This is an Internet-based course in the basic information needed to understand music theory. Although it is generally designed to prepare music majors with little background in reading and notating music for the rigors of a two-year Music Theory sequence of courses, many non-music majors take the course as a General Education credit, or to get a basic understanding of the principles of why music sounds like it does. I will try to keep the course as relevant and interesting as I can, but there are some elements that might seem to defy either of those categories.

One of those elements is reading music. Just like a student of a foreign language needs to have a ready mastery of vocabulary in order to learn grammar, you will need to be able to read notes and rhythms to work with the concepts that underpin the music you hear. The good news is that the flexibility of an Internet-based delivery system will allow you to improve throughout the semester. In a classroom setting, all students must all get to some base-level of understanding so that the entire class can move through material together. In this more individualized setting, students who read notes more slowly can take the time they need to understand the examples, while others push ahead to learn the concepts more quickly. There will be tests on reading pitches, rhythm, etc. Obviously, the sooner you can read well, the easier the class will be, but you will be able to retake these reading tests as often as you like to improve your score. Your highest grade will be the one that counts.

While distance learning through the Internet might not be right for everyone, there are definite advantages for learning about music. One advantage is the ability to hear the examples, rather than just see them in the in the pages of a book. This would be a good place to mention the sort of equipment you will need to take this class:

You will need (to own or to have regular access to) a computer with an Internet connection. You will also need an e-mail account. Many places provide these for free (e.g. Yahoo or Hotmail).

Your computer will need to be able to play sound and will have to have QuickTime installed. QuickTime is software which plays "movies." You will need to use Netscape version 4.76 (This is a slightly older version available at http://home.netscape.com/download/archive.html?cp=dowarc.) or Netscape 7. (http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp) Netscape 6 will not work with WebCT, which is the software the college uses to deliver secure online content. Microsoft's Internet Explore recently stopped all support for Nescape-style plug-ins. This includes the QuickTime (QT) examples used throughout the course. These QT 'movies' may be just audio, or examples of music notation, or interactive tutorials. The QuickTime Player is a free utility from Apple Computer. (http://www.apple.com/quicktime) It s available for both Macintosh and PC platforms.

If you can see an image below, and hear music when you click on the 'Play' button (the sideways triangle), then you have QuickTime installed on your machine and you can use the instructional material on the web pages. Otherwise you will need to go to the Apple Computer website (http://www.apple.com/quicktime) and download it.

You will need also some sort of music notation software which can save in Standard MIDI Files. (I don't know of any current notation software which does not save in SMF format. Is the "ascii" (.txt) of the music world.) Coda music offers a free (!) program which works with small documents. It will be more than adequate for the assignments in this class. It is available at http://www.codamusic.com/coda/np.asp. If you plan to work on the Casper College campus, Coda's major music notation package called Finale is available on the computers in the MacLab in AD 6 (the basement of the Administration Building).

Distance education through the Internet is becoming more common and there are certain advantages to such an approach. Please don't let these advantages beguile you into ignoring potential difficulties also inherent in this format. Some of the more obvious warnings:

Distance leaning isn't any easier than in a traditional classroom setting. Most people find it requires more work, rather than less.

Distance learning doesn't take any less time than a traditional course. You can certainly use your time more efficiently; no travel time to classes; no waiting for someone else to understand a concept you already grasp; using pockets of time available in your schedule; etc., but still you can expect to use anywhere from five to seven hours per weeks on this course, the same as a traditional course would be expected to take. Depending on the amount of 'drill-and-practice' you need to master reading pitches, recognizing chords, etc., it may be longer.

Distance learning is not for everyone. You must be self-motivating and organized. "Organized' doesn't necessarily mean "tidy." [Years ago AT&T did a study of creativity. They found that most creative people shared two traits: a sense of humor and the ability to work in a messy environment. I have dedicated my office to the exultation of creativity.] It just means that you are able to act in such a way as to set goals and meet them in a timely fashion.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Telephone :(307) 268-2532
long-distance toll free number if you live in Wyoming: (800) 442-2963 ext. 2532
FAX (307) 268-3023
e-mail: terryg@caspercollege.edu

My home page: http://wind.caspercollege.edu/~gundet
Music Department's home page: http://www.caspercollege.edu/fine_arts
Casper College WebCT login page: http://de.cc.whecn.edu:8989/