Ap music Theory Syllabus Cheryl Blockland

Fundamentals and is designed for students with a desire to continue the study of music beyond secondary school.

understanding of music theory and composition. Students are prepared to take the AP Music Theory Exam when they have completed the course.

1. 
   Review of music fundamentals, including: scales, key signatures,
   

2. Daily ear training, including rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic

dictation

3. Weekly Sight-Singing using Curwen/Kodaly hand signs and solfege syllables

4. The study of modes

5. The study of figured bass

6. The study of two-part counterpoint

7. The study of four-part harmony

8. The study of seventh chords

9. The study of secondary-dominant functions

10. The study of musical form

11. The study of common compositional techniques

12. An overview of Music History as it relates to developments in Music Theory
Expanded Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course students will be able to:

• 
  Notate pitch and rhythm
  
• 
  Identify and notate all major and minor key signatures
  
• 
  Identify, notate, and aurally recognize simple and compound meters
  
• 
  Read and notate melodies in the treble, bass, alto and tenor clefs
  
• 
  Notate, sing, and play all major, minor scales and chromatic scales
  
• 
  Name and aurally recognize individual scale degrees
  
• 
  Notate and aurally discriminate among the following modes: Ionian; Dorian; Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian
  
• 
  Notate and aurally identify the following scales: whole tone; pentatonic; and octatonic
  
• 
  Notate, hear, and identify all melodic and harmonic intervals within an octave span
  
• 
  Notate, hear, and identify traids and seventh chords in all inversions
  
• 
  Notate, hear, and identify augmented sixth chords and other non-diatonic chords
  
• 
  Notate, hear, and identify authentic, plagal, half, and deceptive
  

• 
  Transpose for all wind instruments
  
• 
  Detect pitch and rhythm errors in aural musical examples
  
• 
  Notate from dictation simple melodies in major keys, minor keys, and commonly heard modes
  
• 
  Notate from aural dictation the soprano and bass line of a harmonic progression
  
• 
  Realize a figured bass
  
• 
  Analyze a four-part chorale style piece using Roman and Arabic numerals to represent chords and their inversions
  
• 
  Notate, hear, and identify the following non-harmonic tones: passing tone (accented and unaccented), neighboring tone,
  

changing tone (cambiata), pedal tone

• 
  Recognize, define, and utilize expressive markings
  
• 
  Compose a brief melody within guidelines
  
• 
  Identify aurally and/or visually the following: modulation; transposition; melodic and harmonic rhythm; sequence; imitation; ostinato; augmentation; diminution; inversion; retrograde; fragmentation
  
• 
  Sight-sing a melody, 4 to 8 bars long, major or minor key, duple or triple meter, simple or compound time, using solfege, numbers, or any comfortable vocal syllable(s)
  

2. Students will complete all assigned readings and exercises.

3. Students will keep and maintain a Music Theory notebook,

that includes class notes, handouts, assignments, and

dictation.

4. Students will study the released AP Exams and take practice

tests to prepare for the exam.

5. Students will listen to and provide written analysis/evaluations of each listening

selection. These written assignments should include the following:

• 
  melodic characteristics (conjunct/disjunct)
  
• 
  harmonic characteristics (harmonic idioms present)
  
• 
  rhythm (straight/syncopated)
  
• 
  texture (homophonic, monophonic, polyphonic,
  
• 
  heterophonic)
  
• 
  timbre (instrumentation, tone color)
  
• 
  dynamics (dynamic contrasts)
  
• 
  tempo (tempo changes)
  
• 
  meter (duple/triple, simple/compound, regular/irregular)
  
• 
  mode (major, minor, modal, atonal)
  
• 
  form (binary, ternary, sonata, rondo, etc.)
  
• 
  articulation (legato, staccato, etc.)
  

7. Students will complete assigned compositions each nine weeks, based on assigned form and content. The student will demonstrate an understanding and synthesis of the concepts presented in class. These compositions include:

• 
  A song in binary form
  
• 
  A song in ternary form
  
• 
  A song in sonata form
  
• 
  A song based on a major mode
  
• 
  A song based on a minor mode
  
• 
  A song using two-part counterpoint
  
• 
  A four-part choral-style harmonization
  
• 
  A song that modulates through the use of a pivot chord
  
• 
  A song based on the whole-tone scale
  
• 
  A song based on the chromatic scale
  
• 
  A song based on a tone row or serialism
  
• 
  A song based on a church mode
  
• 
  An orchestration or arrangement with correct notation, range, and
  

Note: Chapter references are to the Clenndening and Marvin textbook unless otherwise noted.

Review of basic pitch notation: Pitch and pitch class, the staff and its evolution, clefs, ledger lines, the grand staff, octave designation, half steps and whole steps,

intervals, enharmonic equivalents and accidentals.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level One—Introduction to solfege, major and minor keys and simple rhythms.

Harmonic Dictation: bass voice

Review of meter and rhythm: Beat and tempo, accent, meter and measure, meter signatures and their corresponding conducting patterns, simple meters, compound meters, asymmetric meter, conflict of rhythm and meter, beat divisions, syncopation, cross rhythms, hemiola, dots, ties, rests, dynamic and articulation markings.

Harmonic Dictation: bass voice

Review of major scales/circle-of-fifths/key signatures: the chromatic

scale, the pentatonic scale, the major scale, transposition, tonality,

key signatures, the placements of sharps and flats, the outer circle-

of-fifths and the whole-step/half step relationship.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Two— Continued use of solfege major and minor keys and simple rhythms, conjunct melodies using do-la, add and stress ti-do movement.

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices

Review of minor scales/circle-of-fifths/key signatures: the inner circle-of-fifths,

relative major and minor scales, the natural minor scale, the

harmonic minor scale, the melodic minor scale, the parallel minor keys.

Review of intervals: generic intervals, quality of intervals

(major, minor, diminished, augmented), the intervals of the major scale,

alteration of interval quality, enharmonic intervals, inversions of intervals,

simple versus compound intervals, diatonic vs. chromatic intervals.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Three—major key, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi and sol

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices
Week 6 – Chapter 7

Triads and seventh chords: building and identifying triads (major

triads, minor triads, diminished triads, augmented triads), building and

identifying seventh chords (major seventh chords, minor seventh chords,

diminished seventh chords, augmented seventh chords).

Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level 3— major key, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi and sol

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices

Chord inversions: identifying and building triadic inversions (root

position, first inversion, second inversion), identifying and building

inversions of the seventh chord (root position, first inversion, second

inversion, third inversion).
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Four— major key, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi and sol, add skips from do-sol.

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices
Week 8 – Chapter 7

Realization of a figured bass. Chord symbols and figured bass: using traditional eighteenth-century nomenclature to identify and analyze chords.

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi and sol, add skips from do-sol.

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices

Week 9 – Chapter 7

Diatonic triad functions in major and minor keys: diatonic primary

and secondary chords in a major key, diatonic and chromatically

altered primary and secondary chords in a minor key (based on

form of scale).
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Four— major key, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi and sol, add skips from do-sol.

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices
Cumulative Assessment on Part I of Text.
Second Nine Weeks
Week 1 – Chapter 7, Koska and Payne; Supplement with Chapter 8-11, Clendenning and Martin

Functional tonal principles: tonality, chordal hierarchy, progression vs.

regression, harmonic motion, harmonic rhythm, variants in a minor key,

idiomatic chord substitutions (vii/V, IV/ii), and 2 and 3 part counterpoint.

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices and authentic cadence
Week 2 - Chapter 10, Koska and Payne; Supplement Chapter 8-11, Clendenning and Martin

Cadences: perfect authentic cadence, imperfect authentic cadence, plagal cadence, half

cadence, deceptive cadence.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Five— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la (le)

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, authentic cadence and plagal cadence

Week 3 - Chapter 11 & 12, Koska and Payne; Supplement Chapter 8-11, Clendenning and Martin

Embellishing/non-harmonic tones: passing tone, neighboring tone,

changing tone, anticipation, suspension, retardation, simultaneous

embellishing tones, pedal point; use of non-harmonic tones in harmonic

analysis.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Five— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la (le)

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, authentic cadence and plagal cadence, add deceptive cadence
Week 4 - Chapter 11

Melodic principles in four-part writing/voicing chords: characteristics

of the individual line’s range, tessitura, spacing, movement, doubling

and resolution of tendency tones.

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, skips to la (le),

add skips to fa (fe)

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices and primary triads (major and minor)

Principles in chord connection: contrary motion, oblique motion, similar

motion, and parallel motion.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Six— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la (le)

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices and primary triads, I, IV, V (major and minor)
Week 6 – Chapter 13

Connecting root position triads: triads in a fifths relationship, triads in a

thirds relationship, triads in a seconds relationship
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Six— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la (le)

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Week 7 – Chapter 14

Voicing triads in first inversion: frequency, spacing, doubling of first

inversion chords, connecting root position and first inversion triads.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Seven— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la (le)

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Week 8 – Chapter 14

Part writing using nonchord tones: voicing suspensions and retardations,

stylistic use of nonchord tones
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Seven— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Week 9

Review for Exam

Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Seven— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Mid Term Exam
Third Nine Weeks
Week 1 – Chapter 15

Triads in the second inversion: the cadential six-four chord, the passing

six-four chord, the pedal six-four chord, the arpeggiated six-four chord
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Eight— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches

Connecting triads in all inversions, continuation of cadences, phrases and melodies.

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Week 3 – Chapter 18

Root progressions in SATB harmonization, part writing with chordal inversions, writing with non-chord tones

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Week 4 – Chapter 19

The dominant seventh chord: part writing with the V7 chord, part writing

with inversions of the V7 chord, proper resolutions of tendency tones in

the V7 chord

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Week 5 – Chapter 19

The leading-tone seventh chord: part writing with the vii o7 chord, part

writing with inversions of the vii o7 chord, proper resolution of tendency

tones in the vii o7 chord

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Week 6 – Chapter 19

Harmonizing with using seventh chords: common diatonic seventh

chords in major keys, common diatonic seventh chords in a minor key

(based on the cale), voice leading with non-dominant seventh chords,

predominant seventh chords, sequences using seventh chords, chains of suspensions using seventh chords.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Nine— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Week 7 – Chapter 19 & 21; Supplemental Material Chapter 16 Koska and Payne

Secondary dominant chords: the V/V, V/iii, V/ii, V/vi chords and the V7/V, V7/iii, V7/ii, V7/vi chords.

Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Ten— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Week 8 – Chapter 19 & 21; Chapter 17 Koska and Payne

Secondary leading tone chords: the viio/V, viio/iii, viio/ii, viio/vi chords and

the viio7/V, viio7/iii, viio7/ii, viio7/vi chords and modulation to any key

Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Ten— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree, altered pitches add compound meter

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, all triads, seventh chords, secondary

dominants
Week 9 - Selections from an Anthology

Identifying secondary dominants in analysis of music, part writing with

secondary dominants, voice leading with secondary dominants
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Eleven— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree, altered pitches add compound meter

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Fourth Nine Weeks

Week 1 – Chapter 23

More harmonization and analysis with use of secondary dominant

Chords. Modulation to closely related keys, Binary and Ternary Forms, Rondo, Sonata Form
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Eleven— major and minor keys, diatonic

pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree, altered pitches add compound meter

Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI (major and minor)
Weeks 2–6

Review for AP Music Theory Exam

Take practice free-response questions
Week 7

Work on final composition project

Work on final project

This course stresses the importance of using appropriate musical terminology in regular conversation throughout the duration of the course. Knowledge of the” language” of music is essential for success on the AP Exam. Students are informed from the beginning of the course that it is of the greatest importance to speak using proper musical terminology. Of equal importance is the understanding of standard music theory protocol.

Classwork

Homework

Sight-Singing Quizzes

Dictation Quizzes

Listening Quizzes

Unit tests

MacGamut