• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Catholic Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Build your Music Theory Skills

Veronica Brandt · February 24, 2018

Coursera Music Theory OUIE, LOUIE, Phantom of the Opera and a Tribute to Henry Mancini are my main memories from Music classes in High School. We did briefly venture into Music Theory – I remember Bohemian Rhapsody employed as an example of different forms of music.

Part of me worries that everyone reading this already understands triads, secondary dominants and passing notes. Nevertheless, if anyone has felt their music background to be rather shaky, here is a free online course that can shore up your erratically collected knowledge and help you move ahead in leaps and bounds.

Fundamentals of Music Theory is a course created by teachers from the Reid School of Music, University of Edinburgh. It is hosted by Cousera, a website with many courses from educational institutes around the world.

The course itself could be taken with no prior knowledge. Reading music is very quickly described, but it quickly moves on. Someone without the ability to read music could struggle to get up to speed that quickly.

There are references to other websites for further practise, but I found taking notes with paper and pencil to be the most effective way to consolidate the new information. And playing around on the piano.

Although not aimed at Sacred or even Classical Music, the course shows how the same rules of harmony underpin all music. Now I feel better equipped to read Mr Ostrowski’s articles here about the relative merits of different harmonizations of hymns and organ accompaniments.

New enrollment periods start every few weeks. Share with your musical friends whose enthusiasm exceeds their theoretical foundations: Fundamentals of Music Theory.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

Avatar

About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Friedman met Egon Wellesz in Altaussee on one of the walks, and Egon started to speak about atonal music—and Ignaz replied: “No, no, no. Melody for me.”

— From the Life of Ignazy Friedman

Recent Posts

  • Now Online! • “Missale Romanum” (1615 edition)
  • “Ash Wednesday” • Banned by YouTube after 93,000 Views!
  • Three Ways to Improvise at the Organ
  • (Screenshots) • Proving Holy Saturday Took Place In The Morning
  • “Homily: Second Sunday of Lent” • Father Valentine Young, OFM

Copyright © 2021 Corpus Christi Watershed · Charles Garnier on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.