albright music theory syllabus
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Albright MHS– AP Music Theory Syllabus AP Music Theory Course Syllabus Mr. Albright, instructor Congratulations! You have been recommended into this course by one of our music teachers. This course is designed to round off your musical experience and understanding at Melbourne High School. As you will see, this course has a lot of material to cover, and each next unit requires thorough understanding of each previous unit. The only way to keep the established pace is through each person’s commitment to the nightly homework and willing attitudes to work each and every day on the theoretical and aural skills demanded by the course. I look forward to seeing you grow as musicians in what can be the most fun you have ever had working so hard… Grading 30% Homework (study groups encouraged- I’ll know if you plagiarize… trust me) 70% Quizzes and Tests Class Routine Daily
0 minutes: turn in previous night’s homework 10-20 minutes: Aural/Sight Singing Skills 40-50 minutes: Academic Pinpoint
Weekly
Formal or informal quiz every week Quarterly Bi-quarterly tests/exams Resources Students’ Primary Text: Spencer, Peter. The Practice of Harmony, 5th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. Other resources: Berkowitz, Sol, Gabriel Fontrier, and Leo Kraft. A New Approach to Sight Singing, Third Edition New York: Norton & Company, 1986. Burkhart, Charles. Anthology for Musical Analysis, 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Schirmer, 2003. Kostka, Stefan, and Dorothy Payne. Tonal Harmony, 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Seaton, Douglass. Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition, Straus, Joseph N. Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990. Course Outline Follows
Albright MHS– AP Music Theory Syllabus
1st Quarter
Week Academic Pinpoints Aural Perception and Sight-Reading Skills
1
• Notating Pitch: Staff, Clefs and Registers
• Scales o Scale Degree Names o Mode Names
• Discriminate whole steps and half-steps aurally
• Major scale: guided discovery of relative pitch tendencies by scale degree
• Sing solfege syllables using Curwen hand-signs
2
• Key Signatures o Order of flats and sharps o Proper placement on staff by
clef o Deriving key signature from
given tonic o Deriving tonic from given key
signature
• Perceive modes in relation to major/minor • Identify modes by ascending scales aurally • Sing major and minor scales with solfege
and hand-signs.
3
• Notating Rhythm o Rhythmic Hierarchy o Dotted Rhythms o Meter: simple, compound
• Scales: minor
• Rhythmic dictation: simple quadruple – whole, half and quarter and eighth note and rests
• Identifying meter aurally • Melodic Dictation and Sight-singing: Quarter
note values– stepwise motion
4 • Review Pitch, Key and Rhythm • Review scale identification, meter recognition and simple quadruple rhythmic dictation • Interim Test
5
• Intervals o Diatonic intervals ascending
and descending from tonic in the major scale
o Intervallic augmentation and diminution
o Inverted interval relationships
• Identify Intervals Aurally: o Ascending from tonic in the major
scale o Descending from tonic in the
major scale o Tag songs
• Melodic Dictation and Sight-singing: Quarter note and half notes, stepwise motion – harmonic minor mode included
• Rhythmic dictation: simple – whole, half and quarter and eighth note and rests
6
o Spelling Chords o Triad Qualities o Primary Triads o Seventh Chord Qualities o Figured Bass for triads and
seventh chords in root position
o Interval recognition without tonal reference o Chord recognition: closed position-
diminished, minor, major and augmented o Rhythmic dictation: compound meter o Melodic Dictation and sight-singing: Quarter
note and half notes, stepwise motion skips and leaps on tonic triad, all minors included
7
o Voicing Chords on Grand Staff o Triads and seventh chords in
inversions o Figured bass inversions o Doubling rules for triads
o Interval recognition in extreme registers o Chord recognition: closed position including
inversions – diminished, minor, major and augmented.
o Rhythmic dictation: simple meter including dotted rhythms
o Melodic Dictation and Sight-singing: Eighth, quarter dotted-quarter and half notes
8
o Chordal Analysis o Roman numerals o Diatonic chord qualities for
major and minor o Realizing chord qualities
based on roman numerals o Cadences: authentic, half,
plagal and deceptive
o Chord recognition: open position with inversions
o Cadence recognition: authentic, half, plagal and deceptive.
o Rhythmic Dictation: Sixteenth & eighth note patterns
o Melodic Dictation and sight-singing: Quarter, half and whole values – leaps on primary triads
9 Review weeks 5-8 First Quarter Test
Albright MHS– AP Music Theory Syllabus 2nd Quarter
Week Academic Pinpoints Aural Perception and Sight-Reading Skills
10
o Counterpoint: opposing, parallel and oblique motions
o Primary triads in 4-part voice leading: Voice range restrictions, Harmonic and melodic voice crossings, and strategies to handle root movement of seconds without parallel 5ths or 8ths
o Chord recognition: open position with inversions
o Cadence recognition: authentic, half, plagal and deceptive.
o Rhythmic Dictation: focus on beat-level triplet o Melodic Dictation and sight-singing: Quarter,
half and whole values – leaps on primary triads
11
o Primary and secondary diatonic 4-part voice leading in inversions.
o Different uses of the 6/4 chord: cadential, passing and auxiliary
o Modifying the V and viio chords in minor modes
o Chord recognition: open position with inversions
o Cadence recognition: authentic, half, plagal and deceptive.
o Rhythmic Dictation: Focus on multi-beat level triplets
o Melodic Dictation and sight-singing: Quarter, eighth, half and whole values – leaps on primary triads
12
o Proper dominant seventh chord and diminished 7th chord resolutions
o Doubling guideline for seventh chords with root to root resolutions
o Diatonic 4-part voice leading including inversions
o Chord recognition: open position with inversions
o Cadence recognition: authentic, half, plagal and deceptive.
o Rhythmic Dictation: meter not supplied o Melodic Dictation and sight-singing: Quarter,
eighth, half and whole values – leaps on primary triads
13 o Review weeks 10-12
14
o Non-chord tones: neighbor, changing, passing - appoggiatura and escape – anticipation
o Strategies for optimal usage of non-chord tones
o Strategies for identifying non-chord tones in context
o Rhythmic Dictation: mixed meter o Sight-singing: all values, any diatonic leap o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary
triads in root position, notating soprano voice melody
15
• Non-chord tones: pedal tone, suspension and ritardation
o Rhythmic Dictation: any meter, all values o Sight-singing: all values, any diatonic leap • Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary
triads in all positions, notating bass voice harmony
16
o Secondary dominants and secondary diminished seventh chords- spelling secondary dominants and proper resolution in context of given key signatures
o Figured bass: alterations of pitch
o Rhythmic Dictation: any meter, all values o Sight-singing: all values, any diatonic leap,
stepwise motion to and from “fi” and “te.” o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary
triads in all positions, notating soprano and bass voice
17
• Secondary dominants and diminished seventh chords: identifying in score and its use in progression
o Rhythmic Dictation: any meter, all values o Sight-singing: all values, any diatonic leap,
stepwise motion to and from “fi” and “te.” o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary
triads in all positions, notating soprano and bass voice
18 • Review weeks 1-17: preparation for semester exam
Albright MHS– AP Music Theory Syllabus 3rd Quarter
Week Academic Pinpoints Aural Perception and Sight-Reading Skills
19
Specialty Chords • Augmented 6th chords: Italian, German
and French: spelling chords in reference to given key signature
• Figured bass for augmented 6th chords • Proper usage of augmented 6th chords • Comparison of augmented sixth
chords to modern harmonic language
o Sight-singing: all values, any diatonic leap and leaps including “fi” and “te.”
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads in root positions, notating soprano and bass voice
o Aurally differentiating Augmented 6th chords
20
• Augmented 6th chords in progressions • Neapolitan chord: spelling and usage
o Sight-singing: all values, any diatonic leap and leaps including “fi” and “te.”
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including inversions, notating soprano and bass voice
o Aurally differentiating Augmented 6th chords from context of examples in music
21
Harmonic Progression • Circle of fifth progressions • Strategies for choosing harmonic
progression for given melodies
o Sight-singing: all values, any diatonic leap and leaps including “fi” and “te.”
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including secondary dominance, notating soprano and bass voice
22
Modulation: Common chord modulations • Defending the pivot chord choice • Most common modulations: closely
related keys
o Sight-singing: all values, any diatonic leap and leaps including “fi” and “te.”
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including secondary dominance, notating soprano and bass voice
23
Modulation: Abrupt and Enharmonic • Differences from common chord
modulation • Identifying in score and musical
reasons for their use.
o Sight-singing: all values, any chromatic values possible if approached or resolved by stepwise motion
• Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including secondary dominance and augmented 6th chords in cadential patterns, notating soprano and bass voice
24
Phrase Structure • Strategies finding cadences marking
phrase structures • Identifying motive, sequence, phrase,
period and double period Small Forms
• Binary, rounded binary and ternary
o Sight-singing: all values, any chromatic values possible if approached or resolved by stepwise motion
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including secondary dominance and augmented 6th chords in cadential patterns, notating soprano and bass voice
o Identify phrases using appropriate terminology
25
Large Forms • Sonata-Allegro: strategies for
identifying sections • Rondo • Theme labeling conventions
o Sight-singing: all values, any chromatic values possible
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including secondary dominance and augmented 6th chords in cadential patterns, notating soprano and bass voice
o Aurally identify elements of sonata-allegro form from Clementi piano works
26
Melody writing and Counterpoint • Elements of melody: contour,
character, phrases and rhythmic/harmonic implication of cadences.
• Factors in choosing harmony and realizing a bass line for a given melody: metric stress, cadential patterns and harmonic progression
o Sight-singing: all values, any chromatic values possible
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including secondary dominance and augmented 6th chords in cadential patterns, notating soprano and bass voice
o Silently compose consequence phrases for given antecedent fragments.
27 Review Weeks 19-26
Albright MHS– AP Music Theory Syllabus 4th Quarter
Week Academic Pinpoints Aural Perception and Sight-Reading Skills
28
Chord Symbols • Standards and variants • Extended harmonies: 9th, 11th and 13th
o Sight-singing: all values, any chromatic values possible
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including secondary dominance and augmented 6th chords in cadential patterns, notating soprano and bass voice
29
Piano Writing Styles • Chordal styles and variations for right
and left hands • Accompaniment patterns with
harmony and counter-melodies
o Sight-singing: all values, any chromatic values possible
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including secondary dominance and augmented 6th chords in cadential patterns, notating soprano and bass voice
30
Compositional Styles: Renaissance and Baroque • Study Examples in class • Strategies to defend classification of
unknown period works based on instrumentation, compositional techniques and form.
o Sight-singing: all values, any chromatic values possible
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including secondary dominance and augmented 6th chords in cadential patterns, notating soprano and bass voice
o Aurally identify style period by compositional techniques employed
31
Compositional Styles: Classical and Romantic • Study Examples in class o Strategies to defend classification of
unknown period works based on instrumentation, compositional techniques and form.
o Sight-singing: all values, any chromatic values possible
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including secondary dominance and augmented 6th chords in cadential patterns, notating soprano and bass voice
o Aurally identify style period by compositional techniques employed
32
Compositional Styles: Post-Romantic and 20th Century-Sub Styles
• Study Examples in class • Strategies to defend classification of
unknown period works based on instrumentation, compositional techniques and form.
o Sight-singing: all values, any chromatic values possible
o Harmonic Dictation: recognition of primary and secondary triads including secondary dominance and augmented 6th chords in cadential patterns, notating soprano and bass voice
o Aurally identify style period by compositional techniques employed
33 Review and Practice Exams
34 Review and Practice Exams
35 Compositional Project: short form work using a consistent period compositional style
36 Compositional Project and Presentation of Projects