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A major component of any college curriculum in music is a course introducing the first-year student to musicianship theory, musical materials, and procedures. Such a course may bear a variety of titles (Basic Musicianship, Elementary Theory, Harmony and Dictation, Structure of Music, etc). It may emphasize one aspect of music, such as harmony; more often, however, it integrates aspects of melody, harmony, texture, rhythm, form, musical analysis, elementary composition, and to some extent, history and style. Musicianship skills such as dictation and other listening skills, sight-singing, and keyboard harmony are considered an important part of the theory course, although they may be taught as separate classes.

The course presents an introduction to the materials and structures of music. Through a variety of practical exercises and written projects, students will develop an understanding of the elements of music (e.g. pitch, scales, triads, rhythm, meter, and their notation) and explore their combination and interaction in the larger-scale organization of works of classical, jazz and popular music (i.e. harmony, counterpoint, form, rhetoric). Practical musicianship skills will be developed through in-class and prepared singing assignments and rhythmic exercises.