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.

Preface Explanation of Icons and Terms 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 Supplementary Musicianship Exercises Reading Rhythms Performance: Ensemble Singing Improvisation and Composition Listening 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 Supplementary Musicianship Exercises Reading Rhythms Improvisation and Composition Keyboard Performance Performance: Ensemble Singing 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 Supplementary Musicianship Exercises Sight Singing Melodies in Staff Notation Developing Musical Memory Improvisation and Composition Keyboard Performance Performance: Ensemble Singing Error Detection 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 Supplementary Musicianship Exercises Sight Singing Melodies and Rhythms Keyboard Performance Performance: Ensemble Singing Developing Musical Memory Error Detection Improvisation and Composition Listening 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 Supplementary Musicianship Exercises Sight Singing Melodies and Rhythms Keyboard Performance Improvisation and Composition Performance: Ensemble Singing 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 Supplementary Musicianship Exercises Sight Singing Melodies and Rhythms Improvisation and Composition Keyboard Performance Performance: Ensemble Singing 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 Supplementary Musicianship Exercises Sight Singing Melodies and Rhythms Improvisation and Composition Performance: Ensemble Singing Listening 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 Supplementary Musicianship Exercises Sight Singing Melodies and Rhythms Keyboard Performance Performance: Ensemble Singing Glossary Index

, Micheal HoulahanProfessor of Music Theory and Chair, Department of Music, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Philip TackaAssociate Professor of Music, Millersville University of Pennsylvania

"The book's main philosophical position (that music is an experience in sound and that learning should proceed from this point) is profoundly interesting and seems intuitively correct to me."--Ed Pearsall, University of Texas