Music 009: Music Theory Fundamentals

Assignment 3

1. Read

Read S2S ch. 2, pp. 42-50 (not quite all of the chapter).

PDF for those still without the textbook: reading  

2. Write

Complete the following exercises in S2S, pp. 57-62:
section 2.1: ex. 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
section 2.3: exx. 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 2.10

Note: In S2S, the number format for sections of exercises is indistinguishable from the numbering of individual exercises. From here on, numbers in our online assignment pages will refer to individual exercises, not sections.

PDF for those still without the textbook: exercises

3. Create

The text gives the best-known traditional mnemonics for note-names of the lines of the treble and bass clefs. Both mnemonics are gendered. While not overtly misogynistic, both include "Boys" (in a positive light) and do not mention "Girls". So:

Come up with your own "backronym" mnemonic phrase for the treble and/or bass clef lines (EGBDF, GBDFA) and enter it in the form below before our next class.

Many have been proposed, but none has truly caught on. Your mnemonic should serve its purpose—i.e. it must be memorable. It might also be funny. We will have a class vote and the authors of the most popular mnemonics will receive prizes.

4. Teoría

Note-reading practice on teoría.com.

For now, this is just practice. You should reach the target level described below by our next class, but this will be on a self-check basis: I will not ask you to submit your scores.

Navigate to Exercises -> Music Theory -> Reading -> Clef Reading, or use this direct link to go to the exercise at the recommended settings. (Be sure to log in to be able to save your scores.) The screenshot at the bottom of this page shows these settings as well. Here is more information on the exercise and options settings:

Clef. Practice both treble and bass, but at first you may want to select just one at a time to practice them separately.

Use notes over... For now, select lines and spaces, but not ledger lines or accidentals.

Answer using... The ideal way to do this exercise is to play the notated pitches on a MIDI (piano) keyboard. You may work this way in the Southwick 200D technology lab. You must use Google Chrome as your browser for this feature to work. The MIDI keyboard response will work regardless of which option is selected on the "options" screen. Otherwise, you should practice both with the “Note” setting (note that you can use the computer keyboard to type the note, rather than clicking on screen) and with the “Visual keyboard” option, ideally the full-size keyboard.

Tempo. When you select a tempo, you are given approximately two beats to identify each pitch. Work your way up to successful performance (90-100% accuracy) at “Largo” by the next class. If clef-reading is new to you, you may want to begin with “no tempo” so you can start out without time pressure.

Remember that you must be using Chrome to enable MIDI keyboard response.