Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

This course is required for students who plan on majoring in music at a four-year institution and is strongly recommended for any student wishing to study music theory. The course is open to all students.

Upon successful completion of the course students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate playing major and minor key melodies which use beat divisions and longer in simple meters with a simple accompaniment.

2. Perform common chord progressions using the primary and secondary triads in all major keys.

3. Demonstrate sight-reading and performing short melodic fragments that outline pentascales in major and minor keys using beat divisions and longer.

4. Perform positions and inversions of major-key triads.

5. Harmonize and play a short major-key melody using primary triads.

Group and individual playing

The primary assessment method will be through applied keyboard exams and exercises. Other assessment methods may be used, including:

Qualitative and/or quantitative examinations
Homework assignments
Listening assignments
Concert reports
Research project
Class participation

• Piano keyboard, octave designations

• Introduction to 5-line staff notation, treble & bass clefs, and the Grand Staff

• Simple meter (4/4, 3/4, 2/4)

• Practice techniques

• Rhythmic durations and relationships

• Major keys, major key signatures, major scales with piano fingerings (ascending and descending, one octave, separate hands)

• Minor keys, scales, key signatures, minor Scales with piano fingerings (ascending and descending, one octave, separate hands)

• Parallel and relative Keys

• Diatonic intervals (m2-P8), half step (semitone), whole step

• Diatonic triads in major keys- major, minor, diminished

  • Arpeggios, hand-over-hand, ascending and descending

  • Root position and inversions

  • Chord labels

• Augmented triad

• Scale degree names 

• Triplets, swing rhythms