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Scope and Sequence –This credit flex plan includes components consistent with the requirements needed to understand and complete the AP Music Theory Exam. Because it is essentially a college-level course, some of the grade level indicators listed in this document are original, since the grade level indicators included in the Ohio State Standards are actually prerequisites for this plan. Aural and visual analysis of musical examples, notation of melodic and harmonic dictation, sightsinging, and composition of a four-part chorale, with figured bass and Roman numeral analysis are included in the course. The primary text used for this AP Music Theory Course is Benward & Saker’s “Music In Theory and Practice, Vol. 1, 7thed. The chapters cover all the material required by the AP Music Theory curriculum, and include written exercises found at the end of each chapter and an accompanying workbook, with written exercises including analysis of a 4-part chorale setting in keeping with the standards of 18thCentury functional harmony practices. The analysis includes Roman Numerals and figured bass, using root position chords and inversions (both triadic and seventh chords.) The workbook also includes exercises that ask the student to compose examples of material studied in each chapter, in one melodic line, 2-part counterpoint and 4-part harmony. These written exercises are given as homework and also appear on tests. The textbook comes with a CD that includes musical examples of material covered in each unit, and the recorded music is also used for aural analysis of content in each chapter. |
Suggested Timeframe
Week 1 – Diagnosis of students’ Theoretical skills, analysis and sightreading
Weeks 2-3 Chapter 1: Basic notation, clefs, meters, grand staff, and nomenclature
Weeks 4-8 Chapter 2: Scales (major, minor, relative keys, parallel keys, key signatures, circle of fifths)
Weeks 9-12 Chapter 3: Intervals and their inversions
Weeks 12-16 Chapter 4: Chords (major, minor, diminished, augments), triad inversions (root position, first inversion, second inversion), Roman Numeral analysis, triad position symbols, seventh chords, figured bass for triads and seventh chords.
Weeks 17-19 Chapter 5: Cadences and Nonharmonic Tones
Weeks 20-21 Chapters 6, 16, and 17: Chapter 6 is combined with later chapters 16 and 17 because all 3 deal with form and structure in music. Chapter 6 has information and written exercises on melodic organization, including phrase structure, motivic material, phrases, and periods. Written exercises at the end of the chapter and in the workbook include both visual analysis and aural analysis (with the accompanying CD of recorded examples). Formal structure covered in Chapters 16 and 17 are two-part (binary) form, three-part form, expanded ternary form, rounded binary form, theme and variation, rondo, and strophic forms. Written and aural exercises and assignments accompany these chapters. Students also analyze the overall form of a piece with visual written and aural exercises, assignments, and quizzes.
Weeks 22-23 Chapter 7: analysis of textures in music. Students analyze music to identify textures – monophonic homophonic, polyphonic and mixed textures.
Weeks 24-25 Chapter 8: Voice Leading in Two Voices – Species counterpoint with emphasis on first species counterpoint. Students will compose a bass line for a given cantus firmus melody, and a soprano line for a given bass cantus firmus, both which imply appropriate harmony given the rules for first species counterpoint.
Weeks 26-29 Chapter 9: Voice Leading in Four Voices – Information and written exercises cover root position voice leading, voice leading with chords in inversions, analysis of 4-part chorales.
Week 30 Chapter 10: Harmonic Progressions – common chord progressions, including aural recognition and notation of those chord progressions. Students create and notate their own 4-part chorale with the creation of a good melodic line, common-practice chord progressions, appropriate voice leading, and proper doubling and spacing practices
Weeks 31-32 Chapters 11, 12, 13
Chapter 11: Dominant Seventh chord
Chapter 12: Leading-tone Seventh Chords
Chapter 13: Mon-dominant Seventh chords
Week 33 Chapter 14: Modulation to closely related keys, common chord modulation, chromatic modulation, and analytical symbols for modulations
Week 34 Students will take a practice AP Music Theory test found in the “AP Music Theory Curriculum” and online at AP Central
Weeks 35-36 Introduction to 20thCentury and Contemporary Music Theory and Composition, including compositional techniques particularly of Debussy, Schoenberg, and Stravinsky
Project: Students are assigned a contemporary composer about whom they must present to the class a short biography, list of representative works, and the major contribution this composer has made to music composition. The student must play music from the composer’s major repertoire, representative of his/her compositional style for the class.