Conceived as a distance-learning course to prepare incoming students for university-level theory, MFun is also perfect for both high school and university courses in general musicianship and music fundamentals. This is the ideal “textbook” for today’s students, who would rather interact with computers than read a printed book. Dr. Sayrs offers students a thorough grounding in the basics of music, beginning with pre-notation concepts of pulse and pitch, and finishing with an introduction to part writing.  Throughout, she keeps students engaged with hundreds of musical examples they can both see and hear. The text is clearly organized:  each chapter begins with objectives and concludes with a list of terms covered in the chapter as well as a section titled "Questions to think about."  These questions could serve as a springboard for class discussions or as essay topics.

Computer-corrected drills and quizzes for each chapter give students a real-time assessment of their grasp of the material that no traditional workbook can equal (and require no instructor grading!). Most of the interactive drills and quizzes are randomly generated, offering students unlimited attempts to master the material without repeating a set series of exercises.  Time-limited quizzes ensure that students develop proficiency in basic skills such as clef reading, interval notation and recognition, chord spelling and recognition, etc.  Individual student Transcript files record every drill and quiz attempt, making it easy for instructors to track each student’s effort and progress.

Click here to see the complete list of Interactive Drills, Interactive Quizzes, and Written Exercises included in MFun

To reserve your MFun Demo Disk (for instructors only) so you can be among the first to try out this new program as soon as it's available, e-mail office@macgamut.com.  Please include your complete snail-mail address and institutional affiliation.

MFun Table of Contents

Chapter 1:  Introduction to Meter

  • Pulse
  • Meter
  • Division of the Span between Beats
  • Counting Syllables
  • Rhythm
  • Note Values

Chapter 2:  Pitch

  • What is Pitch?

  • Musicians and Pitch

  • Octave Equivalence

  • Note Names

  • Contour and Pitch

  • Hearing Contour

  • The Staff

  • Clefs

  • Treble Clef

  • Bass Clef

  • Ledger Lines

Chapter 3:  Pitch and the Keyboard

  • The Keyboard

  • Register

  • Introduction to Half Steps

  • Accidentals

  • Diatonic and Chromatic Half Steps

  • Whole Steps

Chapter 4:  Rhythm and Meter

  • Introduction to Time Signatures

  • Simple Duple

  • Simple Triple

  • Simple Quadruple

  • Compound Meters

  • Compound Duple

  • Compound Triple

  • Compound Quadruple

  • Time Signature Summary

  • Time Signatures and Tempo

  • Notating Rhythms

  • Imagining Rhythm

Chapter 5:  Major Scales and Keys

  • What is a Scale?

  • Diatonic Collections

  • The Major Scale

  • Labeling Scale Degrees in Major

  • Scale Degree Function in Major

  • The Tritone

  • Key Signatures

  • Order of Flats and Sharps

Chapter 6:  Minor Scales and Keys

  • Minor Scales, Minor Collections

  • Key Signatures (relative major and minor)

  • Parallel Minor and Major

  • Scale Degree Function in Minor

  • The "Three Forms" of the Minor Scale

  • The Tritone in Minor

Analytical Interlude:  Melody

  • Melody

  • Phrase

  • Phrase Analysis

  • Melodic Cadence and Key

  • Composing Melodies

Chapter 7:  Intervals

  • Intervals

  • Interval Quality

  • Interval Quantity

  • Perfect Intervals

  • Inverting Intervals

  • Imperfect Intervals

  • Dissonant Intervals

Chapter 8:  Triads I

  • Introduction to Triads

  • Triads in Music

  • Triad Quality

  • Triads in Major Keys

  • Triads in Minor Keys

Chapter 9:  Triads II

  • Position of Triads

  • Triads in Music

    • SATB

    • Doubling

  • Spacing

Chapter 10:  Seventh Chords

  • Seventh Chord Qualities

  • Inversions of Seventh Chords

  • Doubling and Spacing

Chapter 11:  Intro to Part Writing

  • Harmonic Syntax

  • Part Writing

  • Root Movement by Thirds

  • Root Movement by Fourths/Fifths

  • Root Movement by Seconds

  • Cadences Revisited