Musical Theatre Theory I

Catalog description

Studies in the fundamentals of music notation and sight-singing. THEA 113 (2) is designed to provide the beginning musical theatre student with the fundamentals of music theory and diatonic harmony as well as the analytical skills with which to approach and appreciate the structure of songs and musical theatre scores. It is focused primarily on the musical theatre literature to enable the beginning student to learn and appreciate more efficiently the literature that will be central to the performance classes in the major. The class places a rigorous emphasis on pitch and rhythmic identification to develop a high degree of musicianship in the beginning student, both to provide a solid basis for the classes to come and to make the performer more competitive in the musical theatre industry. It is designed to be entry-level in preparation for THEA 114 (Musical Theatre Form and Analysis) and the upper-level theory classes ( THEA 212 and THEA 214 ). The course presupposes no previous musical training or experience. For those with some previous musical theory education, the course may function successfully as a refresher before the more rigorous analysis courses to follow. It satisfies a significant need in that it focuses on the specific theoretical knowledge the musical theatre student needs to know to become competitive in a professional career.