Basso Continuo & You – Lab (MTH4402.01)

Kitty Brazelton

Intimacy is one of the strange benefits of remote learning when the distance education occurs in small groups. The unexpected attention to detail that results in online learning, is a great boon to advancing the study of music theory.

It has long been known that the most effective way to work towards an understanding of tonal harmony, its theory and history, is to physically play the notes with your hands. Whether or not you play the piano well, moving your hands on the keyboard evokes a visual and kinetic understanding that anchors cerebral understanding beyond the intellectual. Playing, touching and sounding the keys allows a hands-on and ears-in, deep musical learning that is effective and thorough. No matter how slow the hands operate, the mind-ear connection is catalyzed by the tactile involvement with the notes.

In order to work closely with the instructor as well as to study on their own, students are asked to find a MIDI-capable keyboard that can connect to and sound through their personal computers. No student need be keyboard-proficient, just willing to try to make sounds, no matter how slowly.

A great and rewarding adventure! Friday’s one-on-one or one-on-two meetings between instructor and students will make all the difference to each student’s command of music concepts, their insight into musical interpretation for performance, and finally their power as music creators, composers and songwriters.


Learning Outcomes:



Delivery Method: Entirely remote (synchronous)
Prerequisites:Students must be able to read and write music, and have some instrumental or vocal proficiency. Most important and a new requirement: students must have access to a MIDI keyboard attach-able to their computer and remote meeting software. For any questions about MIDI keyboards, please contact Gina Deibel, Music Coordinator, at ginadeibel@bennington.edu.
Corequisites: MTH4292: Basso Continuo & You.
Course Level: 4000-level
Credits: 2
F 4:10PM - 6:00PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 12
Course Frequency: Every Term

Categories: All courses , Entirely Remote , Theory
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