Course Description The Advanced Placement Music Theory course is a college-level course in which students learn the fundamentals of western tonal harmony, phrase and motivic analysis, musical form, and basic partwriting. The course covers mainly the music of the Common Practice Period, though other music is used occasionally. Using examples from the text books, and teacher-gathered excerpts, students will be exposed to music ranging from the Baroque to the Romantic periods. Some examples include Schubert Leider, Bach chorales, Mozart operas, and Beethoven symphonies. The course meets daily in the chorus room during the 7th period block. This course is ideal for students who hope to pursue post-secondary music study or students who wish to gain a more in-depth understanding of how music is created and analyzed. Students taking this course should have a solid understanding of basic music theory, as taught in the first and second year music classes at South Lake High School.
The course, as developed by the College Board, is designed to “replace” a first semester theory course at a post-secondary institution at which a music degree is offered. Students will take the College Board AP Music Theory exam in May. Students who score well enough on this test may have the option of receiving credit from their post-secondary institution for their first semester theory course.
Primary Texts Benward, Bruce, and Marilyn Saker. Music in Theory and Practice. New York: McGraw-Hill. SC8 Clendinning, Jane Piper, and Elizabeth West Marvin. The Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis, with workbook. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005. SC8 Kostka, Stefan, Dorothy Payne, and Byron Almen. Tonal Harmony. New York: McGraw-Hill. SC8 Ottman, Robert, and Nancy Rogers. Music for Sight Singing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Course Planner Week 1
Introduction, Placement Assessment, and Review
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 1, Ottman Chapter 1
Distribution of syllabus, two-part placement exam/pre-test, review of first and second year concepts: basic notation, staff, clefs, ledger lines, the piano keyboard, whole/half steps, pitch class, accidentals
Week 2
Simple Meter
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 2, Ottman Chapter 1
SC1
Hearing Simple meter, notating rhythms in simple meter, simple meter time signatures, syncopation
Week 3
Pitch Collection, Scales
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 3, Ottman Chapter 2
SC1
Chromatic and diatonic collections, scale degrees, spelling major scales, spelling chromatic scales, spelling pentatonic scales, spelling whole-tone scales (pgs 705-708)
Week 4
Major keys and Scales
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 3, Ottman Chapter 2
SC7
Identifying major key signatures, writing major key signatures, circle of fifths
Week 5
Compound Meter
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 4, Ottman Chapter 3
SC1
Hearing compound meter, notating rhythms in compound meter, compound meter time signatures, syncopation, mixing beat divisions
Week 6
Minor keys and Diatonic Modes
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 5, Ottman Chapter 4
SC7
Parallel and relative relationships, variations of the minor scale, writing minor scales, diatonic modes
Week 7
Intervals
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 6, Ottman Chapter 5
SC1
Melodic, Harmonic, simple, compound, quality, size, major, minor, perfect, diminished, augmented, consonance, and dissonance
Week 8
Triads Spelling triads, identifying triads, scale degree triads Week 9 Review and Quarter One Exam
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 7, Ottman Chapter 6
SC1
Second Nine Weeks Week 1 Figured Bass and Seventh Chords
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 7&8, Ottman Chapter 7
SC3 SC10
Inversion symbols, seventh chords, quality
Week 2
Introduction to Part-Writing
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 12, Ottman Chapter 8
Notation, Voicing, range, tendency tones
Week 3
The Basic Phrase/Cadences
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 12&14, Ottman Chapter 9
SC12
Cadences, Expanding the tonic and dominant, using the cadential 6/4, the passing 6/4, and the neighbor 6/4
Week 4
Dominant Sevenths, Predominant Area
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 13, Ottman Chapter 10
SC10
Dominant seventh chords, Tonic-Predominant-Dominant-Tonic Progressions
Week 5
Diatonic Harmonies and Root Progressions
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 15, Ottman Chapter 11
SC5
Deceptive, Plagal, and Phrygian cadences, Basic root progressions, parallel, oblique, contrary, and similar motion
Week 6
Writing Progressions with a Given Bass Line
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 15, Ottman Chapter 12
SC4
Basic root progressions, Roman numeral analysis/Realizing Roman numeral bass lines, realizing progressions from a figured bass
Week 7
Embellishing Tones
Clendenning/Marvin Chapter 16, Ottman Chapter 13
SC9
Passing tones, neighbor tones, suspensions, retardations, anticipations, pedal points
Week 8
Secondary Dominants
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 20, Ottman Chapter 14
SC11
Tonicization, modulation, secondary dominant to V, writing and resolving secondary dominant to V
Week 9
Review and Quarter Two Exam
Third Nine Weeks Week 1 Tonicizing Scale Degrees other than V
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 21, Ottman Chapter 15
Secondary dominants, leading tone chords, secondary function in musical context
Week 2
Writing progressions with a given bass line
SC3 SC4
Root position, common inversions, embellishing tones, secondary dominants
Week 3
Writing progressions with a given bass line Root position, common inversions, embellishing tones, secondary dominants
Week 4
Phrase Rhythm and Motivic Analysis
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 18, Ottman Chapter 16
SC6 SC13
Motives, phrases, period, phrase rhythm
Week 5
Diatonic Sequences
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 19, Ottman Chapter 17
Descending fifth sequences, descending third sequences, sequences based on seconds
Week 6
Harmonizing a Melody
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 13 PGS 271-276
SC2
Writing a figured bass line using appropriate harmony based on a given melody; melody taken from well-known chorales
Week 7
Modulation to Closely Related Keys
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 22, Ottman Chapter 18
SC12
Pivot-chord modulations, direct modulations, harmonizing modulating melodies
Week 8 Week 9
Review and Quarter Three Exam Binary and Ternary Forms
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 23, Ottman Chapter 19
Binary form in major and minor, tonal structure in binary, simple ternary, composite ternary
SC14
Fourth Nine Weeks
Week 1
Vocal Forms and Popular Music
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 27&28
SC14
Strophic, through-composed, three-part song, recitatives, Broadway, verse-refrain, 12-bar blues
Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9
Variation and Rondo Sonata Form Review and Practice AP Exam Review and Practice AP Exam AP EXAM Composition Project Composition Project Final Exams
Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 31 Clendinning/Marvin Chapter 32
Ongoing Course Topics There are some skills that must be revisited and practiced throughout the entire course. One such skill is aural and visual analysis of music. Every week, students will apply the topics covered in the text and aurally/visually analyze a piece of music. For example, in week six, students will listen to Schubert’s Der Lindenbaum, a piece that moves back and forth between a parallel major and minor. Students will identify aurally when a change occurs. They will identify the mode of each section, identify the tonic of each section, and conclude whether the piece uses relative or parallel relationships. They will then analyze a copy of the score to confirm their conclusion. They will complete a small writing assignment explaining their findings, using academic terminology. Other skills that must be developed throughout the entire course include aurally identifying intervals, chord quality, and scales, dictating melody and bass lines, and dictating rhythms. Three days each week, students will practice these skills for the first 7-10 minutes of class. They will also be required to demonstrate these skills on the quizzes and exams. Last, students will develop sight-singing skills throughout the course. Using the Ottman text, students will learn techniques to accurately sing melodies at sight. They will also be required to demonstrate sightsinging skills on quizzes and exams.
Student Evaluation To input grades and communicate student progress with parents and students, South Lake uses the computer software Skyward Student. Guidance counselors will set up and distribute student and parent accounts at the beginning of the school year. In skyward, students and parents can see what assignments have become due and the student score on each assignment. Parents and students can also email the teacher through the program, as well as see teacher announcements and resources. Different assignment types carry different values in the course. This is reflected in the number of possible points for each assignment. Points are distributed as follows: Workbook Assignments
10 points each
20% of total points possible
SC14 SC14
Quizzes
55 points each
30% of total points possible
Quarter Exams
150 points each
35% of total points possible
Quiz/Exam Review Packets
20 points each
15% of total points possible
Assignment Types There are four different assignment types in this course: workbook assignments, quizzes, quarter exams, and review packets. Workbook Assignments: These are “worksheet” type assignments found in The Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis workbook. They are assigned weekly on Monday and are due the following Monday. Quizzes: These are given twice each quarter. They include both written exercises and assessment on aural and sight-singing skills. They can be retaken up to one week after the quiz is handed back for a redemption of up to half the points lost. Quarter Exams: These are given once each quarter. They include both written exercises and assessment on aural and sight-singing skills. The cover content from the entire quarter. Performance on the two quarterly quizzes is a good indicator of performance on the quarter exams, as they combine and deeper assess the topics covered in the quizzes. Exams can be retaken up to one week after it is handed back for a redemption of up to half the points lost. Review Packets: For each quiz and exam there will be a review packet given a few days before the exam. The review packet covers all topics on the exam/quiz and students will have an opportunity to go over the review packet with the teacher and with their peers before the exam.
Other Resources Students may wish to supplement their study or practice time with resources other than the class texts and assignments. The following are technology based resources available at no cost: www.emusictheory.com Online drills for fundamentals such as key signatures, scales, intervals and chords
www.musictheory.net Offers lessons and drills for fundamental concepts www.youtube.com- music theory guy A youtube channel with short videos explaining fundamental concepts www.thesightreadingproject.com Provides thousands of sight-singing exercises to practice these skills
In addition to the above resources, the music library at South Lake houses text resources such as the Harvard Dictionary of Music, the Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and numerous vocal and instrumental scores that can used for supplemental analysis practice.
