| Unit name | Harmony and Harmonic Analysis |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MUSIM0140 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Glyn Jenkins |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
none |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Music |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit develops students' understanding of the harmonic procedures of the 18th century both through the analysis of representative movements and the harmonic completion of short extracts in a similar style.
Aims:
This unit aims to introduce the principal techniques of tonal harmonic composition, including a thorough investigation of the basic building-blocks of Western tonal music (including melody, consonance/dissonance, simple voice-leading patterns, phrase and cadence schemes, rhythm, motive, chord grammar, key, modulation, etc.), and reductive analysis techniques in relation to music of the 18th century, providing a foundation for the understanding of baroque and classical compositional styles.
Successful completion of this unit will enable students to analyse accurately and perceptively different types of music of the 18th century, and to harmonise melodies of this period and compose short movement effectively by applying techniques learned in class. Students will also gain an understanding of figured bass notation, and of the main structural principles of tonal music from this period. These skills taught in this unit provide a necessary foundation for later studies not only in pastiche composition (baroque, classical and romantic) but also in analysis.
Lectures and back-up sessions.
Weekly exercises for credit
Final project (100%)
Prescribed scores to be identified during the unit, but including simple dance movements for keyboard mainly from the middle years of the 18th century.
