Contemporary Popular Theory I

Curriculum Guideline

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Course
MUSC 2312
Discontinued
No
Course Code
MUSC 2312
Descriptive
Contemporary Popular Theory I
Department
Music
Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Credits
3.00
Start Date
End Term
Not Specified
PLAR
Yes
Semester Length
15 Weeks
Max Class Size
26
Contact Hours

4 hours per week

Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Learning Activities

Concepts and techniques are presented and discussed in the lectures.

Course Description
This course continues the study of harmony and form, with emphasis on the diatonic, chromatic and stylistic practices of popular music from the 20th and 21st centuries.
Course Content

1. Scales:

  • Modes
  • Pentatonic
  • Blues
  • Other

2. Chords:

  • Extended chords (9ths, 11th, 13ths)
  • Altered dominants
  • Other chords
  • Chords of addition/omission
  • Sus chords
  • Chord Symbols
  • Jazz/pop
  • Nashville, etc.

3. Textural elements of pop music:

  • lead(s)
  • rhythm section
  • bass
  • horns, strings, pads
  • ostinati, riffs, grounds

4. Harmonic Practices:

  • Folk (Diatonic, Tonal/Modal)
  • Pop (Diatonic, Tonal/Modal)
  • Blues Tonality

5. Form:

  • Phrase Constructions
  • Named progressions/chord cycles
  • Sectional Forms
  • Refrain Forms
  • Popular/Folk song/32-bar forms
  • Blues Forms

6. Repertoire for listening and analysis will be drawn from a wide range of styles such as:

  • Folk/Country
  • Blues/Gospel
  • Ragtime/Jazz
  • Tin Pan Alley/Broadway
  • Rhythm and Blues/Rock and Roll
  • Pop/Rock
  • Hip Hop/Dance/Electronica
Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, the successful student will be able to:
• identify idiomatic practices in popular music.
• apply core theoretical concepts used to create characteristic sounds in popular music.
• harmonize, arrange and compose excerpts in a popular style with or without a given melody, bass line, or chord progression.
• create simple charts, scores and parts.
• provide written answers to questions on any aspect of the course content.

Means of Assessment
Assignments (minimum of 5) 25%
Class Participation 10%
Quizzes and Speed Drills (minimum of 10) 20%
Tests (minimum of 2) 20%
Final Exam 25%
TOTAL 100%
Textbook Materials

Required texts (current edition) such as the following:

Tagg, Philip. Everyday Tonality II: Towards a Tonal Theory of What Most People Hear. The Mass Media Scholars Press, Inc., New York & Huddersfield.

Or

Snodgrass, Jennifer Sterling. Contemporary Musicianship:Analysis and the Artist. Oxford University Press.

Prerequisites

MUSC 1210 or special permission of instructor

Corequisites

None

Equivalencies

None