Harmony, Rhythm, and Form

This unit develops core skills in harmony, rhythm, and musical form, building from basic intervals and scales toward triads, seventh chords, and common chord progressions. Students will apply these skills to notation, lead sheets, genre contexts (rock/pop, jazz), and simple formal analysis while practicing rhythm, dynamics, and ensemble considerations.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze melodic and harmonic content by identifying intervals (unisons through sevenths), triads, and seventh chords in written examples and lead sheets.
• Apply key-signature and scale knowledge to determine major and minor key signatures, locate relative minors, and map notes on piano and guitar diagrams.
• Demonstrate rhythmic literacy by reading and performing whole notes, notes and rests, compound time signatures, triplets/duplets, and irregular rhythms with appropriate dynamics.
• Evaluate and construct basic musical textures and forms by labeling sonata and rondo sections, creating common chord progressions, arranging complementary harmony to a melody, and improvising simple jazz phrases.