CCOG for MUC 103 Winter 2025
- Course Number:
- MUC 103
- Course Title:
- Contemporary Music Theory III
- Credit Hours:
- 3
- Lecture Hours:
- 30
- Lecture/Lab Hours:
- 0
- Lab Hours:
- 0
Course Description
Covers music theory as exhibited in contemporary musical styles such as jazz, blues, rock, hip hop, funk, electronic dance music, folk, etc. Includes chromatic chords, chords extensions, the Nashville Number System, and song forms. Includes music analysis focusing on structure, chromatic harmonies and alterations. Includes written composition that stresses craft and execution. This is the third course in a three-course sequence. Prerequisites: MUC 102 or instructor approval. Audit available.
Intended Outcomes for the course
Upon completion of the course students should be able to:
- Create simple backgrounds for melodies.
- Voice chord extensions in progressions.
- Write, produce, and present an entire composition using basic song form.
- Aurally recognize formal structures.
- Analyze, explain, hear, and generate chromatic chords.
- Transpose parts for various instruments.
- Exhibit more developed musicianship by applying more advanced music theory components through musical expression.
Course Activities and Design
Material for the course will be presented in a lecture format but also includes question and answer sessions as well as discussion of recorded musical examples.
- In-class written and aural exercises
- Homework assignments (written exercises, analysis, listening)
- Aural skills training (singing and dictation)
- Composition projects performed in class
- Brief in-class quizzes (written and aural)
- Class participation, small group work, and discussion
- Providing constructive critique and feedback to in-class performances
Outcome Assessment Strategies
- Participation in class discussion and group activities
- In-class and homework assignments
- Exams and quizzes
- Composition project performances
Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)
- Borrowed Chords
- Pivot Chord Modulation
- Direct Modulation
- Sequential Modulation
- Half-step Modulation
- Modulation to Relative Key
- Nashville Number System
- Chord Extensions
- bII (the Neapolitan Chord)
- Song Form and Analysis
- Final Projects, Final Exam