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<title>Re: [Smt-talk] Core music theory courses for undergraduates</title>
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<font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size:11pt">Dear Colleagues,<br>
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Our undergraduate core at New England Conservatory consists of two tracks. <br>
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(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). <br>
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(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. <br>
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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. <br>
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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.
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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. <br>
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Roger Graybill<br>
<br>
Dr. Roger Graybill<br>
Faculty, Music Theory Department<br>
New England Conservatory<br>
617-585-1317<br>
<a href="roger.graybill@necmusic.edu">roger.graybill@necmusic.edu</a> <br>
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On 5/21/14 8:44 AM, "Anna Gawboy" <<a href="gawboy.2@osu.edu">gawboy.2@osu.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
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<blockquote><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size:11pt">Dear colleagues,<br>
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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.<br>
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Are theory and aural skills integrated or taught in separate classes? Are keyboard skills included or taught separately?
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How many semesters/quarters of theory are required?<br>
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How many credit hours are assigned to each class, and how much time does each class meet per week?
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Many thanks in advance,<br>
Anna Gawboy<br>
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