Music Theory for Non-Music Majors

Music Theory for Non-Music Majors

For undergraduate-level courses in Music Theory for the non-music major. This text/workbook is designed for students who are not necessarily planning to make music a career, but who wish to understand how the music they hear every day in the mass media works. It is written in a simple and straightforward manner, using the piano keyboard as a starting point for developing notational and analytic skills. The book covers the materials essential for the understanding of any kind of music, and applies those materials to the development of creative and analytical skills. Music Theory for Non-Music Majors is designed for the student who wishes to gain a thorough understanding of the basic principles of music theory, but who is not immediately interested in making a career out of music. Chapters 1-4 cover the basic elements of notation, major and minor scales, scale degrees, simple meter, and melodic intervals. Chapter 5 applies the materials of the first four chapters to analyzing and composing melodies. Chapters 6 and 7 address triads, seventh chords, compound meter, and some basic principles of music notation. Chapter 8 applies the materials of the entire text to analyzing and composing songs that consist of a melody with a simple harmonic accompaniment. Because learning is best accomplished by doing, each chapter contains numerous carefully graduated exercises that follow concise text with clear musical examples, notes, and diagrams. In Chapters 5 and 8, the two pivotal chapters of the book, the exercises challenge students' imaginations in addition to their grasp of the information. New to the third edition: Extra pieces for analysis in Chapters 5 and 8 - Simple exercises in ear training―with introductory text―for the aural identification of scales, intervals, triads, and seventh chords (Chapters 2, 4, 6 and 7) - At the author's website http://mailer.fsu.edu/~pspencer - Interactive exercises associated with the contents of Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 - Interactive exercises in ear training (Chapters 2, 4, 6, and 7) - All the pieces in the text, designed for analysis, in both video and audio formats including a variety of different instrumental sounds