Course Goals

The purpose of AP Music Theory is to provide a functional, working understanding of Common Practice Period music. The majority of the material will focus on Western music literature, both vocal and instrumental, from the 17th and 18th centuries, though several examples of music from other periods will be used. Students will learn material consistent with the AP Course Description provided on the College Board AP Central ® website. The content is comparable to that taught in four Freshman college classes.

 

Primary Course Content

 Fundamentals: staves, clefs, time signatures, key signatures

 Harmony: triads, 7th chords & inversions, and their functions in a diatonic context

 Scales, Modes

 Rhythm and Meter

 Music notation and composition

 4-part writing and voice leading

 Chord progressions

 Form: phrases, cadences, periodic structure, and sequences

 Secondary dominant and secondary leading-tone chords

 Modulation

 Sight-singing

 Aural skills: identification of melodic and harmonic excerpts and error detection

 

Resources 

Benward, Bruce and Saker, Marilyn. Music in Theory and Practice. Vol. 1 Ninth edition. McGraw-Hill: New York. 2003

Kostka, Stefan and Payne, Dorothy. Tonal Harmony. Sixth edition. McGraw-Hill: New York. 2009

Berkowitz, Sol, et al. A New Approach to Sight Singing. Fourth edition. W.W. Norton & Company: New York. 1997

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Links

https://www.teoria.com/

http://www.good-ear.com/
http://breezinthrutheory.com/

www.musictheory.net

http://www.emusictheory.com/practice.html

Additional resources can be found on YouTube. 

 

Required Materials

Students are responsible for maintaining a notebook or binder with all class notes and handouts. They must have notebook paper, staff paper, and a pencil at all times. Staff paper is available free from many websites. All work must be done in pencil. Assignments in pen will not be accepted.

 

Class Participation

Much of the class will be conducted in an interactive environment. Since many of the objectives for this class (TEKS) require students to demonstrate proficiency in specific skills, class participation is important. This includes, but is not limited to: discussions over assigned reading, demonstrations and board-work, in-class compositions, group work, listening analysis exercises, dictation and sight-singing.

 

Grading Policy

Students’ grades will be calculated as follows:

 Class work, homework, projects, and compositions: 60%

 Quizzes: 25%

 Six weeks tests: 15%

 

Quizzes and Tests

Periodic quizzes will be given to monitor student work; some will be announced, others will not. At least one major test will be given each six weeks. Both quizzes and tests may include written, oral, and aural components.

 

Student Compositions

Students will be required to compose short works throughout the course. Most compositions will be short 4-part pieces (chorales). All compositions must be neat and legible. Students should always sing their compositions as they are composing to ensure musicality and a sense of musical line.

 

Late Work

Because the skills in music theory are cumulative, homework must be turned in on time. Homework grades will be penalized 10 points for each late (school) day. Work that is more than two days late will not be accepted. If a student is absent from class, it is their responsibility to find out what they missed. Make-up work will follow district guidelines for due dates.

 

Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts

Students will be required to attend at least one broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera during the year. These are live broadcasts held at Booker T Washington on Saturdays. There is no cost and students may request additional tickets for family members. Tutoring Because there is only one section of AP theory, tutoring is by appointment only. Please schedule appointments in advance. The most common tutoring times in the past have been Fridays after school and lunch time on B days.