Develop advanced fluency in contemporary music language in this undergraduate music theory course. You’ll write and analyze complex rhythms, modal and pentatonic melodies, minor-key harmony, and chord-scale relationships while refining your ear and compositional control across jazz, pop, and rock styles.
Key Learning Outcomes
- Write and interpret advanced rhythms including triplets, swing eighths, and double-time feels
- Apply chord-scale theory to melodic writing and harmonic analysis
- Construct modal and pentatonic melodies over functional harmony
- Analyze and apply advanced harmonic motion, including slash chords and bass pedals
Course Description
Establish a toolkit of musical expertise that will prepare you for any musical endeavor or opportunity. As the title indicates, Music Theory 301: Advanced Melody, Harmony, Rhythm is an advanced music theory course, providing you with a professional command of the mechanics of contemporary music.
You'll learn to write effective jazz, pop, and rock-influenced pentatonic and modal melodies as well as master anticipations and articulations that will give your music the necessary sound and "character" to fit these styles. You'll explore harmony related topics such as diatonic, natural/melodic, minor, and slash chords, which will help you to select the appropriate harmonic tensions to add color, character, and sophistication to your music. You'll also master triplets, swing eighths, and sixteenth notes in double-time feel, as well as topics related to improvisation and melody including chord scales, avoid notes, approach notes, and modal and pentatonic scales. With this level of music theory, there will be practically no barriers between you and the music you want to create.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Build and analyze diatonic progressions in natural and melodic minor
- Use approach notes and avoid notes to shape melodic direction
- Aurally recognize complex harmonic and melodic structures in real time
- Analyze and control harmonic direction using minor-key systems, modal interchange, and functional substitutions
Syllabus
Lesson 1: Triplets and Swing vs. Straight Eighths
- Eighth and Quarter Note Triplets - Theory / Notation
- Eighth Note Triplets as Basis for Swing Eighths
- Swing Eighths vs. Straight Eighths - Musical Application
Lesson 2: Open Position Chords/Drop 2 Voicings
- The II V I Progression in Two Positions of Drop 2
- Extended Progressions Using Alternating Positions
- Variations on the V7 Chord
Lesson 3: I VI II V I Progression; Root Motion/Bass Lines
- The I VI II V I Chord Pattern
- Voice Leading the I VI II V I Chord Pattern
- Root Motion and the Bass Line
Lesson 4: Modal Scales
- Lydian and Mixolydian - Comparison to Major
- Dorian, Aeolian, Phrygian - Comparison to Natural Minor
- Writing Modal Melodies
Lesson 5: Chord Scales in Major Keys
- Chord Scales as Chord Tones Plus Passing Tones from Key
- Theory of Avoid Notes
- Writing/Analyzing Melodies Using Chord Scales
Lesson 6: Approach Note Theory
- Theory of Diatonic and Chromatic Approach Notes
- Writing/Analyzing Melodies Using Approach Notes
- Ear Training
Lesson 7: Diatonic Chords in Natural/Melodic Minors
- Construction of Diatonic Chords in Melodic Minor
- Construction of Diatonic Chords in Natural Minor
- Recognition/Analysis/Ear Training
Lesson 8: II V I and I VI II V I in Minor - Mixing and Matching Scale Types
- Theory of Minor Scale Type on Each Chord
- Application of Theory in Variety of Keys
- Recognition/Analysis/Ear Training
Lesson 9: Sixteenth Notes
- The Sixteenth Note
- Sixteenth-Note Anticipations
- Double-Time Feel
Lesson 10: Pentatonic Scales
- Constructing Pentatonic Scales
- Fitting Pentatonic Scales over Chords
- Writing Pentatonic Scale Melodies
Lesson 11: Slash Chords
- The Dominant (sus4) as Slash Chord
- Other Chord Types Written as Slash Chords
- Recognition/Analysis/Ear Training
Lesson 12: Bass Pedals
- The Tonic Pedal - Common Applications
- The Dominant Pedal - Common Applications
- Recognition/Analysis/Ear Training
Requirements
Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements
Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills
Completion of Music Theory 201: Harmony and Function or equivalent knowledge and experience is required.
Textbook(s)
- No textbooks required
Software
Student Deals
After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact support@online.berklee.edu with any questions.
General Course Requirements
Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Classes. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course.
Mac Users
- macOS Monterey 12.0 or later
PC Users
All Users
- Latest version of Google Chrome
- Zoom meeting software
- Webcam
- Speakers or headphones
- External or internal microphone
- Broadband Internet connection
Instructors
Author
Paul Schmeling (1938-2024) was a master pianist, interpreter, improviser and arranger who inspired countless students since he began teaching at Berklee in 1961. He has performed or recorded with jazz greats such as Clark Terry, Rebecca Parris, George Coleman, Carol Sloane, Frank Foster, Art Farmer, Herb Pomeroy, Phil Wilson, Dick Johnson and Slide Hampton. In the 1990s, the Paul Schmeling Trio released two inventive and critically acclaimed albums, interpreting the music of Hoagy Carmichael and songs associated with Frank Sinatra. He was chair of the piano department for 40 years, and he co-authored the Berklee Practice Method: Keyboard (2001) and Instant Keyboard (2002) and on his own he wrote Berklee Music Theory: Book 1.
Instructor
Joe Mulholland is a professor in the Harmony department at Berklee College of Music. He teaches all the core Harmony classes, as well as the electives Harmony of Brazilian Song, Advanced Harmonic Concepts, Advanced Modal Harmony, and Reharmonization Techniques. He created and teaches the Jazz Composition course and the Music Foundations course for Berklee Online, and gives private Skype lessons in jazz songwriting to students around the world.
In his capacity as chair of the Harmony department (2005-2015) at Berklee, Joe extensively revised the Harmony 2 and 3 workbooks and wrote the Music Application and Theory workbook for first-year students, as well as editing and contributing substantially to the Study Supplement for that course. With his colleague Tom Hojnacki, Joe wrote The Berklee Book of Jazz Harmony (Berklee Press), the new Harmony 2 workbook, and the Harmony 2 Study Supplement.
An accomplished pianist, recording artist, composer, and teacher, Joe has released five albums of original music and has composed electronic scores for Boston-area dance companies, including a Tango Suite commissioned by the Northeast Youth Ballet that received performances in Boston and New Jersey. Joe also performs as a vocal accompanist. In his role as music director for the Windhover Center for the Performing Arts, he composed and recorded sound design and songs for original productions of Peer Gynt and Dogtown Common. He also wrote 11 songs and three dance numbers for the original musical The Battle for Pigeon Cove Harbor, which received a three-week run in theaters on the North Shore of Boston.
Before coming to Berklee, Joe taught piano and ensemble at Brown University and Boston-area music schools, as well as serving as music director for Didi Stewart and Friends, an award-winning ensemble devoted to presenting full-length tributes to composers and performers in the American Songbook and classic R&B styles. Read Less
Instructor
Internationally touring musician, Mark Zaleski, has distinguished himself as a uniquely dynamic soloist, multi-instrumentalist, and band leader.He has performed with a diverse group of notable artists including Dave Brubeck, Christian McBride, Ian Anderson, Connie Francis, Mahmoud Ahmed, Rakalam Bob Moses, the Either/Orchestra, Jason Palmer, and Matt Savage. At the young age of 33, he has established faculty positions at Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, and Longy School of Music at Bard College.
In 2017, Zaleski released his second record, “Days, Months, Years”, a record where Zaleski performs on alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, and double bass; one of the first of its kind in the jazz genre.
Additionally, Zaleski is active in many musical projects including the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble, The Brighton Beat, the Either/Orchestra, Nyota Road, a duo project with Glenn Zaleski, Chris Hersch and the Moonraiders, The Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra, Mehmet Sanlikol and WhatsNext, and plays bass in a popular Boston-area soul band he founded called Planet Radio. Read Less
What's Next?
When taken for credit, Music Theory 301: Advanced Melody, Harmony, Rhythm can be applied towards the completion of these related programs:
Related Certificate Programs
Related Degree Majors
Related Music Career Roles
Employers look for skills learned in this course, when hiring for the following music career roles:
Conductor
Copyist (Film, TV, and Video Games)
Music Director (Church)
Music Director (Orchestra)
Music Director (Performing Artist/Band)
Session Conductor
Transcriber
Questions?
Contact our Academic Advisors by phone at 1-866-BERKLEE (U.S.), 1-617-747-2146 (INT'L), or by email at advisors@online.berklee.edu.
