Major Minor Music

Partner(s): Music Humanities Arts and Sciences Access: Open to all Revised: August 2012 Released: October 2001 VIEW PROJECT

The Major Minor Music Mini Course is intended to help students in Columbia's Music Humanities course learn to hear the difference between major and minor keys in musical compositions, a common obstacle for students who lack prior experience or training in music.

The mini course is divided into two primary parts: lessons and trainers. Seven lessons provide basic explanations of important concepts related to hearing major and minor. In the lessons, a student has the opportunity to practices distinguishing between major and minor with audio, video, and illustration.

The mini course uses MIDI-generated music, pieces by a variety of composers, and detailed animations and illustrations of musical concepts and terms. As students progress through the lessons and exercises they learn to distinguish between pieces written in major and minor keys.

The 2012 release (v3.0) is based on a mobile platform framework allowing students to use the mini course on their portable listening devices.

Related project categories:
Arts | Training