Course

Basic Theory I

Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Department
Music
Course code
MUSC 1102
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
25
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Typically offered
Fall

Overview

Course description
An introduction to the rudiments of music theory. No previous knowledge of music is required. Open to all students, but priority will be given to full-time Basic Musicianship Program students.
Course content
  1. Pitch Notation
    • The staff, the grand staff
    • Treble and Bass clefs
    • Notes
    • Ledger lines
    • Pitch and the Keyboard
    • Octave registers, 8va, 8vb
    • Accidentals
    • Tones and Semitones
    • Enharmonic Equivalents
  2. Time Notation
    • Note values
    • Dots
    • Stems, flags, beams
    • Ties
    • Rests
  3. Meter
    • Simple meters
    • Compound meters
    • Anacrusis
    • Guidelines for rhythmic notation
  4. Tonality
    • Tonal centre
    • Major scales, key signatures
    • Relationship of major and minor keys (relative, parallel)
    • Minor scales, key signatures
    • Natural, harmonic and melodic forms of minor scale
    • Circle of fifths
    • Scale degrees
  5. Intervals
    • Numerical value
    • Quality
    • Inversion
    • Melodic and harmonic
  6. Basic Performance Indications
    • Tempo, changes in tempo
    • Dynamics, changes in dynamic
    • Expressive indications
    • Articulation
Learning activities

Lectures will include explanation of concept by the instructor and practice of the concept by the student in the form of written exercises.

Means of assessment
Speed Drills (minimum of 10) 10%
Homework checks 5%
Quizzes (minimum of 10) 30%
Tests (minimum of 2) 10%
Assignments (minimum of 2) 10%
Midterm Exam 15%
Final Examination 20%
  100%
Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the successful student should be able to demonstrate a working knowledge of the basic rudiments of music.

Textbook materials

A required text, such as the current edition of:

Henry, Earl, Jennifer Snodgrass, and Susan Piagentini. Fundamentals of Music: Rudiments, Musicianship, and Composition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Requisites

Prerequisites

No prerequisite courses.

Corequisites

MUSC 1103 or MUSC 1104

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see

Institution Transfer details for MUSC 1102
Athabasca University (AU) AU MUSI 1XX (3)
Capilano University (CAPU) DOUG MUSC 1101 (3) & DOUG MUSC 1102 (3) = CAPU MUS 109 (3)
College of New Caledonia (CNC) No credit
Columbia College (COLU) No credit
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU MUSI 1XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU CA 104 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU MUSI 1XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU MUSI 1XX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) DOUG MUSC 1102 (3) & DOUG MUSC 1103 (3) = TWU MUSI 225 (3)
University Canada West (UCW) No credit
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO MUSC_O 103 (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) No credit
University of Northern BC (UNBC) No credit
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC MUS 111 (1.5)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) Individual Audition Required

Course Offerings

Winter 2025