Music Theory
The Academy's music theory classes are appropriate for all teens and adults who are interested in expanding their musical knowledge. These classes are highly recommended for high school students who plan to major in music in college: music theory is one area in which many incoming first-year music students are underprepared. Students who complete the Academy's music theory curriculum generally find themselves well prepared for entrance exams at most schools of music.
Discounts available! Discounted tuition of $100.00 for all music theory classes is available to current Academy students, current UMKC faculty/staff, current Conservatory in the School students, and current Youth Symphony of Kansas City members.
Aural Skills/Ear Training
Two sections available:
- Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Start date 1/14/10, end date 3/11/10.
- Sundays, 4:45-5:45 p.m. Class dates: 1/24, 1/31, 2/14, 2/21, 2/28, 3/14, 3/21, 4/4, 4/11.
Tuition $175.00
Improve your musical skills! The techniques taught in this class can help you to sing a piece of printed music at sight, as well as to play your instrument by ear. Focus is on the connection between perceived sounds and written music. Aural skills is an area of study that is vital for aspiring musicians, particularly those who hope to study music at the university level.
Theory I - Fundamentals of Music Theory
Two sections available:
- Thursdays, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Start date 1/14/10, end date 3/11/10.
- Sundays, 3:45-4:45 p.m. Class dates: 1/24, 1/31, 2/14, 2/21, 2/28, 3/14, 3/21, 4/4, 4/11.
Tuition $175.00
Music theory is the ideal area of study for the music lover or aspiring musician who is interested in learning how music works from the inside out. Theory I is an introduction to the building blocks of music: reading various clefs, rhythms, key signatures, major and minor scales, intervals, triads and seventh chords. This class also builds skills in music literacy.
Theory II - Diatonic Voice Leading
Two sections available:
- Thursdays, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Start date 3/18/10, end date 5/20/10.
- Sundays, 2:15-3:15 p.m. Class dates: 1/24, 1/31, 2/14, 2/21, 2/28, 3/14, 3/21, 4/4, 4/11.
Tuition $175.00
Building on the material covered in Theory I, this course explores harmonies in the context of a key, including voice-leading techniques within standard harmonic progressions. The class will examine examples in musical literature and attempt an analysis.
Theory III - Chromatic Voice Leading
Two sections available:
- Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Start date 3/18/10, end date 5/20/10.
- Sundays, 6:00-7:00 p.m. Class dates: 1/24, 1/31, 2/14, 2/21, 2/28, 3/14, 3/21, 4/4, 4/11.
Tuition $175.00
Theory III extends the principles learned in Theory II to chromatic harmonies (harmonies outside of a given key), as well as procedures of modulation (moving from one key to another). Unlike Theory I and II, this is a hands-on analysis course.
National Romanticism in Croatia during the Nineteenth Century: Politics, Society, and Music
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30-6:45 p.m. Class dates: 2/2, 2/4, 2/9, 2/11, 2/16, 2/18, 2/23, 2/25.
Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the nineteenth century, and as such was part of a wider Viennese sphere of influence. This series of lectures will cover society and culture in south Slavic Habsburg lands, the conditions and groundwork for establishing national identities during the Romantic era, and the musical cultures that emerged out of these confluences in Croatian lands. Professor Dr. Stanislav Tuksar is chair of musicology at the Music Academy of the University of Zagreb. He has published widely on Croatian and European musical topics and has been a guest lecturer at UMKC UC-Berkeley, University of Chicago, University College-Dublin, and elsewhere. His principal areas of research include the history of Croatian music, musical aesthetics, and music of the Renaissance. He is editor-in-chief of the International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music and a past president of the Croatian Musicological Society.
