Music 170 is a beginning course in the fundamentals of music designed to develop basic music literacy in reading and writing music. The course focuses on notation, melody, harmony, rhythm, and musical terms. It covers basic musical structures such as motives and phrases through analysis and beginning compositional work. It uses traditional music ranging from folk to blues to popular styles.
Given its scope and content, the course does not focus on developing skill/speed in reading music. That task is best suited to private instrumental study. And while it covers the basics of rhythm, it does not concentrate on developing that skill in performance. Instead, the course provides the skills needed to notate basic musical ideas with the use of technology, the training to recognize patterns in sound, and the means to step back and analyze your work much as an artist/painter would do with a canvas.
In covering the essential elements of music, the course provides exercises for you to explore these essential elements, opportunities to hear how they sound, a forum to work together to explore and analyze the music, and the opportunity to collaborate on a creative final project.
UW Colleges Catalog Course Description for MUS 170: Fundamentals of Music - 3 credits. This course is designed to acquaint the student with the fundamentals of music through experiences with the keyboard, rhythm instruments, singing, listening, and note reading. Required for some elementary education majors and open to the general student. Acceptable as preparation for a music major or minor program. This course fulfills the UWC requirement for Application and Performance (AP).
Successful completion of this course will enhance students' ability to
By completing this course, students will learn to
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Cara Davis
