SYLLABUS
Music Fundamentals Syllabus (MUSC 1400)
Brooklyn College
Fall 2023
Time and Location: Mondays and Wednesdays 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Instructor: Sami Seif
E-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours:
Course Description: Introduction to music beginning with notation, reading in treble and bass clefs, scale constructions, intervals, simple chord progressions, basic cadences, elementary ear training, and use of a musical score in following performances and recordings.
Course Materials and Resources
- Required Text: Sumy Takesue, Music Fundamentals: A Balanced Approach, Third Edition, Routledge Publications
Suggested supplemental content (OA/OER)
- Andrew Furmanczyk’s free music theory course on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gHEIF0rT2w&list=PLB585CE43B02669C3
- Doug Cohen’s Music 1300 site for students of Music Appreciation https://libguides.brooklyn.cuny.edu/music1300
- Music Student 101 Podcast (start from Episode 1 and work your way up. They start basic and then become increasingly advanced) https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/music-student-101/id1135311532?mt=2
- Open Music Theory Textbook https://viva.pressbooks.pub/openmusictheory/
Grading
Attendance/Classwork 20%
Homework 20%
Research Assignment 1 10%
Midterm Exam: 10%
Research Assignment 2 10%
Final Exam: 10%
Concert Report 20%
Attendance
- Attendance is mandatory.
- Students are allowed two unexcused absences. After that, one partial letter grade will be deducted for each unexcused absence (for example, A becomes A- etc.).
- Religious holidays, illness, family emergencies, and other such circumstances are always excused absences. Please send me an email informing me beforehand if such a case comes up.
| Week 1 | Module 1 – Pitch |
| Week 2 | Module 2 and 3 – Rhythm |
| Week 3 | Module 4 and 5 – Accidentals, Simple meter |
| Week 4 | Module 6 and 7 – Major Scale, Major Scale Key signatures |
| Week 5 | Module 8 – Compound meter |
| Week 6 | Module 9 – Minor Scale |
| Week 7 | Module 10 – Intervals |
| Week 8 | Midterm ExamResearch Assignment 1 Due |
| Week 9 | Module 11 – Triads |
| Week 10 | Module 12 – Compound Meter Expanded |
| Week 11 | Module 13 – Triads: Roman Numerals |
| Week 12 | Module 14 – Inversion of Triads |
| Week 13 | Module 15 – Seventh Chords |
| Week 14 | Module 16 – Form in Music |
| Week 15 | Final ExamResearch Assignment 2 Due |
| Mondays | Wednesdays | |
| Week 1 | Aug 28 Keyboard | Aug 30 Treble and Bass Clefs Exercise 5 p. 5 due |
| Week 2 | Sept 4 Labor Day (college closed) | Sept 6 Note Values Exercise 10 p. 10 due |
| Week 3 | Sept 11 Meters Exercise 4 p. 51 due | Sept 13 Accidentals Exercise 10 p. 60 due |
| Week 4 | Sept 18 Major scales and key signatures Exercise 3 p. 109 due | Sept 13 Accidentals Exercise 10 p. 60 due |
| Week 5 | Sept 13 Accidentals Exercise 10 p. 60 due | Sept 13 Accidentals Exercise 10 p. 60 due |
| Week 6 | Oct 2 Intervals part 1 | Oct 4 Intervals part 2 |
| Week 7 | Oct 9 (no class) | Oct 11 Intervals |
| Week 8 | Oct 16 | Oct 18 |
| Week 9 | Oct 23 Triads | Oct 25 Triads |
| Week 10 | Oct 30 Compound meter expanded | Nov 1 Tuplets |
| Week 11 | Nov 6 Triads: Roman numerals | Nov 8 Triads: Roman numerals |
| Week 12 | Nov 13 Triad inversions | Nov 15 Triad inversions |
| Week 13 | Nov 20 Seventh Chords | Nov 22 (no classes scheduled) |
| Week 14 | Nov 27 Form: Cadences and Phrase structure | Nov 29 Form: Binary, ternary |
| Week 15 | Dec 4 | Dec 6 |
Academic policies and contacts
