This is a portion of the book, Introduction to Music Theory, by Catherine Schmidt-Jones. This introduces the relationship between frequency, octaves, major, minor, and chromatic scales, and tonal music.
Type of Material:
Open Textbook
Recommended Uses:
This material seems well suited for homework or self paced learning as an introduction to the concepts.
Technical Requirements:
Graphical web browser, Javascript (There is an option to download for offline use, including a print friendly PDF format)
Identify Major Learning Goals:
From the summary: 'Introduces the relationship between frequency, octaves, major, minor, and chromatic scales, and tonal music.' This section defines what an octave is, both in physical terms as it relates to sound waves and conceptually in the framework of tonal music.
Target Student Population:
appropriate for high school or college use for introduction to music theory for music students, or as an introduction to musical concepts for general education music class such as music appreciation for non music majors.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Reading music notation is required.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The concepts are clearly and thoroughly explained, and the material uses simple but effective charts and illustrations to reinforce the concepts.
Concerns:
Musical examples play in a different window or are downloaded as audio files to be played by some other program. It may be difficult to see the illustration and hear the sounds at the same time. Exercises are available, but they are not interactive, you have to write your answer in a paper and then check the correct answers. Concepts like modulation and secondary dominants are not covered. It is almost imposible to do harmonic analysis without these concepts.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The material covers an easily digestible piece of music theory and explains it thoroughly but succinctly. Hyperlinks are used in moderation to lead to more information on related topics, but not to the point of distraction. Can be downloaded as a PDF for offline use.
Concerns:
No major concerns.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
This resource uses an effective mix of text and images in explaining the concepts. The physical and musical concepts do require some written detail to fully explain, but the author employs vivid analogies and graphics to illuminate the main points.
Concerns:
The simplicity of the graphics is part of their effectiveness, but some richer graphical content could make the material more engaging.
Creative Commons:
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