Matthew Kennedy | composer
Mind The Gap: Online Music Theory
College Prep Course
July 13 - August 7
COURSE HOME PAGE
Welcome to the Course Homepage of MIND THE GAP. Below you will find links to video lectures and quizzes for all subjects covered over the four weeks. Completion of videos and quizzes are done at your own pace, though I do recommend doing them in the order they appear below (Week 1, Week 2, etc.).
ONLINE QUIZZES
These quizzes have been created on third-party online resources and tailored to fit the expected skills of an incoming collegiate student. Ideally you should receive a 100% on a quiz prior to moving on to the next one, but ultimately it is up to you. Do not fret if you have troubles with the quizzes at first. Practice will likely improve your skills and repetition of these skills will ultimately aid in your learning these concepts. If you find yourself completely stumped, feel free to contact (helpful to include the link code given at the conclusion of the quiz - this lets me see exactly where the problem occurred and will better aid me in assisting you).
ONLINE ASSIGNMENTS
There are a few assignments - specifically in the rhythm section - that require online submission of an assignment page online. Feel free to either 1) Complete this assignment in a digital notation software (File>Export>PDF) or
2) Complete on a physical sheet of staff paper and snap a quiz picture of the assignment.
ONLINE COURSE CONTENT
The course is self-paced, but our weekly online discussion sessions will follow the timeline seen below.
WEEK 1: Reading Clefs, Building Scales, & Understanding Key Signatures
FOLLOWING THESE LESSONS AND QUIZZES STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
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Accurately Read Pitches on Treble, Bass, Alto, and Tenor Clefs
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Demonstrate How Key Signatures are Constructed for Major and Minor Keys
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Explain and Identify How the Follow Scales are Constructed: Major, Minor (Natural, Harmonic, Melodic), Pentatonic, and Diatonic Modes.
WEEK 2: Measuring Rhythm and Intervals,
Understanding Time Signatures
FOLLOWING THESE LESSONS AND QUIZZES STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
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Assess the dividing of musical time into beat and meter patterns
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Demonstrate the difference between Simple, Compound, and Asymmetrical Time Signatures
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Calculate and Determine an Interval in terms of quantity and quality
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Associate all intervals and their enharmonic equivalents as having a distinct number of semi-tones
FOLLOWING THESE LESSONS AND QUIZZES STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
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Identify the four primary triad qualities: major, minor, augmented, and diminished
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Construct triads based on any given pitch and quality
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Define the three positions of a triad: root, first, and second inversion
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Detect what inversion a given triad is in
FOLLOWING THESE LESSONS AND QUIZZES STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
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Interpret the triad quality and chordal seventh quality of a seventh chord
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Construct seventh chords based on any given triad and chordal seventh qualities
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Define the four positions of a seventh chord: root, first, second, and third inversion
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Detect what inversion a given seventh chord is in
ADDITIONAL ONLINE RESOURCES
There are a multitude of online theory resources. Many good, some less so. For each week's subject I will be adding specialized resources. To start, here is a sampling of some of my general favorites I recommend checking out: