Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Keyboard Harmony 1 serves as a hands on" supplement to the concepts presented in Commercial Music Theory 1. Inversion exercises and modulation cycles are setup as routines to increase the student's musical palette and enhance creativity. When presented with the proper tools, students will be able to play, spell and recognize common intervals and triads essential to the properties of diatonic harmony.
 

The material in this course is presented in a lab format. Other educational methods may be employed such as lecture, discussion, dictation, and keyboard demonstrations. The student spends each class time in the piano lab. During lab activities, the instructor will observe the student's progress and answer any questions pertaining to subject matter. Students may be asked to perform specific skills.
 

• Theoretical lectures.
• The student's keyboard playback of dictated triads and intervals.
• Demonstrations of assignment parameters.
• Ear testing of interval relationships and diatonic triads.
• Group interactive sessions

Procedures used to evaluate student progress will be presented at the beginning of the course, with clarification of the instructor's expectations. Competency and grades will be determined according to the student's ability to perform assigned keyboard tasks during scheduled examinations. Written quizzes, homework assignments, creativity, and regular attendance will also serve to gauge the outcome of a student's final grade.
 

• Obtain a basic knowledge of diatonic harmony as it applies to the music keyboard.
• Play, spell and recognize intervals and triads essential to diatonic harmony.
• Memorize notation of the grand staff
• Identify names to common interval types based on the 12 tone scale. Translate written notation to positions on the piano keyboard .
• Illustrate ability to display proper 'voice leading' concepts when executing keyboard skills.
• Identify names to diatonic triads based on the major scale. Translate written notation to positions on the piano keyboard . Display proficiency at recognizing triadic inversions using close" position.
• Retain and apply basic skills pertaining to music theory. Grasp key circle' concepts: key signatures, modulation, and transposition.
• Demonstrate ability to play diatonic inversion cycles.
• Comprehend chord call" symbols typical to the styles of jazz, classical, and pop.
• Practice common cadence patterns.
• Develop ear" to discern properties of consonance and dissonance