- Enharmonic scales
Module - Preparation for Dictation and Major Solfege
- Degrees 123 and 1234
- The lower pentacord
- 1st degree arpeggio
Module 2 - The Minor
- Numerical naming and the three minor modes
- Relative minor
- Homonymous scales
- Enharmonic scales
- Use of accidentals in minor
Module - Dictation and Minor Solfege Preparation
- The lower pentacord
- 1st degree arpeggio and tonal attractions
- Harmonic tetrachord
- Natural tetrachord
By enrolling in "Solfege at your Fingertips: Mastering Tonality and Scales," you'll embark on a transformative journey that will demystify music theory and enable you to read a musical score with the same pleasure as reading a captivating novel. Don't miss this opportunity to elevate your musical skills and deepen your understanding of the language of music!
