Course Syllabus

AP Music Theory Syllabus

Mr. Drake

dakota.drake@ucps.k12.nc.us 

 

Class Overview:

This is a rigorous course designed to provide extensive knowledge about music theory.  We will expand on your base knowledge of music, from scales, intervals, triads, all the way to composing and analyzing composed music.  

 

Objectives

This course is designed to develop the musical skills that students will need to understand musical composition and music theory.  Students are prepared to take the AP Music Theory Exam when they have completed the course.  Students majoring in music may be able to start at a higher level of Music theory when entering college depending on the schools AP policies.  

 

Supplies

Pencils (not pen)

3 ring binder with paper

Chromebook 

(Staff paper will be provided for you)

 

Grading

A - 100-90

B - 89-80

C - 79-70

D - 69-60

F - 59-0

 

Grading Categories

Tests 60%

Classwork/Homework   40%

General Course Content

1. Review of basic fundamentals: scales, key signatures, circle of fifths, intervals, triads, and inversions
2. Daily ear training, including rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic dictation.
3. Daily sight singing using solfege for pitches
4. Study of modes
5. Study of figured bass
6. Study of two part counterpoint
7. Study of four-part harmony
8. Study of seventh chords
9. Study of secondary-dominant functions
10. Study of musical form
11. Study of common compositional techniques

 

Expanded Course Objectives

1. Identify and notate pitch in four clefs: treble, bass, alto, and tenor
2. Notate, hear, and identify simple and compound meter
3. Notate and identify all major and minor key signatures
4. Notate hear, and identify the following scales: chromatic, major, and 3 minor scales
5. Name and recognize scale degree terms, for example: tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading tone.
6. Notate, hear, and transpose the following modes: dorian, phrygian, lydian, and mixolydian
7. Notate, hear, and identify whole tone and pentatonic scales
8. Notate, hear, and identify all major, minor, augmented and diminished intervals inclusive of an octave.
9. Transpose a melodic line to or from concert pitch for any common band or orchestral instrument.
10. Notate, hear, and identify triads, including inversion.
11. Notate, hear, and identify authentic, plagal, half, and deceptive cadences in major and minor keys
12. Detect pitch and rhythm errors in written music from given aural excerpts.
13. Notate a melody from dictation, 6 to 12 bars, in a major key, mostly diatonic pitches, simple or compound time, after 3 to 4 repetitions.
14. Notate a melody from dictation, 6 to 12 bars, in a minor key, chromatic alteration from harmonic/melodic scales, simple or compound time, after 3 to 4 repetitions.
15. 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)
16. Notate and analyze simple 2 bar counterpoint in sixteenth- and/or eighteenth century styles.
17. Realize a figured bass according to the rules of eighteenth century chorale style, major or minor key, using any or all of the following devices: diatonic triads, seventh chords, inversions, non harmonic tones, and secondary-dominant and dominant seventh chords.
18. Analyze a four part chorale style piece using Roman and Arabic numerals to represent chords and their inversions.
19. Notate, hear, and identify the following nonharmonic tones: passing tone(accented and unaccented), neighboring tone, anticipation, suspension, retardation, appoggiatura, escape tone, changing tone (cambiata), pedal tone.
20. Notate the soprano and bass pitches and the roman and arabic numeral analysis of a harmonic dictation, eighteenth century chorale style, seventh chords, secondary dominants, 4 to 8 bars in length, major or minor key, three to four repetitions.
21. Compose a melody or expand a motive with or without text, 6 to 12 bars long, given specific directions about key, mode, phrasing, rhythm, and harmonic language. Harmonize a 4 to 12 bar melody by writing a bass line with chords and/or chord symbols, given specific directions about key, mode, phrasing, and rhythmic and harmonic language.
22. Define and identify common tempo and expression markings.
23. Identify arually and/or visually the following: modulation, transposition, melodic and harmonic rhythm, sequence, imitation, ostinato, augmentation, diminution, inversion, retrograde, and fragmentation.
24. Recognize standard musical algorithms, such as standard melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic idioms, that occur in music.

 

Student expectations

1. Students will participate in all classroom discussions and activities.
2. Students will complete all assigned exercises and readings.
3. Students will keep and maintain a music theory notebook, which will include class notes, handouts, assignments, and listening logs.
4. Students will study the released AP exams and take practice tests to prepare for the exam. 
5. Students will listen to approximately 2 hours of music each week outside of class and maintain a listening log, which will consist of written analysis/evaluations of each listening selection.  These written logs should include observations and evaluations regarding the following items:
1. Melodic characteristics (conjunct/disjunct)
2. Harmonic (Harmonic idioms present)
3. Rhythm (straight/syncopated)
4. Texture (homophonic, monophonic, polyphonic, heterophonic)
5. Timbre (instrumentation, tone color)
6. Dynamics (dynamic contrasts)
7. Tempo (tempo changes)
8. Meter (duple/triple, simple/compound, regular/irregular)
9. Mode (major, minor, modal, atonal)
10. Form (binary, ternary, sonata, rondo, and so on)
11. Articulation (legato, staccato, and so on)
6. Students will attend 3 concerts in the semester and submit a paper about the concert, using an appropriate musical vocabulary. This paper should contain general information about the concert, the student’s evaluation of it, and specific analysis of 3 individual selections from the concert. This analysis should include the following
1. Melodic characteristics (conjunct/disjunct)
2. Harmonic (Harmonic idioms present)
3. Rhythm (straight/syncopated)
4. Texture (homophonic, monophonic, polyphonic, heterophonic)
5. Timbre (instrumentation, tone color)
6. Dynamics (dynamic contrasts)
7. Tempo (tempo changes)
8. Meter (duple/triple, simple/compound, regular/irregular)
9. Mode (major, minor, modal, atonal)
10. Form (binary, ternary, sonata, rondo, and so on)
11. Articulation (legato, staccato, and so on)
7. Students will submit 3 major compositions during the semester, based on assigned form and content. Other minor compositions will be required to demonstrate understanding and synthesis of concepts presented.  These compositions include:
1. A song in binary form
2. A song in ternary form
3. A song in sonata form
4. A song based on a major mode
5. A song based on a minor mode
6. A song using two part counterpoint
7. A song using three point counterpoint
8. A four part fugue with subject, countersubject, and free improvisation
9. A song that modulates from one tonal center to another through the use of a pivot chord.
10. A song based on the whole tone scale
11. A song based on the chromatic scale
12. A song based on a tone row or serialism
13. A song based on a church mode

 

Textbook/Resources

Kostka, Stefan; Payne, Dorothy. Tonal Harmony with an introduction to Twentieth Century music. New York: Mcgraw-Hill, 2012,     5th ed. ISBN 0-07-285260-7

 

Krueger, Carol. Progressive sight singing. New York. Oxford University Press, inc. 2nd ed. ISBN 978-0-19-538604-2

 

www.sightreadingfactory.com

www.musictheory.net

https://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/domain/2917 

Canvas Page

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/curriculum/artsed/scos/new-standards/arts/music/9-12.pdf 

 

Course plan

Week 1

Review of basic pitch notation: all four clefs and where they came from, ledger lines grand staff, half steps and whole steps, intervals, enharmonic equivalents, octave placements (Ch 1)

Review of meter and rhythm: note values, simple/compound meter, duple/triple/quadruple meter, regular/irregular, and time signatures (Ch 2)

Establish tonal centers for sight singing in major and minor keys and simple rhythms aurally in stepwise motion using solfege and takadimi methods

 

 Week 2-3

Introduction to scale, major, all three forms of minor, whole tone, chromatic, pentatonic, modes, through writing them on the staff without key signatures

Introduce key signatures for major and minor scales, how they relate to the circle of fifths and their relationships to each other

Sight singing using stepwise motion

 

Week 4-5

Introduction of triads, major, minor, augmented, and diminished, and the sounds they are associated with

Diatonic Chords using the scale degrees, roman numerals associated with chords in major and minor keys

Sight singing introducing skips within the diatonic triad

 

Week 6-7

Introduction of seventh chords: major 7th, minor 7th, diminished 7th, half diminished 7th, dominant 7th

Inversions of triads and seventh chords and how they will be notated using roman and arabic numerals 

Continue work on sight singing using stepwise and diatonic triadic movement in major and minor keys

 

Week 8-9

Introduction of voice leading and part writing using eighteenth century chorale writing rules

Introduction of cadences and their functions.  Practice writing and identifying traditional cadences

Work more on minor sight singing than diatonic to develop the sounds in the ear of the minor scale intervallic relationships.

 

Week 10-11

Root position part writing in major and minor keys while identifying the roman numerals and realizing the roman numerals on the staff above.

Continue to work on simple meter sight singing using larger intervals in major and minor keys.

Introduction of melodic dictation in major and minor keys.

 

Week 12-13

Introduction of harmonic progression and the function of different chords to produce movement throughout the music. Expanding work with cadences and phrasing. 

Create melody using musical techniques to make the melody interesting and sing the melody they created 

Practice melodic dictation and error detection in a melody.

Sight singing practice specific to compound meter in major and minor keys

 

 

Week 14-15

Using inversions in the part writing they have been practicing and realising the figured bass containing inversions in all forms. 

Also creating bass lines from a given melody using diatonic chords in major and minor scales.

Form a bass line when given a simple melody to create harmonic structure.

Continue practice of sight singing and melodic dictation

 

Week 16-17

Continue practicing composition using part writing skills to realise the figured bass and correctly write the parts that are needed

Introduction of Harmonic dictation writing the outer voices (bass and soprano) when hearing an aural example. Also identifying the roman numerals from hearing the example provided.

 

Week 18-19

Introduction of non chord tones all listed above

Practice using non chord tones in part writing in major and minor scales

Continue practicing sight singing with progressively more difficult examples until the end of semester

 

Week 20-21

Introduction of secondary functions using secondary dominant chords and secondary diminished seventh chords and use correct roman numerals to label them

 

Week 22-23

Introduction to neapolitan chord and practice writing in music and correctly labeling in the figured bass

Introduction to modulation and given examples in music and how it correlates with form

 

Week 24-25

Introduction to augmented sixth chords in their 3 forms, and how they resolve and function in music.

 

Week 26-27

Introduction to atonal music through serialism, twelve tone series, etc.

Review modes.

 

Week 28-29

Review basics and begin taking portions of the practice exams.  And discuss shortcomings and review those things needed

 

Week 30-31

Comprehensive review of the elements from the class

Week 32-33

Comprehensive review of the elements from the class

Week 34-end

Review for exams

Week of the exams for the class, take one practice exam in its entirety.

AP Exam

The AP Music Theory exam is scheduled for May 15, 2024.  The exam will begin at 12:00 pm students should arrive by 11:45 to get signed in and ready for exam.  The exams fees are paid for by the school.  All additional details will be provided before the AP exam takes place.  

 

Makeup work

If you are absent for any reason it will be required that you make up the work you have missed for that day.  I will accept your makeup work up to 4 days after you return to school.  We are going to be moving at such a fast pace for this class, it is vital that you are here to learn the material when it is being presented.  I do understand that things come up, however, if it can be avoided, I think it would be in your best interest.

 

Tutoring 

Tutoring will be offered after school upon request on Monday through Wednesday of each week.  It is crucial that you know the material, especially early on because all of the information builds off of the first few weeks of school and continues to build for the entire class.  Schedule a time with me so I can plan to be there to tutor after school.

Scoring Components	Description
SC1	The course enables student to master the rudiments and terminology of music: notational skills, scales, keys, intervals, chords, meter, and rhythm.
SC2	The course includes writing a bass line for a given melody, implying appropriate harmony, or harmonization of a given melody in four parts
SC3	The course includes realization of a figured bass
SC4	The course includes realization of a roman numeral progression
SC5	The course includes harmonic analysis
SC6	The course includes the analysis of motivic treatment
SC7	The course include the following scales: major, minor, modal, pentatonic, and whole tone
SC8	The course covers functional triadic harmony in traditional four voice texture, based on common practice tonality
SC9	The course includes nonharmonic (non chord) tones.
SC10	The course includes seventh chords
SC11	The course includes secondary dominants
SC12	The course includes modulation to closely related keys
SC13	The course include phrase structure
SC14	The course includes small forms (e.g., simple binary, rounded binary, ternary, theme and variation, strophic)
SC15	Musical skills are developed through listening (e.g., intervals, scales, and chords; dictations; excerpts from literature)
SC16	Musical skills are developed through sight singing
SC17	Musical skills are developed through written exercises
SC18	Musical skill are developed through creative exercises
SC19	The course includes study of a variety of music from standard western tonal repertoire