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

The material for the course will be presented in a lecture/lab format. Instruction will take place in an electronic piano lab. The piano lab should facilitate practical examination. Students will be required to apply the material through music performance on the piano keyboard. Musical examples from a wide array of genres will be used to demonstrate the concepts covered. Lectures may be enhanced through the use of multimedia technologies.

Students will able to accurately perform the major and minor scales in all keys (one octave, separate hands)
Students will be able to accurately construct and perform the ancient church modes in all keys.
Students will be able to accurately construct and perform basic triad arpeggios (hand over hand, ascending and descending, diatonic and chromatic)
Students will be able to construct and accurately perform all inversions of basic triads.
Students will be able to construct and accurately perform pentascales built on each scale degree of the major and minor scales.
Students will be able to construct and accurately perform pentascales based on whole tone and chromatic scales.
Students will be able to identify the quality of triads built on any major or minor scale degree.
Students will be able to construct and perform chord progressions using the primary triads in all major and minor keys.
Students will be able to successfully harmonize a single-line melody using proper chord progression.
Students will be able to read and perform basic rhythms at sight.
Students will be able to read and perform basic (beginning level) piano compositions at sight.
Students will be able to accurately perform transpositions of five finger pieces.

Methods used to evaluate student progress and the criteria for assigning a course letter grade should be made clear by the instructor at the beginning of the course. Due to the fact that this course focuses on the performance of a musical instrument, 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

I. Basic keyboard orientation and technique
II. Scales (tetrachords)
    Major scales
    Minor scales (all forms)
    Modes
III. Arpeggios (basic triads)
    Hand over hand (ascending and descending)
    Chromatically (ascending and descending)
    Inversions
    Triads built on any scale degree
IV. Pentascales
    Major based
    Minor based
    Whole tone based
    Chromatic
V. Harmony
    Triads built on major and minor scale degrees
    Basic chord progressions (I-V-I and I-IV-V-I, major and minor keys)
    Harmonizing melodies
VI. Sight-reading and Transposition
    Rhythm
    Treble and bass clef staff reading
    Transposition of five finger pieces (major and minor keys)

COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS:
The following skills are expected to successfully meet the minimum requirement of "C" of "Pass" for the course.

• Demonstrate basic piano techniques using simple compositions and exercises.
• Accurately perform major and minor scales (one octave, separate hands, ascending an descending).
• Accurately perform church modes (one octave, separate hands, ascending and descending).
• Accurately perform basic triad arpeggios (hand over hand and chromatically, ascending and descending, all inversions).
• Accurately perform pentascales based on major, minor, whole tone and chromatic scales.
• Construct and perform basic triads built upon major and minor scale degrees.
• Construct and perform basic chord progression in major and minor keys.
• Successfully identify and perform proper progression to harmonize simple single-line melody.
• Interpret basic rhythms at sight.
• Perform basic composition for piano (treble and bass clef) at sight.
• Accurately transpose simple five finger pieces to at least two new keys.