Le solfège à votre portée (Solfege Within Your Reach)

Course Description

Welcome to "Le solfège à votre portée", an exciting and comprehensive online course series designed to demystify music theory and solfege. This first course in the series is an intermediate-level offering from UMontrealX, focusing on the fundamentals of musical notation, pitch, and intervals. Whether you're an aspiring music student preparing for university-level studies or a passionate music enthusiast looking to deepen your understanding of music theory, this course is tailored to elevate your musical knowledge and skills.

What students will learn

• The basics of musical notation, including note names and the musical staff
• Understanding of clefs and their role in music reading
• Concepts of pitch and register in music
• Semitones and the use of accidentals in music notation
• Comprehensive knowledge of musical intervals, their qualities, and inversions
• Skills in reading and interpreting musical scores
• Foundation for further studies in tonality, rhythm, and advanced musical concepts

Pre-requisites

While this course is designed to be accessible to intermediate-level students, a basic understanding of music and some experience with playing an instrument, singing, or composing would be beneficial. No specific pre-requisites are mentioned, but a passion for music and a willingness to learn are essential.

Course Coverage

• Names of musical notes and their placement on the staff
• Understanding of various musical clefs
• Concept of musical register
• Semitones and accidentals in music
• Diatonic and chromatic semitones
• Musical intervals: identification, quality, and classification
• Compound and inverted intervals

Who this course is for

• Students preparing for admission to pre-university or university music programs
• Musicians (instrumentalists, singers, or composers) looking to enhance their music reading and writing skills
• Music enthusiasts eager to understand the mechanisms that structure music
• Anyone interested in developing a deeper appreciation for music theory and notation

Real-world Application of Skills

• Improved sight-reading abilities for performers
• Enhanced composition skills for songwriters and composers
• Better understanding and appreciation of musical scores for listeners and music critics
• Stronger foundation for further musical studies or professional development in music-related fields
• Increased ability to communicate musical ideas with other musicians
• Enhanced capacity to analyze and understand complex musical pieces

Syllabus

This course is the first in a series of four MOOCs, with subsequent courses covering topics such as tonality, major and minor scales, tonal harmony, rhythmic notation, and the practical application of these concepts in reading and writing complete musical texts.