[Smt-talk] Core music theory courses for undergraduates

[Roger Graybill]

Dear Colleagues,

Our undergraduate core at New England Conservatory consists of two tracks.

(1)  Solfege track  --   four semesters, with 3 meetings a week (50 minutes each) in each semester.  We use fixed do, and we emphasize music reading skills  (including alto and tenor clefs), sight-singing, and ear training.    Our Solfege courses put a lot of emphasis on the reading of  full scores (choral, chamber, and orchestral).

(2)   harmony and form track (which we call  “Tonal Practice”):   three semesters,  with 3 meetings a week (50 minutes each) in each semester, plus a keyboard lab that meets 30 minutes a week.   Tonal Practice  courses focus on “written” work in harmony and analysis,  but it also includes a significant harmonic ear-training component.

Also, students who are not prepared for Tonal Practice I when they arrive at NEC must take a semester of Fundamentals before starting with Tonal Practice 1.  Our Fundamentals course gives equal weight to written work, fluency, ear training, and keyboard.

Our  core theory program is somewhat unusual in in that the Solfege track  earns more credits than the Tonal Practice track (12 credits vs. 9 credits, though students who take Fundamentals earn an additional 1 or 2 credits).     All courses  in both tracks are taught by faculty, except for the  Tonal Practice keyboard labs, which are taught by Teaching Assistants.   Also, note that ear training occurs in both tracks:  Solfege covers melodic ear training, while  Tonal Practice covers harmonic/formal ear training.

Students take these two tracks concurrently, but there are no specific co-registration requirements between the tracks.  I.e.,  it is possible to finish one track before the other.

Roger Graybill

Dr. Roger Graybill
Faculty, Music Theory Department
New England Conservatory
617-585-1317
roger.graybill at necmusic.edu



On 5/21/14 8:44 AM, "Anna Gawboy" <gawboy.2 at osu.edu> wrote:

Dear colleagues,

My institution has recently begun to contemplate a revision of the entire undergraduate curriculum. I'm curious how much time other schools devote to core theory (i.e., those courses required of all undergraduate music majors) and the basic format for their delivery.

Are theory and aural skills integrated or taught in separate classes? Are keyboard skills included or taught separately?

How many semesters/quarters of theory are required?

How many credit hours are assigned to each class, and how much time does each class meet per week?

Many thanks in advance,
Anna Gawboy
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.societymusictheory.org/pipermail/smt-talk-societymusictheory.org/attachments/20140521/db3ccc79/attachment-0002.htm>