AP Music Theory
Time: Days 1-6, Period 8 Contact Information:
Location: HS Chorus Room
Instructor: Mr. Picente (315) 865-7229
Course Objectives:
1.) To develop each student’s ability to recognize, understand, and describe the basic materials and processes of music.
2.) To develop each student’s aural skills.
3.) To apply musical skills and understandings in practical musical experiences through composition, analysis, and keyboard skills.
Course Description:
AP Music Theory is a course designed to develop each student’s comprehensive musicianship. To achieve this goal, various exercises, including listening, performance, writing, and analysis will develop each students aural, sight-singing, written, compositional, and analytical musical skills. Students will develop a fundamental understanding of the elements of music and apply these elements in practical forms. To deepen understanding, ear-training, sight singing, and, harmonic analysis, and listening exercises will be included to reinforce course topics. A wide variety of tonal music repertoire, from Baroque to modern day music, is used to reinforce topics through listening and analysis. A teacher-generated collection of repertoire is drawn from the Norton Anthology of Western Music, vols. 1-3.
It is intended that the knowledge gained from this course will be practically applied in the interpretive decisions you make as a performer, the critical choices you make as listeners, and the informed opinions you share with others.
Students are able to earn up to 9 college credits through this course. Many colleges will waive Music Theory I and II with a 3 or higher on the AP Exam, resulting in 6 credit hours. AP Music Theory also provides students with 3 MVCC credits through their HU102 Music Appreciation course. Students will register and complete the course in the Spring 2017 semester.
Primary Texts:
Kostka, Stefan and Dorothy Payne. Tonal Harmony with an Introduction to Twentieth-Century Music, 7thed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013.
Rogers, Nancy and Robert W. Ottman. Music for Sight Singing, 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2013.
Additional Resources:
Burkholder, J. Peter, Donald Jay Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. Norton Anthology of Western Music, vols. 1-3, 8th ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2009.
Fux, Johann Joseph and Alfred Mann. The Study of Counterpoint from Johann Joseph Fux’s
‘Gradus ad Parnassum’. Revised edition. Edited by Alfred Mann. Translated by Alfred Mann. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1971.
Lindeman, Carolynn A. Piano Lab: An Introduction to Class Piano, 7th ed. Boston, MA: Schirmer, Cengage Learning, 2012.
Nowlin, Ryan and Bruce Pearson. Excellence in Theory, vols. 1-3. San Diego: Neil A. Kjos Music Company, 2010.
Surmani, Andrew, Karen FarnumSurmani and Morty Manus. Alfred’s Essentials of Music Theory: A Complete Self-Study Course for all Musicians. Alfred Publishing, 2004.
Course Outline:
Listed below is an outline of the topics discussed each week in class. Each chapter number designates the Kostka-Payne chapter used. All sight singing example numbers are from the Ottman book. Supplemental materials are listed as needed.
Part I: Building a Musical Vocabulary
Date: / Kostka-Payne Tonal Harmony Chapter: / Supplemental Materials:9/9-
9/16 / Chapter 1: Elements of Pitch – Pitch, Pitch Class, Staff Notation / Excellence in Theory Book 1: 2-4
Alfred Music Theory: 3-7
9/19-9/23 / Chapter 2: Elements of Rhythm – Notation, Beat, Meter: Simple Meters / Excellence in Theory Book 1: 7-25
Alfred Music Theory: 10-17
Sight Singing: 1.11-1.24, 1.30-1.50
Dictation: Rhythm in simple meters
9/26-9/30 / Chapter 2: Elements of Rhythm – Notation, Beat, Meter: Compound Meters
*Unit Test 9/30 on Rhythm* / Excellence in Theory Book 3:14-17
Alfred Music Theory: 68-70
Sight Singing: 4.1-4.14
Dictation: Rhythm in compound meters
10/3-10/7 / Chapter 1: Elements of Pitch – The Major Scale, Scale Degrees, and Major Key Signatures / Excellence in Theory Book 1: 27-40
Alfred Music Theory: 43-50, 76
Sight Singing: 2.2-2.5, 2.10-2.14, 2.23-2.28
10/11-10/14 / Chapter 1: Elements of Pitch – Major Key Signatures, Circle of Fifths, Minor Key Signatures / Excellence in Theory Book 2: 5-13
Sight Singing: 2.2-2.5, 2.10-2.14, 2.23-2.28
Dictation: Stepwise Melodies
10/17-10/21 / Chapter 1: Elements of Pitch – Minor Scales
Chapter 26: Whole Tone, Diatonic Modes, Pentatonic, Chromatic Scales / Excellence in Theory Book 2: 14-15
Excellence in Theory Book 3: 25-27
Alfred Music Theory: 90-92, 97-99
Sight Singing:5.1-5.7, 5.10-5.12
Dictation: Stepwise melodies in M & m
10/24-10/28 / Chapter 1: Elements of Pitch – Pitch Intervals / Excellence in Theory Book 2: 30-37
Alfred Music Theory:52, 56-58
Sight Singing: 3.2-3.10, 3.23-3.26
Interval ID: P1, P4, P5, P8, M3
10/31-11/4 / Chapter 1: Elements of Pitch – Pitch Intervals
*Unit Test 11/4 on Pitch* / Excellence in Theory Book 3: 8-13
Sight Singing: 3.11-3.17, 3.27-3.31
Interval ID: Above + m3, m2, M2, M7
11/7-11/10 / Chapter 3: Introduction to Triads and Seventh Chords – Root Position Triads and Seventh Chords / Excellence in Theory Book 3: 19-22
Alfred Music Theory: 74-77
Sight Singing: 4.24-4.31, 4.38-4.40
Interval ID: Above + M6, m6, m7, TT
Dictation: stepwise and skips along tonic triad
11/14-11/18 / Chapter 3: Introduction to Triads and Seventh Chords – Root Position Triads and Seventh Chords / Sight Singing:5.20-5.25, 6.1-6.5
Chord ID: M, m, o, +
Dictation: stepwise and skips along tonic triad
11/21-12/2 / Chapter 3: Introduction to Triads and Seventh Chords – Inversions / Alfred Music Theory: 83-87
Sight Singing: 6.6-6.10, 6.13-6.15
Chord ID: Above + M7, Mm7, m7, o7
Dictation: stepwise and skips along tonic triad
12/5-12/9 / Chapter 3: Introduction to Triads and Seventh Chords – Inversions
*Unit Test 12/9 on Triads/7th Chords* / Sight Singing: 6.40-6.45
Chord ID:Above + ᴓ7
Dictation: stepwise and skips along tonic and dominant triads
12/12-12/16 / Chapter 4: Diatonic Chords in Major and Minor Keys and Functional Triadic Harmony / Excellence in Theory Book 3: 23, 28
Sight Singing: 7.1-7.10
Dictation: stepwise and skips along tonic and dominant triads
12/19-12/23 / Chapter 4: Diatonic Chords in Major and Minor Keys
*Unit Test 12/22 on Diatonic Harmony* / Sight Singing: 7.11-7.16
Dictation: stepwise and skips along tonic and dominant triad
Part II: Application of Fundamentals
1/3-1/6 / Fux: Counterpoint – 1st and 2nd Species (pages 27-49)
1/9-
1/13 / Fux: Counterpoint –3rdand 4thSpecies
(pages 50-63)
*Midterm Exam 1/13*
1/17-1/20 / Chapter 5: Principles of Voice Leading – Voicing Triads, Motion between voices / Sight Singing: 8.1-8.5, 8.29-8.30
Dictation: Harmonic using I, IV, V
Melodic including all diatonic skips
1/30-
2/3 / Chapter 10: Cadences, Phrase Structure, and Motivic Treatment
Chapter 20: Binary, Ternary and Small Forms / Dictation: Harmonic using I, IV, V
Melodic including all diatonic skips
2/6-
2/10 / Chapter 6: Root Position Part Writing in Four Voices – Roman Numeral Realization and Figured Bass Realization / Sight Singing: 8.49-8.51
Dictation: Harmonic using I, ii, IV, V
Melodic including all diatonic skips
2/13-2/17 / Chapter 6: Root Position Part Writing in Four Voices – Instrumental Ranges and Transposition
*Unit Test 2/17 on Part Writing* / Sight Singing: 8.31-8.36
Dictation: Harmonic using I, vi, ii, IV, V
Melodic including all diatonic skips
2/27-
3/3 / Chapter 7: Harmonic Progression and the Sequence – Melody Harmonization / Sight Singing: 8.37-8.41 Dictation: Harmonic using I, vi, ii, IV, V
Melodic including all diatonic skips
3/6-
3/10 / Chapter 8: Triads in First Inversion in Part Writing
Chapter 9: Triads in Second Inversion in Part Writing / Sight Singing: 8.42-8.47
Dictation: Harmonic using I, vi, ii, IV, V, viio, introducing triads in inversion
Melodic including all diatonic skips
Part III: Expanding the Harmonic Vocabulary
3/13-3/16 / Chapter 13-15: V7, II7, VII7 and other Diatonic Seventh Chords / Sight Singing: 9.1-9.7Dictation: Harmonic using I, vi, ii, IV, V7, viio, including triads in inversion
Melodic including all diatonic skips
3/20-3/24 / Chapter 11 and 12: Non Chord Tones
*Unit Test 3/24 on Diatonic Seventh Chords/NCTs* / Sight Singing: 9.8-9.12, 9.20-9.23 Dictation: Harmonic using I, vi, ii, IV, V7, viio, including triads and seventh chords in inversion
Melodic including all diatonic skips
3/27-3/31 / Chapter 16-17: Secondary Functions – Secondary Dominants / Sight Singing:13.1-13.6
Dictation: Harmonic using I, vi, ii, IV, V7, viio, including triads and seventh chords in inversion, and V/V chords
Melodic including all diatonic skips and chromaticism
4/3-
4/7 / Chapter 16-17: Secondary Functions – Secondary Leading Tone Chords
*Unit Test 4/7 on Secondary Functions* / Sight Singing: 13.7-13.13
Dictation: Harmonic using I, vi, ii, IV, V7, viio, including triads and seventh chords in inversion, and V/V chords
Melodic including all diatonic skips and chromaticism
4/10-4/13 / Chapter 18: Modulations and Tonicizations / Sight Singing: 13.19-13.23, 14.1-14.5
Dictation: Harmonic using I, vi, ii, IV, V7, viio, including triads and seventh chords in inversion, and V/V chords and tonicizing closely related keys.
Melodic including all diatonic skips and chromaticism
4/24-4/28 / Chapter 18-19: Other Modulatory Techniques
*Unit Test 4/28 on Modulation* / Sight Singing: 14.6-14.10
Dictation: Harmonic using I, vi, ii, IV, V7, viio, including triads and seventh chords in inversion, and V/V chords and tonicizing closely related keys.
Melodic including all diatonic skips and chromaticism
5/1-
5/5 / Exam Review
5/8-
5/12 / AP Music Theory Exam – Monday, May 8th at 8:00 AM
Part IV:Keyboard Skills and Composition
5/15-5/19 / Lindeman: Chapters 1-3: Piano Basics, 5 Finger Patterns, Interval Reading5/22-5/26 / Lindeman:Chapters 4-5: Major and Minor Triads
5/30-
6/2 / Lindeman:Chapters 6-7: Major Scales and Primary Chords
6/5-
6/9 / Lindeman:Chapters 8-9:Minor Scale Keyboard Harmonization and Improvisation
6/12-6/16 / Keyboard Composition Project
6/19-6/23 / Keyboard Composition Project
Materials:
The following materials must be present in class each day:
1.) A binder or folder to store assignments, notes, and class materials.
2.) Music manuscript paper, provided in class.
3.) Pencils: All assignments, exercises, and exams MUST be done in pencil.
4.) Required textbooks, handouts, and other materials.
Homework:
Unless otherwise noted, homework is due the class after it is assigned. Homework will be given three to four times a week, and while not all assignments will be graded, your commitment to doing homework will greatly affect your understanding of the material. Late homework assignments may be submitted for half credit up to one week late.
Exams:
Students will be assessed weekly on course topics through quizzes. Unit tests will be assigned as marked on the syllabus. Quizzes are worth up to 100 points, unit tests are worth up to 200 points. A midterm will be administered at the end of the second quarter.
Grading Policy:
Exams:60% of your class grade will be derived from your performance on exams.
Homework: 30% of your grade will come from homework assignments.
Class Participation and Attendance: The remaining 10% of your class grade will result from your class participation and regular attendance. As an Advanced Placement course, your regular and punctual attendance is expected. Without your active participation, your skills and understanding of the concepts will suffer.
Classroom Policies:
Cellphones: We will use technology frequently in the classroom. However, using cellphones and technology irresponsibly is not tolerated in a college-level course. You will have your phone taken away on the first offense and written up on subsequent offenses.
Attendance: As this is a college credit-bearing course, attendance is strictly enforced. Please see the attached Holland Patent policy regarding attendance.
Extra Help: Extra help is offered by appointment or during any plan period (listed on my schedule posted outside of the band and chorus rooms) and after school any day except Wednesday. Please check with me before staying after or coming in for extra help so I can be available!
I look forward to a successful and musically fulfilling year together!
Holland Patent Attendance Policy for MVCC Dual Credit Classes
Philosophy
We are offering students the opportunity to earn free college credit through our dual credit courses.We are dedicated to providing students with a true college experience and we will hold students accountable for their actions.It is imperative to be present in the dual credit courses in order to achieve the goals and rigor of the college level courses.Enrollment in the dual credit courses is an academic privilege that requires attendance in every class.The following attendance policy has been devised by the dual credit teachers in our district in order to ensure student success and to maintain the integrity of the course to meet the collegiate expectations.
Policy
1.Students enrolled in a dual credit course will be granted ten absences per semester without penalty.
2.More than ten absences per semester will result in the lowering of your grade by one letter.For example, if you receive an “A” in the college course but have 11 absences your MVCC grade will be lowered to a “B”.
3.Students who miss 15 classes will not receive college credit for the course. They will automatically be withdrawn from the course which will not impact their financial aid but will not give them collegiate credit. Students will still be expected to attend and complete the coursework in order to receive high school credit for the course in which they are enrolled.
Note: Although this is the adopted attendance policy for the MVCC grade, students’ high school grades may not be directly impacted by the number of absences.
Definitions:
Absence- missing more than ten minutes of a class for any reason other than an educational obligation such as an AP exam or a medical leave. Excused absences must be discussed with your teacher prior to the absence and be supported by appropriate documentation.
Excused Absence- any absence that is directly related to school obligations or medical leave provided that they are supported by appropriate documentation. College visits, AP exams, and extended medical leave shall be discussed with your teacher prior to the absence.
Unexcused Absence- any absence that is not for aforementioned educational purposes or that is not properly supported by official documentation. Examples of unexcused absences include, but are not limited to, family vacation, oversleeping, babysitting, etc.
Tardy- being late to class by 10 minutes or less without a pass.More than 10 minutes will result in being marked absent for the day.