Course ePortfolio

Music Fundamentals

This collection contains the California Open Educational Resources Council (CA OER) list of peer-reviewed textbooks for Music Fundamentals (common course-id MUS 110), one of the top 50 college courses identified for inclusion in the California Open Online Library for Education (COOLforEd).

CID Number: MUS 110

General Course Description

An introduction to the notation and primary elements of tonal music. Incorporates the following concepts: staff notation in treble and bass clefs, rhythm and meter; basic properties of sound; intervals; diatonic scales and triads; and diatonic chords. Development of skills in handwritten notation is expected.

Minimum Units: 3.0

Any rationale or comment:

Suitable for both music majors (as a pre-requisite for further music theory study) and non-majors, this course may satisfy a general education requirement in lower-division curricula, and is commonly transferable in a baccalaureate program.

Date Added to MERLOT:: October 6, 2015
Created by:: California Open Education Resource Council CA OER
License:

Prerequisites

Prerequisites: None

Corequisites: None

Advisories/Recommendations: None

Pedagogical Approach & Learning Outcomes

Pedagogical Approach

None

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, the students should be able to:

Write and recognize in staff notation the elementary components of diatonic tonal music, including pitch and rhythm.
Construct major and minor scales and key signatures; intervals up to the octave; and commonly used diatonic triads and seventh chords.
Identify simple and compound meters; intervals up to the octave; major and minor key signatures; and commonly used diatonic triads and seventh chords.

Assessment & Other Information

Assessment

Including but not limited to:

written exercises
examinations

Other Information

None

Course Resources

Octaves and the Major-Minor Tonal System (Open (Access) Textbook)

This is a portion of the book, Introduction to Music Theory, by Catherine Schmidt-Jones. This introduces the... More
MUS 101 - Introduction to Music (Online Course)

Although this is described as a course, it can also be used as a textbook. This course provides an introductory survey... More

Although this is described as a course, it can also be used as a textbook. This course provides an introductory survey of the Western classical tradition, exploring music both as a phenomenon of sound and culture. The focus of this course is the development of aural skills that lead to an understanding and appreciation of music. Making use of live performances and streaming audio available on the Internet, we will listen to and explore some of the most important and influential repertoires and genres of music that emerged in the last four centuries: High Renaissance vocal music, the cantatas and oratorios of Bach and Handel, Mozart’s comic operas, the monumental orchestral works of the Romantic movement, and the major musical movements of twentieth-century Europe and America, revealing significant connections with contemporary pop and jazz styles. These styles have become an enduring part of the world of music in the twenty-first century, traveling out of the concert hall and conservatory into the larger world via movies, television, and the Internet. This course will begin by studying the fundamentals of music, developing a working definition of music. You will then learn listening skills and musical elements that will be useful as you survey samples of famous compositions throughout this course. Lastly, you will be grounded in the historical contexts for Western classical music. You will learn to make connections between the distinctive styles and the cultural, historical, and social factors that influenced them. By the end of this course, you will have a greater knowledge and appreciation of the history, aesthetics, techniques, forms, and genres of Western classical music.
Sound Reasoning (Open (Access) Textbook)

Although designed as a course, this resource can be used as a textbook. It offers a new approach to music appreciation... More

Although designed as a course, this resource can be used as a textbook. It offers a new approach to music appreciation for adults, focusing on style-independent concepts. While the course concentrates primarily on Western classical and modern music, the concepts that are introduced apply to music of any style or era. The goal of “Sound Reasoning” is to equip you with questions that you may ask of any piece of music, thereby creating a richer and more comprehensive understanding of music both familiar and unfamiliar. Here are some additional features of the course. 1) ”Sound Reasoning” is completely listening based. No ability to read music is required. 2) The course assumes little or no musical background. A minimum of terminology is invoked. 3) Musical examples are interpolated directly into the text. 4) The course is interactive. A “listening gallery” with exercises follows each module, so that you may practice and refine your listening skills. 5) The modules may be studied in sequence or individually. 6)You may easily print a .pdf of any module.. “Sound Reasoning” is designed as both a stand-alone, self-paced course as well as a supplement to existing university classes. “Sound Reasoning” was created thanks to an Access to Artistic Excellence Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and an Innovation Grant from Rice’s Computer and Information Technology Institute.
A Popular History of the Art of Music From the Earliest Times Until the Present (Open (Access) Textbook)

I have divided the entire history into books, placing at the beginning of each book a general chapter defining the... More
Introduction to Music Theory (Open (Access) Textbook)

This course introduces the basic concepts and terms needed to discuss melody and harmony. It is intended for teens or... More