Harmony I: Crash Course in Composing for Tonal Music

MUSC X 403.52

Introduce yourself to the power and nuance of harmony, study its use in classical symphonies, gain a foundational understanding of harmony, and create your own compositions emulating the harmonic lessons learned.

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What you can learn.

Understand diatonic harmony in music
Apply theoretical concepts to your own compositions
Cover concepts such as use of scales, chord progressions, cadence types, and more
Study the scores of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and more to deepn harmonic understanding
Receive guidance from your instructor and enhance your portfolio

About this course:

The study of harmony has been the foundation of composers for centuries. This intensive crash course not only serves as a complete review of diatonic harmony but also teaches you how to apply theoretical concepts to your own compositions. Instruction consists of three stages: establishing a strong foundation in diatonic harmony, studying music scores of the great masters who demonstrate these techniques, and creating your own music compositions emulating what you have learned. Concepts covered include proper usage of scales; functional chord progressions and how they work; roman numeral analysis; how to create both regional and true modulation; creating chord inversions; cadence types; and proper notational practices dealing with rhythm, meter, and score set-up. Scores studied include works by J.S. Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and more. As you work on your own compositions, utilizing many of the concepts learned, you receive guidance from the instructor and gain the opportunity to build your portfolio.

Prerequisites

The ability to read music, knowledge of music notation, and an understanding of the fundamentals of music theory.