Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Keyboard Harmony 3 serves as a hands on" supplement to the concepts presented in Commercial Music Theory sequences. 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 complex chord voicing relevant to the properties of diatonic harmony. The course is primarily aimed at developing arranging and compositional skills.
 

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 chords 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 knowledge of diatonic harmony as it applies to the music keyboard. Play, spell and recognize triads, seventh chords and upper-structures related to various modes.
• Identify names to common chord types based on the 12 tone scale. Translate written notation to positions on the piano keyboard . Display proficiency at recognizing inversions using both close" and open" positions.
• Illustrate ability to display proper 'voice leading' concepts when executing keyboard skills.
• Retain and apply skills pertaining to music theory: voicing of seventh chords, upper-structures, transposition and subtleties of dissonance.
• Demonstrate ability to play specific chord cycles.
• Arrange and perform a jazz standard."
• Comprehend chord call" symbols typical to the styles of jazz, classical, and pop.
• Practice accompaniment patterns and bass lines of various styles.
• Analyze familiar musical excerpts and utilize related chord substitutions
• Develop ear" to discern properties of consonance and dissonance
• Edit upper-structure chords to three and four note voicing.