204 Music Fundamentals 3 Hours This course covers the basic rudiments of music. Students who have little or no background in music should should feel right at home because the class starts at the very beginning and builds a platform for reading and understanding music notation. Students will learn how to use solfège, read rhythms, understand key and time signatures, write simple melodies, learn new songs, and follow all kinds of musical markings. Students should leave the class with tools that will help them read music for the rest of their lives. 304 Music Theory I 3 Hours Building on the concepts covered in Music Fundamentals, this course digs into how music is put together. Whereas Fundamentals builds the basic structure, Music Theory I begins to add the interior detail like a designer who takes the frame of a house and turns it into an appealing place to live. The subjects covered in this course include scales, intervals, chords, melody writing, harmonization, and basic part writing. Students must take a placement test to make sure they are ready and eligible to take the course. 404 Music Theory II 3 Hours Building on the concepts covered in Music Theory I, this course digs even deeper into chords, harmonization, and part writing. It also includes a study of counterpoint, seventh chords, secondary dominants, and modulation. With the material presented in this course, students should be able to open a hymnal to any song and understand everything about how the piece is constructed rhythmically, melodically, and harmonically. If Music Theory I takes the inside of a basic structure and makes it appealing, this course adds interior decorations and furniture and makes it absolutely beautiful. Prerequisite: 304 Music Theory I 504 Choir 1 Hour Singing in a choir is one of the joys of life that combines truth, beauty, artistry, fun, and community in one package. In choir, students will enjoy preparing and presenting a quality program of sacred a cappella music from a variety of styles, composers, and historical time periods. Because of the limited rehearsal time and extensive repertoire, students are required to learn many of the pitches and rhythms outside of class time using sound files that are provided for that purpose. If tour is offered in a given term, all choir members are required to sing on tour. The number of participants in choir is limited. If any section has more students signed up than available spaces, students will be admitted according to the prioritization scale found here . 604 Understanding and Enjoying Hymns 2 Hours A handful of hymns have lasted for centuries; all of the others have ended up in the trash heap of history. Why are the few lasting hymns so special that generations have embraced them and continued to sing them? What makes them enduring? In this class, students will discover the treasure trove of hymns that are available to the body of Christ today and what makes them special. From the early church to the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, enduring hymns have shaped and enriched the body of Christ. Take this course to sing and to enjoy the finest hymns in our hymnals. 704 How to Lead Singing 1 Hour Congregational singing should be a time of joyful and active participation, and songleaders can help make that happen. This course prepares students to lead congregational singing with confidence and care. Students will learn how to use a pitch pipe, how and when to conduct, how to choose appropriate songs, how to lead confidently and sensitively, and how to foster musical appreciation, skill, and participation in a congregation. Students should come to the class with a basic working knowledge of letter names, solfège, and key and time signatures 804 Class Voice 2 Hours Class Voice gives students the opportunity to improve their singing in the context of a safe, fun, learning environment. The course covers the basic elements of singing and encourages students to use their voices well for the glory of God by improving breathing, resonance, diction, and expression. Students will learn from each other as well as from the instructor by giving and receiving constructive feedback. Everyone who takes this class must also take choir during the same term.