Music Theory

Music Theory Jumpstart

Joseph Lubben, Associate Professor of Music Theory
June 19-July 28, 2023

Registration deadline: June 5, 2023

REGISTER HERE

man sitting at the piano with laptop, iPad, and microphone

Professor Joseph Lubben's music theory instruction in the virtual environment is delivered through a combination of lectures and live teaching on Zoom.

Photo credit: Leonardo Lubben

Who is the course for?

For students planning to take music theory at Oberlin Conservatory.

Course Description

This six-week online fundamentals course is designed to prepare students to excel in college-level music theory.

The course consists of one weekly prerecorded lecture, one weekly live workshop with small groups, and structured self-study using uTheory.com. Students will develop fluency with clefs, intervals, rhythm and meter, scales, and chord types. They will also be exposed to foundations of musical form, approaches to timbre, a variety of analytical perspectives, and a diverse repertoire.

Meeting Times

June 19-July 28

  • Mondays: Recorded video to watch at your convenience
  • Wednesdays or Thursdays:  Live workshops offered at 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET
  • Fridays: Weekly assignments are due

Course Fee: FREE

 

 

Faculty

Joseph Lubben is Associate Professor of Music Theory at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he has taught since 1995. He holds a PhD in Composition and Music Theory from Brandeis University, and he has taught at the University of Notre Dame, the Universidad Central de Venezuela, and the Universidad Simón Bolívar. From 1998-2000 he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar to Venezuela. His publications have revolved around Heinrich Schenker’s middle period and have appeared in Music Theory Spectrum, the Journal of the American Musicological Society, GAMUT, and as part of the Tonwille translation for Oxford University Press. His more recent unpublished work focuses on folk music of Venezuela and theories of rhythm and meter inspired by that repertoire.

Since 2017 Lubben has taught seven cohorts of online students through Pioneer Academics. In 2020 he developed and taught Music Theory Jumpstart, Oberlin’s first fully online music theory class.