Techniques of Composition
- Course Code
- MUSC 0150
- Course Type
- Tutorials
- Subject Credit
- Course Availability
Please note that this tutorial is usually available only to music majors and minors.
This course explores what are typically referred to as ‘the building blocks of Western ‘classical’ music’. You will learn about the basic components of composition in the Western classical tradition. Through close study of repertory from 1500 to 1900 you will become familiar with both modal and tonal harmony; notation and style. From mastering 16th-century imitative polyphony to 17th and 18th century fugal style and nineteenth-century idioms, you will gain the ability to write a fugue; string quartet or piano accompaniment of a song. Learning to write in these styles will develop your understanding of the principles of counterpoint and harmony, voice leading, polyphonic and contrapuntal textures, consonance and dissonance. You will also be able to distinguish between instrumental and vocal idioms. This course will equip you with a high level of skill in the techniques of musical composition, which will aid your other studies of music in the western classical tradition.