Musicianship: Tensions Harmonic Function and Modal Interchange

Instructor: George Russell

Duration: 11.00

This course, part of the Developing Your Musicianship specialization from Berklee Online, is taught by Berklee College of Music professor George W. Russell, Jr. It covers intermediate level harmony and ear training, focusing on tensions, harmonic function, and modal interchange. Learners with a general understanding of music theory or who have completed the first two courses in the series will benefit from this course. ▼▲

Course Feature Course Overview Pros & Cons Course Provider Discussion and Reviews

Go to class

Course Feature

Cost:

Free

Provider:

Coursera

Certificate:

Paid Certification

Language:

English

Start Date:

10th Jul, 2023

Course Overview

❗The content presented here is sourced directly from Coursera platform. For comprehensive course details, including enrollment information, simply click on the 'Go to class' link on our website.

Updated in [March 06th, 2023]

What skills and knowledge will you acquire during this course?
This course will provide learners with an intermediate level of knowledge and skills in harmony and ear training. Learners will gain an understanding of new key signatures and how they are constructed, as well as how to differentiate between various intervals and chords. Additionally, learners will learn how to borrow chords from parallel tonalities (modal interchange) and how to write more common chord progressions. Finally, learners will be able to compose and perform a composition using popular chord progressions.

How does this course contribute to professional growth?
This course contributes to professional growth by providing learners with an intermediate level of harmony and ear training. Through the four lessons, learners will gain an understanding of new key signatures, how to differentiate between various intervals and chords, how to borrow chords from parallel tonalities, and how to write more common chord progressions. The course culminates with an assignment that requires learners to compose and perform a composition using popular chord progressions, which will help them to develop their musicianship and hone their skills. This course will help learners to become more confident in their musical abilities and better prepared for professional music-making.

Is this course suitable for preparing further education?
This course is suitable for preparing further education as it introduces learners to intermediate level harmony and ear training. It covers topics such as key signatures, intervals, chords, modal interchange, and popular chord progressions. Learners will also have the opportunity to compose and perform a composition using the concepts they have learned. This course is designed to help learners develop their musicianship and create music, making it an ideal choice for those looking to further their education in music.

Course Syllabus

Welcome to Musicianship: Harmonic Function, Modal Interchange, and Tensions

Welcome to Musicianship: Musicianship: Harmonic Function, Modal Interchange, and Tensions (also known as Developing Your Musicianship III)! Here we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your course experience.

Lesson 1

This week, we will explore the key of Eb Major and B minor. We will also learn about chord tensions and harmonic function, or, in other words, how chords function within a tonal center. We will continue to develop our ears by aurally identifying chord progressions and chord qualities.

Lesson 2

This week, we will explore learn a new chord progression, the I II- V I. If you took Developing Your Musicianship, you may remember the VII-7b5, but this week, we'll learn about diminished chords. We'll also continue to train our ears to hear chord progressions and qualities.

Lesson 3

This week, we will explore the concept of modal interchange, or borrowing chords from a parallel tonality. We'll also learn a new chord progression that showcases modal interchange, the bVI bVII I progression. Finally, we will continue to train our ears to hear chord progressions and qualities.

Lesson 4

This last lesson will focus on preparing you for your final course project: writing and performing a 16-bar song. We will run through a brief overview of the concepts you have learned over the past few weeks that you will be able to apply when you complete your project. We will also learn about suspended chords and we will continue our ear training practice.