Music 1310: Theory Fundamentals

Assignment 3

1. Read

Read this chapter on pitch notation and the keyboard before class on
Thursday (9/4) and come with any questions.

Read this chapter on further rhythmic subdivisions, dotted rhythms, and syncopation before class on
Tuesday (9/9). Here all all the audio tracks referred to in the reading.

2. Write

Complete the exercises in the handout (PDF if you did not get a copy).
Before Thursday’s class: Look over and attempt all sections; come with your questions.
On Tuesday the complete handout will be collected.

3. Create

(due Thursday) The textbook chapter gives the best-known traditional mnemonics for the note names of the lines of the treble and bass clefs. While not overtly misogynistic, both mnemonics mention “Boys” (in a positive light) and say nothing about “Girls”. If this were a one-off, that’d be one thing, but it’s not: it’s pervasive. (Father Charles Goes Down and Ends Battle; King Philip Came Over For Great Sage; My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Potatoes.) So:

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

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

4. Teoría

For Thursday: try out everything below. If you have any technical issues with the site, with saving your results, with connecting to your keyboard, etc., contact me to troubleshoot them.
For Tuesday changed to this coming Thursday 9/11: submit your completed exercise scores before class.

Log in to teoría.com (registration instructions).

Navigate to
Exercises -> Music Theory & Ear-Training Exercises -> Music Theory -> Reading -> Clef Reading
and adjust the settings as in this screenshot:

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. You may also need to log in before you click the link above in order for the settings to register properly. Here is more information on the exercise and options settings:

Clefs: Practice both treble and bass, but at first you may want to select just one at a time to focus on 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 must use Google Chrome as your browser for this feature to work. If you are using Chrome and your MIDI keyboard is connected, the MIDI keyboard response should work regardless of what “Answer using” option is selected on the options screen. However, if you are using a MIDI keyboard, you must enter the pitches in the correct octave. On a mini keyboard like the Nektar SE25, this requires constantly adjusting the Oct- and Oct+ buttons, which is a serious challenge and headache.

Otherwise, you can enter your responses either by clicking on the on-screen visual keyboard (ideally the full-size one, to practice thinking in the correct octave), or by typing the appropriate letter on your regular (alphabet) keyboard. You can use the computer keyboard to type the note, rather than clicking on screen, and you can do so even if the “Visual keyboard” option was selected.

Stop after: 5 exercises (of 4 notes each).

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 35 bpm by Tuesday. (I will give partial credit for scores approaching the target.) 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.

Read the teoría instructions page carefully to see how to save and submit your successful scores.