Abstract
This thesis explores the factors that may contribute to undergraduate music
majors' comprehension of music theory fundamentals. Influential factors include
textbook content and communication quality, professors' teaching approaches, students'
primary instruments, and suggestions offered in secondary literature. Textbooks are
reviewed for their quality and content. Secondary literature - including journal articles,
theses, and dissertations - is reviewed and discussed. University professors were
interviewed regarding their teaching approaches. A select group of students responded to
a questionnaire asking for their opinion about various concepts and their level of
difficulty, preferred presentational order of concepts, and their preferences to certain
teaching approaches.
