A well-rounded vocalist possesses more than just a great voice. In order to really thrive and succeed as a top-notch singer, you have to also understand the mechanics of contemporary music. The Specialist Certificate in Voice Technique and Musicianship provides the fundamental knowledge and concepts of theory, voice study, and ear training to prepare you to be a better musician and an in-demand vocalist.

Music Theory 101 will give you the tools you need to start mastering the nuts and bolts of music. You’ll dig into the fundamental building blocks of music—pitch, rhythm, scales, intervals, chords, and harmony—and learn how they flow together to make a song work. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to read and write musical notation both on paper and using software, write a simple melody, find and play notes on a piano keyboard, and understand the basic concepts behind scales, intervals, and chords.

With a better understanding of the basics of music theory, you’ll then move onto voice study. Voice Technique 101 will teach you how to sing with more freedom, sing simple harmonies, have better breath control, and understand how to take care of your voice. Through guided study using video demonstrations, animated illustrations, and hundreds of recorded examples, the course addresses common questions such as how to make your voice sound more powerful, how to use vocal technique to expand your range and expression, and how to become more confident in vocal performances.

Once you know the basics of how music is structured and can identify what you hear, the next step is to refine how you hear music. In Basic Ear Training 1, you will use exercises and contemporary songs by artists like Dave Matthews, Jimi Hendrix, and Miles Davis to understand the harmonies, rhythms, and pulses that drive and measure music. You will learn to identify and transcribe rhythms and time signatures, conduct basic rhythms, identify the difference between major and minor, understand and sing the relationships between pitches using the solfege (do-re-mi) method, and recognize the basic elements of song structure.

By the end of your coursework, you’ll have a strong foundation of knowledge and a better awareness of what is happening in the music that you hear, write, and sing, becoming a more confident and capable musician and vocal performer.

(Please note: Music Theory 201 or 301 will be an acceptable substitution for Music Theory 101 if necessary prerequisite requirements are met)