A p music Theory 2011

©
P Music Theory 2011

This course is designed to cover the material in one fall semester of a block schedule with classes meeting daily for 96 minutes.

The objectives and content of the course were adapted from the course specifications on the AP Music Theory Home Page.

• 
  Define basic musical terms and theoretical concepts associated with pitch and rhythm.
  
• 
  Understand and construct major, minor, chromatic, whole tone, modal and other 20^th modern scales including tone rows.
  
• 
  Demonstrate the ability to construct and analyze major, minor, augmented, and diminished intervals and triads.
  
• 
  Analyze harmonic structure utilizing Roman numerals and figured bass.
  
• 
  Recognize, identify, and sing or play scales, intervals, triads, rhythms, and melodies.
  
• 
  Recognize, identify and construct seventh chords, and altered chords.
  
• 
  Demonstrate the ability to construct basic chord progressions.
  
• 
  Understand and demonstrate the use of secondary dominants.
  
• 
  Develop and create their own melodies using the motive, the sequence, regular transformations, rhythmic variation, and elaboration.
  
• 
  Sing simple conjunct and disjunct diatonic melodies at sight.
  
• 
  Create compositions in four-part texture using the principles of voice leading and the use of non-harmonic tones.
  
• 
  Identify basic form and cadences.
  
• 
  Define musical expression terms and concepts.
  
• 
  Study common and twentieth-century compositional techniques
  

Student Expectations

• 
  Students will participate in classroom discussions and activities.
  
• 
  Students will maintain a music theory notebook including all handouts, assignments and class notes.
  
• 
  Students will sight-sing daily and complete ear-training assignments utilizing computer technology and written assignments.
  
• 
  Students will take AP practice tests in preparation for the AP exam.
  
• 
  Students will listen to 10 works (5 per quarter) displaying a wide variety of literature and will write an analysis and evaluation of each work.
  
• 
  Students will attend two concerts (one per quarter) and submit a paper to include an evaluation and analysis of one work in each concert.
  
• 
  Students will analyze and compose short pieces demonstrating knowledge of concepts presented throughout the course.
  
• 
  Students will submit a three-part composition at the end of the course demonstrating their understanding of common 18^th century tonality and twentieth-century harmonic concepts using whole tone scales, chromaticism, and serialism.
  

Textbook and Resources

• 
  Clendinning, Jane Piper. Marvin, Elizabeth West. 2005. The Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
  
• 
  Phillips, Joel. Clendinning, Jane Piper. Marvin, Elizabeth West. 2005. The Musician’s Guide to Aural Skills, Vol. 1, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
  
• 
  Evans, Jeffrey. 1987-2006. Practica Musica, ver. 5.017. Ars Nova Software.
  
• 
  Krueger, Carol J. 2007. Progressive Sight Singing, New York : Oxford University Press.
  
• 
  Finale Allegro 2007. (music software program) MakeMusic, Inc.
  
• 
  Whelan, Robert. 2002-2006. www.emusictheory.com.
  
• 
  Adams, Ricci. 2000-2006. www.musictheory.net.
  

Key for texts: MG – The Musician’s Guide to Music Theory

PSS – Progressive Sight Singing

Course Planner
First Quarter
Week 1

• 
  Written concepts – Notation of Pitch including basic terminology, the staff, clefs and their origins, pitch class, octaves, Solmization, ledger lines, accidentals, enharmonic equivalents, diatonic and chromatic movement and alteration, half and whole step intervals. Written practice assignments.
  
• 
  Ear Training – Hearing and identifying half and whole steps, recognition of octaves, reading and recognition of pitches on the various clefs, reading accidentals – Practica Musica 1.1 – 1.6, Activity 14 Pitch Dictation, level 1.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – Reading simple meter – whole, half, quarter notes and rests and reading pitches using solfege syllables and Kodaly hand signs as a reference in singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 1 – Tonic Pentachord in Major Mode; Simple Meters; Undivided Beat. Exercises pp. 141-144 and pp. 148-152.
  

Week 2

• 
  Written concepts – Notation of Rhythm including beat, measure, beams, dots and ties, rests, simple meter, compound meters, duple and triple meters, asymmetrical meters, metric accents, syncopation, hemiola, triplets, duplets, tuplets, dynamics and articulation. Written and computer generated practice assignments.
  
• 
  Ear training – Listening to music examples in different meters, placing bar lines, reading various rhythmic patterns, writing rhythms, reading syncopation, reading triplets – Practica Musica 2.1 – 4.2, Activity 14 Pitch dictation, level 2.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – Reading simple meter – whole, half, quarter notes and rests and reading pitches using solfege syllables and Kodaly hand signs as a reference in singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 1 – Tonic Pentachord in Major Mode; Simple Meters; Undivided Beat. Exercises pp. 141-144 and pp. 148-152. Review and sight singing test.
  

Week 3

• 
  Written concepts – Scales and Keys including major scale, minor scale, chromatic scale, circle of fifths, key signatures, relative and parallel major and minor, natural, harmonic and melodic minor scales, transposition, sharp and flat placements, accidentals in the context of a key, concepts and uses of 20^th century scales including, pentatonic, whole-tone, octatonic, and Blues, and the Church Modes. Written and computer generated practice assignments.
  
• 
  Ear training – Reading pitches in relation to key signatures, spelling scales recognition of basic major and minor scales – Practica Musica 6.1 – 6.2, Activity 14 Pitch Dictation, level 3.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 2 – Diatonic Steps and Tonic Triad in the Major Scale; Simple Meters, Undivided Beat. Exercises pp. 157-159 and pp.163-167.
  

Week 4

• 
  Theory and written concepts – Intervals including value, quality such as Major, minor, perfect, augmented and diminished intervals, Inverting intervals, compound intervals, enharmonic intervals, diatonic vs chromatic intervals and consonant vs dissonant intervals. Written and computer generated exercises. Review and Unit Exam
  
• 
  Ear training – Identifying Intervals with speed and accuracy – Practica Musica 5.1 – 5.2, Activity 14 – Pitch Dictation, level 4.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 2 – Diatonic Steps and Tonic Triad in the Major Scale; Simple Meters, Undivided Beat. Exercises pp. 157-159 and pp.163-167. Review and Sight Singing test.
  

Week 5

• 
  Written concepts – Triads – Origins of triadic harmony, Major and Minor triads, parts of the triad, dissonant triads: diminished and augmented, primary and secondary triads in major keys, triads natural to the minor keys, altering the minor dominant chord, chord inversions, Figured bass, altered chords in figured bass, voicing: doubling, close and open position, broken and arpeggiated chords. Written and computer generated exercises.
  
• 
  Ear training – Building triads, recognizing triads in root and inversions in all qualities – Practica Musica 7.1 – 7.2, Activity 14b – Pitch Dictation, level 1.
  
• 
  Sight Singing –PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 3 – Diatonic Steps and Tonic Triad in the Natural Minor Scale; Simple Meters, Undivided Beat. Exercises pp. 173-177.
  

• 
  Written concepts – Adding to the triad – Seventh chords, the dominant seventh chord, resolving chordal dissonance, inversions of seventh chords, other seventh chords, chromatically altered chords: Neapolitan Sixth and Augmented Sixth chords, Ninth chords, Non-Tertian chords, functional tonal principles, harmonic motion, Harmonic cadences, embellishing tones, and principles of harmonization. Written and computer generated exercises. Review and Unit Exam.
  
• 
  Ear training – Recognizing and building seventh chords in all qualities and inversions – Practica Musica 8.1 – 8.2, Activity 14b – Pitch Dictation, level 2.
  
• 
  Sight Singing –PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 3 – Diatonic Steps and Tonic Triad in the Natural Minor Scale; Simple Meters, Undivided Beat. Exercises pp. 173-177. Review and sight singing test.
  

Week 7 (September 21-27)

• 
  Written concepts – Voice leading – Melodic principles in four part writing, Voicing chords, Principles of chord connection and connecting root position triads. Written and computer generated exercises.
  
• 
  Ear training – Recognizing primary chords using Roman Numerals and figured bass symbols – Practica Musica 9.1, Activity 12 Chord Spelling levels 1 and 2, Activity 15 – Rhythmic Dictation, level 1.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 4 – Diatonic Steps and Tonic Triad in the Major Scale; Simple Meters, Divided Beat. Exercises pp. 181-188
  

Week 8

• 
  Written concepts – Voicing triads in first inversion, connecting root-position and first-inversion chords, part writing using non-chord tones. Written and computer generated exercises.
  
• 
  Ear training – Chord progression ear training using Roman numerals and figured bass symbols – Practica Musica – Activity 13, level 1, Activity 15 – Rhythmic Dictation, level 2.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 4 – Diatonic Steps and Tonic Triad in the Major Scale; Simple Meters, Divided Beat. Exercises pp. 181-188. Review and sight singing test.
  

Week 9

• 
  Written concepts – Triads in second inversion, the six-four chord, connecting triads in all positions, harmonizing and part writing a melody for SATB. Written and computer generated exercises. Review and unit exam
  
• 
  Ear training – Chord progression ear training using Roman numerals and figured bass symbols – Practica Musica – Activity 13, level 2, Activity 15 – Rhythmic Dictation, level 3.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 5 – Diatonic Steps and Tonic Triad in the Major Scale; Simple Meters, Dotted Quarter Notes. Exercises pp. 193-199.
  

Second Quarter

Week 10

• 
  Written concepts – Melody – general melodic characteristics, tonality and harmonic implications in the melodic line, sequences, large scale melodic relationships including melodic prolongation, primary tones, embellishing tones, secondary tones, and melodic reduction, also step progression and large scale arpeggiation. Written and computer generated exercises.
  
• 
  Ear training – Shaping melody and creating new melodies to well known tunes – Practica Musica – 10.1, Activity 17 Writing Melody (create melodies using concepts learned in class), Activity 15 – Rhythmic Dictation, level 4.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 5 – Diatonic Steps and Tonic Triad in the Major Scale; Simple Meters, Dotted Quarter Notes. Exercises pp. 193-199. Sight Singing Review and Test.
  

Week 11

• 
  Written concepts – Melodic Form – melodic units including Motive, Phrase, phrase members, melodic cadences, phrase relationships, the period, symmetric and asymmetric periods, three-phrase periods, modulating period, phrase extension, regular transformations, rhythmic variations, free transformations, and melodic analysis. Written and computer generated exercises. Review and Unit test.
  
• 
  Ear training – Tonal sequencing – transposing a melodic idea in a sequence – Practica Musica – 11.1, Activity 17 Writing Melody (create melodies using concepts learned in class), Activity 15b – Rhythmic Dictation, level 1.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 6 – Natural, Harmonic, and Melodic Scales; Simple Meters, Eighth and Dotted Quarter Notes. Exercises pp. 205-209, pp. 215-218, pp. 223-226.
  

Week 12

• 
  Written concepts – The Dominant Seventh and Leading Tone Seventh Chords including part writing the seventh V7, deceptive cadences, Inversion, chordal similarities, part writing the leading tone seventh chord, the vii half diminished 7, vii fully diminished 7, retention of the seventh, and delayed resolution of the seventh. Written and computer generated exercises.
  
• 
  Ear training – Seventh chord dictation – Practica Musica – Activity 10 Chord Playing, level 2 and 4, seventh chords and inversions, Activity 15b – Rhythmic Dictation, level 2.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 6 – Natural, Harmonic, and Melodic Scales; Simple Meters, Eighth and Dotted Quarter Notes. Exercises pp. 205-209, pp. 215-218, pp. 223-226. Review and sight singing test.
  

Week 13

• 
  Written concepts – Nondominant seventh chords including diatonic seventh chords, voice leading, first-inversion supertonic, second- and third-inversion supertonic, pre-dominant seventh chords, sequences and chain suspensions, alternative seventh chords in minor, incomplete seventh chords, and harmonizing a melody using nondominant seventh chordsWritten and computer generated exercises.
  
• 
  Ear training – Seventh Chord Spelling – Practica Musica – Activity 11 Chord Spelling, level 2 and 4 seventh chords and inversions, Activity 16 – Full Dictation, level 1.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 7 – Major and Minor Modes; Compound Meter = Beat Unit. Exercises pp. 230-234, pp. 237-241.
  

Week 14

• 
  Written concepts – Secondary function including secondary dominants and dominant seventh chords, V/ and V7/ , deceptive resolution, secondary dominants in succession, secondary leading tone chords, part writing and harmonization using secondary function. Written and computer generated exercises.
  
• 
  Ear training – Chord progression using Roman numerals and figured bass symbols with secondary dominants – Practica Musica – Activity 13 Chord Progression, level 4, Activity 16 – Full Dictation, level 2.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 7 – Major and Minor Modes; Compound Meter = Beat Unit. Exercises pp. 230-234, pp. 237-241. Review and sight singing test.
  

Week 15

• 
  Written concepts – Modulation to closely related keys including pivot chord modulation, chromatic modulations, and melody harmonization using modulations to closely related keys. Written and computer generated exercises. Review and unit test.
  
• 
  Ear training – Listen to chorale and identify chord structure by Roman numeral using secondary dominant in major and minor – Practica Musica – Activity 13b, level 4, Activity 16 – Full Dictation, level 3.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 8 – I and V7 in Major Mode; Simple and Compound Meter. Exercises pp. 245-251, pp. 255-269.
  

Week 16

• 
  Written concepts – Musical Form – Similarity and contrast, sectional relationships, means of intensification, methods of analysis, Simple binary forms, and analysis of Corelli Sonata, Op. 5, No. 7. Written and computer generated exercises.
  
• 
  Ear training – Full Melodic and rhythmic dictation – Practica Musica – Activity 16, level 4.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 8 – I and V7 in Major Mode; Simple and Compound Meter. Exercises pp. 245-251, pp. 255-269. Review and sight singing test.
  

Week 17

• 
  Theory and written concepts – Rounded Binary and Ternary forms, including sonata form, theme and variations, minuet and trio, and rondo. Written and computer generated exercises.
  
• 
  Ear Training – Full Melodic and rhythmic dictation – Practica Musica – Activity 16b, level 1.
  
• 
  Sight Singing – PSS – Melodic Reading – Chapter 9 – i and V7 in Minor Mode; Simple and Compound Meters. Exercises pp. 273-281, pp. 284-294.
  

Week 18

• 
  Review for final exam and take AP Music Theory released exams.
  

Final Exam – Listening Assignment papers and Notebooks are due.

Submit final composition for class performance and grading.

Teaching Strategies

With the use of computer technology and ear training software, I have my students practice what they learn that day or week for at least 20 minutes a day. This practice reinforces the concepts learned and provides great practice in ear training and dictation.

Daily practice on the basic concepts is essential in my teaching with recognition drills and dictation drills. I give many speed drills in recognizing and writing notes, key signatures, intervals, triads, and chords.

Listening is a daily routine that emphasizes the concepts learned. Listening to many genres of music in class, at home and at concerts is an essential element of my teaching strategy. Students will learn to listen and distinguish between the many different aspects that music conveys. Writing about what each hears helps the student understand all the elements displayed in all music from popular to classical.

Composition is a means to which the students can put into practice the various concepts learned throughout the course and add their own creative dimension to the class. In the early weeks of the class, the students will get specific assignments and guidelines dealing with the concepts being taught. Later, they will be guided to create their own composition with guidelines and a set of criteria using classical and 20^th century techniques.

Sight singing is a daily routine using Solfege and Kodaly hand signs. This practice helps bring the concepts to life and the music off the page.

Student Evaluation
Homework 10%

Ear training 25%

Sight Singing 25%

Tests 40%

• 
  Practica Musica. Ars Nova. (ear training software)
  
• 
  Finale Allegro. MakeMusic, Inc. (music notation software)
  

Digital Projector and screen for presentations

Laptop computer

Stereo Components with CD, DVD, audio tape and tuner capabilities

• 
  www.makemusic.com
  
• 
  www.musictheory.net
  
• 
  www.emusictheory.com