MADISON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Music Theory
Authored by: John Leister
Fall, 2003
Reviewed by: Lee Nittel,
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Stacy Snider,
Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts
Adopted by the Board: January, 2013
Members of the Board of Education:
Lisa Ellis, President
Patrick Rowe, Vice-President
David Arthur
Kevin Blair
Shade Grahling
Linda Gilbert
Thomas Haralampoudis
James Novotny
Superintendent: Dr. Michael Rossi
Madison Public Schools
359 Woodland Road, Madison, NJ 07940
www.madisonpublicschools.org
I. OVERVIEW
Music Theory is a full year elective course that meets five days a week for one period a day. Students
enrolled in the class must have experience as a member of the Madison High School Band, Chorus,
Orchestra or Guitar Ensemble or special permission from the Department Chair.
The curriculum is based on, and correlated to, the Standards and Progress Indicators established by the
New Jersey Department of Education. Activity Plans identify the standards and strands addressed by each
lesson. Examples of specific lesson materials follow selected Activity Plans.
Students taking Music Theory will improve their understanding of making music, understanding music,
and valuing music. While the harmonic principles of music will be derived primarily from European
composers from 1700-1900, students will have opportunities to study jazz and world music as well. In
addition, students will be able to improvise and create works using new and original methods.
II. STUDENT OUTCOMES (Linked to NJ Core Curriculum Standards):
As a result of their participation in this course students will:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of major and minor scales, modes, intervals, chords, chord progressions,
cadences, time and key signatures, and music terminology.
2. Analyze musical compositions on the basis of form and harmonic structure.
3. Notate melodic phrases, harmonic progressions, and rhythmic patterns from dictation.
4. Arrange simple pieces of music for instruments and/or voices using transposition as needed.
5. Compose short pieces for acoustic instruments, voices, and/or electronic instruments using melody
and harmony.
6. Notate original musical ideas.
7. Improvise simple accompaniments of a piano, keyboard, or similar instrument.
8. Perform arrangements and/or compositions of class members
Specific content standards addressed include:
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Creative Process
History of Arts and Culture
Performance
Aesthetic Response and Critique Methodologies
III. ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS
UNIT 1 - ELEMENTS OF PITCH
Objectives: The students will learn how to notate pitches the staff, learn how to construct major and
minor scales, learn the twelve key signatures for major and minor scales, construct the circle of fifths, learn
scale degree names, and be able to identify and write various intervals in music.
UNIT 2 – ELEMENTS OF RHYTHM
Objectives: Students will review, learn and identify durational symbols in music, terminology related to
rhythm, and simple and compound time signatures. Students will begin to take rhythmic dictation in this
unit.
Unit 3 – TRIADS AND SEVENTH CHORDS
Objectives: Students will learn how to spell and identify common chord types. Triads and seventh chords
will be examined in root position and in inversions. Students will utilize figured bass and lead sheet
symbols in this unit.
Unit 4 – PRINCIPLES OF VOICE LEADING
Objectives: Students will discover how composers move independent lines or voices in music and how
these lines create harmonies.
Melodic lines, voicing triads, parallel motion, and root position part writing will be addresses in this unit.
Unit 5 – INSTRUMENT TRANSPOSITION
Objective: Students will learn how to transpose from the key of C to many other keys. Students will
transpose a choral from a piano score to an instrumental score that matches the instrumentation of the
class.
Unit 6 – HARMONIC PROGRESSION
Objective: This unit presents the most complex harmonic aspects of this course. Sequences, harmonic
movement by fifths, harmonizing melodies, triadic inversions, and counterpoint are all examined in this
unit.
Unit 7 – FORM THROUGH HARMONY
Objective: This unit begins the study of form in music. Small units or building blocks are addressed that
are based on harmonies that have already been learned.
Unit 8 – LARGE FORMAL STRUCTURES
Objective: Students will learn large forms used in music from a variety of centuries and cultures.
Unit 9 – NON-CHORD TONES
Objective: Non-chord tones are explained in this unit. Rather than simply bracketing them, students will
now learn to identify the non-chord tones as passing tones, neighboring tones, suspensions, or retardations.
Unit 10 – TWENTIETH CENTURY APPROACHES
Objective: In prior units, students learned the fundamental rules of harmony, rhythm, and form. In this
unit, they will learn how composers “broke the rules” in the Twentieth Century. Both compositional
techniques and connections to society will be addressed.
Unit 11 – SUMMARY AND FINAL PROJECTS
Objective: Students will compose, harmonize, and/or analyze a piece of music as a final project. A final
exam will be given as an additional summary activity.
IV. SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
I.
Elements of Pitch (3 weeks)
A.
Notation on the staff
B.
Major and Minor Scales and key signatures
C.
Scale Degree Names
D.
Intervals
E.
Introduction of Melodic Dictation
II.
Elements of Rhythm (2 weeks)
A.
Durational symbols
B.
Beat, tempo, meter, rhythm definitions
C.
Simple and Compound Time Signatures
D.
Introduction of Rhythmic Dictation
III.
Triads and Seventh Chords (4 weeks)
A.
Triads, Seventh Chords and Inversions
B.
Lead Sheet Symbols
C.
Diatonic Chords in major and minor keys
D.
Review and develop goals from Units I and II
IV.
Principles of Voice Leading (3 weeks)
A.
Writing melodies
B.
Voicing triads
C.
Parallel Motion
D.
Root Position Part Writing
V.
Instrument Transposition (1 week)
VI.
Harmonic Progression (6 weeks)
A.
Patterns / Sequences
B.
Harmonic movement by fifths
C.
Harmonizing simple melodies
D.
Triads in first inversion
E.
Soprano-Bass counterpoint
F.
Triads in second inversion
VII.
Form via harmony (2 weeks)
A.
Cadences and phrases
Motives
Periods
B.
C.
VIII.
Larger Formal Structures (3 weeks)
A.
Binary form
B.
Ternary form
C.
12 bar blues
IX.
Non-Chord Tones (1 week)
A.
Passing and Neighboring tones
B.
Suspensions / Retardations
X.
Twentieth Century Approaches (7 weeks)
A.
Impressionism
B.
Modes
C.
Tall chords, poly chords, polytonality, tone clusters
D.
Parallelism
E.
Pandiatonicism
F.
Mixed meters and polyrhythms
G.
Atonality
H.
Expanded Textures and Electronic Music
XI.
Summary and Final Projects (4 weeks)
V. EVALUATION
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
Participation in class discussions and group performance activities
Homework assignments
Notebook checks
Written theory tests
Written analysis of performance and listening
Sight-singing & dictation quizzes
Written theory quizzes
Written listening and performance critiques
VI. RESOURCES
Classroom Textbook
Tonal Harmony. McGraw-Hill, 2000. ISBN 0-07-241570-3
Tonal Harmony Workbook, McGraw-Hill, 2000. ISBN 0-07-303512-2
Compact Discs
Classroom set to accompany the text ISBN: 0-07-289785-6
Miscellaneous compact discs as needed
Supplementary Texts
The Book of Tunes For Beginning Sight Reading, First Steps in Music, Inc. 1996
Elementary Harmony, Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1983. ISBN: 0-13-257436-5
High School General Music, Music Educators National Conference, 1989.
The Music Theory Handbook, Thomson/Schirmer, 1997. ISBN: 0-15-502662-3
Music 2000 Volume I and II, Studio 224, 1996. ISBN: SVB9602S and
SVB9603S
Theory Time Grades 7-12, Theory Time Partners, 1996. ISBN: 1-890348-14-7
Supplementary CD-ROM
Essentials of Music Theory, Alfred Publishing, 2000. ISBN: 0-7390-0048-9
Internet Sources
LessonPlansPage.com http://www.lessonplanspage.com
National Standards for Education in the Arts
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/professional_resources/standards/natstandards/
New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. http://www.nj.gov/njded/cccs
TeachNet. http://www.teachnet.com
Yale New Haven Teachers Institute. http://www.yale.edu.ynhti/curriculum/units/1985
Equipment List
Computer w/internet access, external speakers and projection system
Stereo, with classroom collection of audio CD’s
Midi Synthesizer with amplifier
Piano
Dry erase board or blackboard with music staff
Music manuscript paper
Music notation software