AP Theory Course Syllabus Georgetown Preparatory School 2017-2018 Academic Year

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND CONTENT: AP (Advance Placement) will develop a student’s ability to recognize, understand, describe, and perform the basic materials and processes of music that are heard or presented in a score. The curriculum is intended to approximate the syllabus of a year of Music Theory studied by a standard college music major.

AP Music Theory explores and expands upon the fundamentals of music. The course will meet the full academic year in a daily 42 minute period and is designed for students with previous ability, performance experience, and interest in music. The course is intended for students who may wish to pursue music as a college major or minor, or for students who which to study it for enrichment and enhance performance ability and understanding.

Students will engage in intensive study of all aspects of music theory including fundamental notation terminology, compositional skills, analysis, aural skills (ear training, dictation, and sight singing) in accordance with the guidelines established by the Committee of the College Entrance Examination Board. The main emphasis is placed on music of the Common Practice period (1600-1750). In addition, music of other stylistic periods is also studied. It is recommended that the student has training through private lessons (voice, or instrumental), participation in an ensemble, or an introductory rudiments/theory course. Students enrolled in AP Music Theory are highly encouraged to be active in one of the school's performance ensembles.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

At the end of the course students should be able to exhibit understanding of all of the following through written exercises, aural stimuli, and creative compositions:

 Fundamentals o Elements of Pitch o Elements of Rhythm o Tertian Structures o Diatonic Chords o Notation

 Harmony o Voice Leading o Part Writing o Progressions o o Non Chord Tones o Seventh (7th) Chords o Secondary Functions o Modulation

 Form and Analysis o Phrase structures o Roman Numeral and figured- o Melodic organization and developmental procedures o Textures o Large and small forms o Historical context  Aural Skills o Sight singing o Dictation o Error detection o Identification of processes and materials in the context of music literature

 Compositional skills and creative applications

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Notate pitch and rhythm in accordance with standard notation practices • Read melodies in treble and bass clefs with facility • Read melodies in alto and tenor, the most common movable C, clefs • Write, sing, and play on the piano keyboard all major scales and all three forms of minor scales • Recognize by ear and by sight all intervals within an octave • Use the basic rules that govern music composition • Harmonize a melody with appropriate chords using good voice leading • Analyze the chords of a by number and letter name • Transpose a simple composition from one key to another • Express musical ideas by composing and arranging • Understand and recognize basic musical forms: ternary, binary, rondo, etc. • Write simple rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic dictation • Compose a bass line for a given melody • Realize a Roman numeral • Analyze motivic treatment • Understand rhythmic and melodic action between individual voices of a composition

GRADING AND EVALUATIONS

The AP Music Theory course will be taught through lecture/demonstrations. Portions of classes will be devoted to sight-singing, ear-training, dictation practice, etc. Assigned homework will be written or may involve the use of web resources or the composition of musical examples using the notation software (MuseScore, www.musescore.org).

Tests will be given on the school's assigned test day and will involve written, aural, and sung examples where appropriate to the material being taught. Approximate grading breakdown will be tests 60%, quizzes 20%, homework 10%, and class participation 10%.

There will be a comprehensive midterm in early January that will involve written, aural, and sung examples.

Written demonstration of skill mastery will be accomplished by various examination techniques that allow students to demonstrate their understanding of standard music theory protocol, both in analysis and in composition. The connection between the aural and written components is emphasized using aural stimuli so that students demonstrate mastery of course requisites by listening and identification, and listening and notating melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic dictation. The aural connection is further accomplished by the students’ demonstrated ability to sight sing from notated examples. Compositions and projects using both specific guidelines and open-ended criteria are used to show student understanding of concepts in a functional manner, which integrate multiple aspects of the course. These compositions and projects are differentiated to allow all students the flexibility to meet the requirements of the assignment, while allowing for expanded creative opportunities.