Designed for a one-semester musical fundamentals course, From Sound to Symbol: Fundamentals of Music clearly covers all essential topics, but with a unique, "sound-to-symbol" approach that explores concepts through the sound of music before explaining how symbols are used to represent that sound. Reversing the pedagogical perspective of traditional music theory texts, the authors work from the premise that students should first intuitively comprehend musical sounds, and then link this knowledge to an understanding of musical symbols and theory. Recent research in music perception and cognition suggests that using this "perceptual orientation" is an effective means of teaching both musical thought and knowledge. The text's most innovative feature is an early and continuous focus on active music-making, which is supported by workbook exercises. Using discovery learning and collaborative learning techniques, it teaches students how to develop their perception of sound through kinesthetic, aural, and visual methods. The authors incorporate numerous examples and activities for developing musicianship skills at progressive levels of difficulty; marginal icons direct students to exercises in music theory, sight reading melodies and rhythms, improvisation and composition, ensemble singing, and keyboard performance. By employing a repertoire that is simple and easy to sing or play, From Sound to Symbol gives students the opportunity to actively engage in the learning process and to easily internalize the concepts and elements inherent in the music. A fold-out, laminated keyboard is packaged with each text. SUPPLEMENTS: Audio CD Each text is packaged with an audio CD that includes all the focus melodies in the text, recorded in both vocal and instrumental versions. Technology CD Each text also comes with a CD-ROM that provides tutorials for chapter review, theory exercise drills, and dictation exercises. Instructor's Manual Available to adopters, this manual includes lesson plans, teaching tips on learning assessment, tutorials that interface with the CD-ROM, additional aural and written dictation examples for each chapter, and suggestions for scoring tests.

Table of Contents:
CHAPTER 1. RHYTHM 1: BASIC RHYTHMS IN SIMPLE METER; Unit 1.1 Beat, Tempo, Meter, Measures; Unit 1.2 Introduction to Musical Structure; Unit 1.3 Introduction to Meter; Unit 1.4 Introduction to Rhythm; Unit 1.5 Basic Rhythm Patterns in Simple Meter; Unit 1.6 Basic Rhythm Patterns That Include Rests in Simple Meter; Unit 1.7 Meter and Time Signatures of 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 Meter; Unit 1.8 Beaming Notes in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 Meter (Simple Meter); Unit 1.9 2/2, 3/2, and 4/2 Simple Meter; Unit 1.10 Counting in Duple, Triple, and Quadruple Meter Using Numbers; Unit 1.11 Repeat Signs; First and Second Endings; Ties and Slurs; CHAPTER 2. THE KEYBOARD AND NOTATION OF PITCH; Unit 2.1 The Basic Keyboard Concepts Associated with Pitch; Unit 2.2 Whole Step and Half Step Intervals at the Keyboard; Unit 2.3 Treble Clef and Introduction to the Notation of Pitch; Unit 2.4 Bass Clef or F Clef; Unit 2.5 Notating Sharps and Flats on the Staff; CHAPTER 3. RHYTHM 2: MORE ADVANCED RHYTHMS IN SIMPLE METER; Unit 3.1 Four Sounds on a Beat in Simple Meter; Unit 3.2 Time Signatures 2/8, 3/8, and 4/8 in Simple Meter; Unit 3.3 Eighth and Sixteenth Note Combinations; Unit 3.4 Dotted Eighth Note and Sixteenth Note Combinations; Unit 3.5 Dotted Notes: A Dotted Quarter Note Followed by an Eighth Note; Unit 3.6 Syncopation; CHAPTER 4. MELODY: ORIENTATION TO THE MAJOR SCALE; Unit 4.1 Melodic Contour; Unit 4.2 Major Pentachord Scales and Melodies; Unit 4.3 Determining the Intervals Between Notes of the Pentachord Scale; Unit 4.4 Writing a Major Pentachord Scale and Melody on the Staff Using Accidentals; Unit 4.5 Major Hexachord Scales and Melodies; Unit 4.6 Determining the Intervals Between Notes of the Major Hexachord Scale; Unit 4.7 Song Analysis and Pentatonic Scale; CHAPTER 5. THE MAJOR SCALE; Unit 5.1 Major Diatonic Scales and Melodies; Unit 5.2 Determining the Intervals Between Notes of the Major Scale; Unit 5.3 Writing Major Scales on the Staff Using Accidentals; Unit 5.4 Key Signatures; Unit 5.5 Transposition; Unit 5.6 Identifying the Key of a Major Scale from a Given Key Signature Using Solfege Syllables; Unit 5.7 Modal Scales; Unit 5.8 Song Analysis; CHAPTER 6. INTERVALS; Unit 6.1 Interval Identification; Unit 6.2 Interval Quality: Major, Minor, and Perfect; Unit 6.3 Augmented and Diminished Intervals: Major, Minor, Augmented, and Diminished Intervals; Unit 6.4 Inversion of Intervals; Unit 6.5 Compound Intervals; Unit 6.6 Determining the Names of Intervals by Half Steps; CHAPTER 7. ORIENTATION TO THE MINOR SCALE; Unit 7.1 Minor Pentachord Scales and Melodies; Unit 7.2 Determining the Size and Quality of Intervals Between the Notes of the Minor Pentachord Scale; Unit 7.3 Writing a Minor Pentachord Scale and Melody on the Staff; Unit 7.4 Minor Hexachord Scales and Melodies; Unit 7.5 Determining the Size and Quality of Intervals Between the Notes of the Minor Hexachord Scale; Unit 7.6 Minor Pentatonic Scales and Melodies; CHAPTER 8. THE MINOR SCALE: NATURAL FORM; Unit 8.1 Natural Minor Scales and Melodies; Unit 8.2 Determining the Intervals Between Notes of the Natural Minor Scale; Unit 8.3 Writing a Natural Minor Scale on the Staff Using Accidentals; Unit 8.4 Writing a Natural Minor Melody on the Staff Using Accidentals; Unit 8.5 Relative and Parallel Key Relationships; Unit 8.6 Minor Key Signatures; CHAPTER 9. THE MINOR SCALE: HARMONIC AND MELODIC FORMS; Unit 9.1 Harmonic Minor Scales and Melodies; Unit 9.2 Determining the Intervals Between Notes of the Harmonic Minor Scale; Unit 9.3 Writing a Harmonic Minor Scale on the Staff with a Key Signature; Unit 9.4 Melodic Minor Scales and Melodies; Unit 9.5 Determining the Intervals Between Notes of the Melodic Minor Scale; Unit 9.6 Writing a Melodic Minor Scale on the Staff with a Key Signature; Unit 9.7 Identifying the Key of a Composition; Unit 9.8 Minor Modes; Unit 9.9 The Chromatic Scale; CHAPTER 10. RHYTHM 3: COMPOUND METER AND ADVANCED RHYTHMIC CONCEPTS; Unit 10.1 Rhythm Patterns in Compound Meter; Unit 10.2 Rhythm Patterns in Compound Meter; Unit 10.3 Rhythm Patterns in Compound Meter; Unit 10.4 Rhythm Patterns in Compound Meter; Unit 10.5 Rhythm Patterns in Compound Meter; Unit 10.6 Triplets and Duplets; Unit 10.7 Changing Meter and Asymmetric Meters; Unit 10.8 Song Analysis; CHAPTER 11. INTRODUCING HARMONIC CONCEPTS; Unit 11.1 Tonic and Dominant Chord Functions in a Major Key; Unit 11.2 Tonic and Dominant Chord Functions in Minor; Unit 11.3 Tonic, Dominant, Tonality, and Subdominant Chord Functions in Major; Unit 11.4 Tonic, Dominant, Tonality, and Subdominant Chord Functions in Minor; Unit 11.5 Major, Minor, Diminished, and Augmented Triads; Unit 11.6 Roman Numeral Analysis and Figured Bass; CHAPTER 12. AN INTRODUCTION TO HARMONIC PROGRESSIONS; Unit 12.1 Primary Triads: Tonic and Dominant Chord Progressions in Root Position; Unit 12.2 Authentic and Half Cadences; Unit 12.3 Primary Triads: Tonic, Subdominant, and Dominant Chords in Root Position; Unit 12.4 The Dominant Seventh Chord; Unit 12.5 Plagal and Half Cadences; Unit 12.6 An Introduction to Nonharmonic Tones or Nonchord Tones; Unit 12.7 Harmonic Progressions Involving Secondary Triads; GLOSSARY; INDEX