AP® Music Theory
Course Overview
This course builds upon the information taught in General Music Theory. Students can expect
to perform extensive composition, use computer programs to aid in listening skills, complete
independent research projects, as well as complete daily assignments.
Pre-Requisites
Students are expected to have taken a High School music course such as, Advanced Band,
Concert Band, Jazz, Percussion, piano, guitar, or one of the various Choir prior to enrolling in
the AP® Music Theory course. Students should also be enrolled in a performing ensemble.
Purpose
This course will teach the fundamentals and building blocks of music. This includes the
structural makeup, synthesis, and analysis of melodic development, harmonic progressions,
textures and styles. Students will learn to write what they hear and hear what they see as they
develop their aural skills through ear-training and sight-singing. These skills will be necessary
so that they may be successful on the AP® Music Theory Exam.
Course Objectives
At the end of the course students should be able to:
1. Identify and notate pitches and rhythms according to standard notation practices
2. Identify and compose melodies in F clef, G clef, and C clef
3. Compose music according to four part chorale rules
4. Compose an accompaniment or harmonization to a melody
5. Transpose music for a variety of keyed instruments
6. Analyze a piece of music:
a. Labeling chords with Roman numerals
b. Identifying motives, sequences, phrases and periods
c. Identifying primary and secondary melodies and harmonic and/or rhythmic
support
d. Write out a figured bass line
e. Describe and identify phrasing and modulations
7. Identify simple forms including binary, ternary, sonata and rondo
8. Identify, compose and sing major, minor, and/or modal scale patterns
9. Identify all intervals within an octave by ear
10.Write music using, harmonic, melodic, or rhythmic dictation
Textbook and Resources
Benward, Bruce, and Saker, Marilyn. Music in Theory and Practice. New York:
McGraw-hill, 2009. (Volume I and II)
http://emusictheory.com
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Course Outline
Introduction
Define Music and its components
Analyze what is a quality piece of music
Define basic science behind sound and tonal production
Section 1 (Chapters 1-4)
Review notation rules, scales, tonality, keys, modes (C2)
Review Meters (compound/simple, duple/triple, mixed, and asymmetrical) (C11)
Review intervals and transposition
Review figured bass concepts (C4)
Review chords and chordal harmony, including Roman numeral analysis, popular music
symbols, inversions, and progressions (C5)
Ear- Training (C14)
Intervals levels 1-2
Scales level 1 (M/m ascending scales)
Chords level 1 (triads in root position)
Melodic Dictation level 1 (simple melodies in a major key)
Harmonic Dictation level 1 (Major key 2 primary chords)
Rhythmic Dictation level 1 (Based on simple meter)
Sight-Singing (C15)
Simple melodies based on m2 or M2
Section 2 (Chapters 5-6)
Review Cadences and Non-harmonic Tones
Note differences in Harmonic vs. Rhythmic cadences
Review analysis of music and identification of Non-harmonic tones
Review Melodic Organization (C9)
Discuss elements of good melodies and phrase structure (C12)
Analyze and Identify similarities and differences of motives, sequences, phrases, and
periods (C6)
Ear- Training
Intervals levels 3-4 based on six choices
Scales level 2 (M/m ascending or descending scales)
Chords level 2 (triads in root position or first inversion)
Melodic Dictation level 2 (simple melodies with skips in a major key)
Harmonic Dictation level 2 (Major key, 2 chords)
Rhythmic Dictation level 2 (Based on simple meter with rests)
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Sight-Singing
Simple melodies with a few skips (M/m 3)
Section 3 (Chapter 7)
Review Textural reductions (Monophonic, Homophonic, Polyphonic, Homorhythmic)
Discuss differences and design of textures
Identifying Harmonic Rhythm and chord progressions
Analyze and compose using different textures
Ear- Training
Intervals levels 5-6 (harmonically)
Scales level 3 (M/m scales, Dorian and Mixolydian modes)
Chords level 3 (triads in all positions)
Melodic Dictation level 3 (melodies with larger skips of a fifth)
Harmonic Dictation level 3 (Minor key, 2 primary chords)
Rhythmic Dictation level 3 (Based on simple meters with rests)
Sight-Singing
Simple melodies with more skips (up to P4 or P5)
Section 4 (Chapter 9)
Review four-part Voice leading
Stylistic and Un-stylistic Rules for part-writing
Analyze and compose four-part chorales (C8)
Ear- Training
Intervals levels 7-8 (harmonically, four choices)
Scales level 4 (M/m scales, Phrygian and Lydian modes)
Chords level 4 (minor, dominant, and major seventh chords)
Melodic Dictation level 4 (melodies with skips of a fourth)
Harmonic Dictation level 4 (Minor key, 2 chords)
Rhythmic Dictation level 4 (Based on compound meter)
Sight-Singing
Simple melodies within tonic triad including 2nds-5ths
Section 5 (Chapter 10)
Harmonic Progressions
Circle progressions
Discuss relationships of chord progressions
Compose harmonies to tonal melodies (C3)
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Ear- Training
Intervals levels 9-10 (harmonically)
Scales level 5 (M/m scales, and common modes)
Chords level 5 (all seventh chords in root position)
Melodic Dictation level 5 (melodies with skips of fourth and secondary skips)
Harmonic Dictation levels 5-6 (Major/minor keys, 3 chords)
Rhythmic Dictation level 5 (Based on compound or simple meters with rests)
Sight-Singing
Simple minor melodies
Section 6
Review Chapters 1-10
End of the Six Sections Exam
Dictation Exam
Section 7 (Chapter 11)
The Dominant Seventh Chord and its inversions (C8)
Compose music using the Dominant Seventh
Analyze music containing the Dominant Seventh Chord
Ear- Training
Intervals levels 11 (all simple intervals)
Scales level 5 (M/m scales, and common modes)
Chords level 6 (all seventh chords in root position or first inversion)
Melodic Dictation level 6 (melodies with skips in compound meter)
Harmonic Dictation levels 7-8 (Major/minor keys, 6 chords)
Rhythmic Dictation levels 6-7 (Simple meter with sixteenth notes)
Sight-Singing
Major or minor melodies with skips up to a Perfect Fifth
Section 8 (Chapter 12)
The Leading-Tone Seventh Chord and its inversions
Compose music using the Leading-Tone Seventh Chord
Analyze music containing the Leading-Tone Seventh Chord
Ear- Training
Intervals levels 12-13 (melodic compound)
Scales level 6 (all modes ascending or descending)
Chords level 7 (all seventh chords in root, 1st or 2nd inversion)
Melodic Dictation level 7 (longer melodies with more skips)
Harmonic Dictation level 9 (All diatonic chords, 6 chords)
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Rhythmic Dictation level 8-9 (compound meter with sixteenth notes)
Sight-Singing
Melodic fragments including M/m sixth and Perfect Octave
Section 9 (Chapter 13)
Non-Dominant Seventh Chords and their inversions
Compose music using non-Dominant Seventh Chords
Analyze music containing non-Dominant Seventh Chords
Ear- Training
Intervals 14-15 (harmonic compound)
Scales level 6 (All modes ascending or descending)
Chords level 8 (all seventh chords in all position)
Melodic Dictation level 8 (minor melodies with skips)
Harmonic Dictation level 10 (All diatonic chords, 9 chords)
Rhythmic Dictation level 10 (exercises with anacrusis)
Sight-Singing
Melodies at a variety of tempos with a variety of skips
Section 10 (Chapter 14)
Modulations (Chromatic, Common Chord, Phrase) (C10)
Closely related keys
Practice identifying modulations
Compose music using modulations
Analyze music containing modulations
Ear- Training
Intervals level 16 (all melodic)
Scales level 7 (Major and minor scales, modes ascending or descending)
Chords level 9 (all chords in root position or 1st inversion in 4- part chorale form)
Melodic Dictation level 9 (minor melodies with skips based on I, iv, or V chords)
Harmonic Dictation level 11 (Secondary Dominants in a major key, 6 chords)
Rhythmic Dictation level 11 (Rhythms with syncopation in simple meter)
Sight-Singing
Introduction of sevenths
Section 11 (Chapter 15)
Secondary Dominants and Secondary Leading Tones (C8)
Identify secondary chords
Analyze music containing secondary chords
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Compose music using secondary chords
Ear- Training
Intervals level 17 (all harmonically)
Scales level 7 (Major and minor scales, modes ascending or descending)
Chords level 10 (all chords in all positions in four part chorale form)
Melodic Dictation level 10 (minor melodies with more skips in compound meter)
Harmonic Dictation level 12 (Secondary Dominants in a minor key 6 chords)
Rhythmic Dictation level 12 (Review)
Sight-Singing
Melodies in two parts
Section 12 (Review Chapters 11-15)
End of the Six Sections Exam
Dictation Exam
Section 13 (Chapter 16 and 17)
Binary and Ternary Forms (C13)
Simple versus compound
Open versus closed formal divisions
Rounded Binary and Expanded Ternary form
Ear- Training
Intervals level 18 (everything)
Scales level 8 (Pentatonic, whole tone, and octatonic scales)
Chords level 11 (all seventh chords in root position or 1st inversion in four part chorale
form)
Melodic Dictation level 11 (melodies with skips and syncopation)
Harmonic Dictation level 13 (All Secondary dominants, 6 chords)
Rhythmic Dictation level 13 (Compound meter and syncopation)
Sight-Singing
Longer melodies with a variety of skips and rhythms
Section 14 (Book 2 Chapters 7, 8, 9)
Variation Technique (C13)
Sonata Form
Rondo Form
Ear- Training
Intervals level 18 (everything)
Scales level 9
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Chords level 12 (all seventh chords in root, 1st or 2nd position in four-part chorale form)
Melodic Dictation level 12 (complex melodies larger skips)
Harmonic Dictation level 14 (All secondary functions, 6 chords)
Rhythmic Dictation level 14 (Review)
Sight-Singing
Melodies in 2, 3, or 4 parts
Section 15 (Book 2 Chapters 15 & 16)
(C7)
Twentieth Century tonality
Introduction to Polytonality, Pandiatonicism, Dual modality, Polychords, Quartal Chords,
and clusters
Meters and Nonaccentual rhythms
Introduction to Twelve Tone Technique
Ear- Training
Intervals level 18 (everything)
Scales level 10 (Everything)
Chords level 13-14 (all chords in all positions in four-part chorale form)
Melodic Dictation level 13 (melodies with modulations)
Harmonic Dictation level 15 (All secondary functions, 9 chords)
Rhythmic Dictation level 15 (Anything and Everything)
Sight-Singing
Review
Section 16 Review for the AP® Music Theory Exam
Use practice exams
Review Course Requirements and Expanded Specifications (C1)
Section 17 Work on final Composition Projects
Section 18 Final Composition Projects
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Teaching Strategies
All students taking the AP Music Theory course are expected to have previously taken either
High School Band, Percussion, Jazz, Piano, Guitar, or Choir. These courses help students to
grasp the basic concepts of notation, keys, intervals, chords, and an introduction to part-writing.
I believe it is important that students are able to efficiently identify and label notes, intervals,
scales and chords. We use www.emusictheory.com as a tool to drill these skills. Time is
decreased as expectations are increased. I have found that this saves a lot of frustration as
students begin part-writing, identifying forms and analyzing a piece of music. I teach the
course as a pyramid. You cannot achieve the next level until you have mastered the prior one.
I also believe it is important that students have a fundamental understanding of the piano. I
teach the basics to note reading, so that they are able to play pieces they compose or play
different parts of the music they are trying to analyze. They are also encouraged to listen to a
recording if available.
It is also important for students to compose as well as analyze music. In each chapter I try to
create opportunities for students to analyze a piece of music using skills they have acquired, and
compose a piece of music. Sometimes this is just a melody, sometimes it is a bass line, and
sometimes it is a harmonization. By the end of the course, one of the goals is to compose an
original chorale and an original folk song using the musical tools they have acquired. (nonharmonic tones, seventh chords, secondary chords, modulations, motives, sequences, etc.)
Ear-training is also an important skill that is developed Sectionly. Students spend time in the
computer lab training their ears to hear what they see through a computer program call
MacGAMUT 2003 for Mac and Windows. They have Sectionly assignments to keep them on
pace for the exam at the end of the course. As students become familiar with intervals, they are
incorporated into sight-singing melodies starting with simple fragments and working to more
complex excerpts. I teach sight-sing with movable ‘Do’.
Each Section has a similar schedule. At the beginning of the Section we have class discussion
on new material. Students are expected to maintain a music dictionary that they develop from
vocabulary learned each Section. Reading the assigned chapter is expected as well as listening
to musical excerpts on the accompanying CD. Assignments are given for the Section. They are
to be completed and then corrected as many times as needed. I think it is important that
students learn the train of thought that is needed to be successful in music theory. So analyses
can be completed several times until students understand the concepts presented. We try to
finish each Section or each unit with time in the lab to work on ear training or improving basic
skills.
I think it is also important for students to share their creative work with each other. Students
are able to constructively critique and praise the compositions of others. This helps students to
develop their own critical and analytical skills.
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As the class approaches the AP exam the class will work on sample questions. It is important
that they understand how the questions are worded and how to create their own strategies for
answering them.
Student Evaluation
1. Students are graded on Sectionly written assignments
2. Students are given a formal assessment at the end of each six Sections
3. Students are graded on the completion of their ear-training assignments
4. Students are graded on the completion of their drill work
Grades are compiled at the end of each six Sections based on total points.
Tests between
150-300 points
Homework is between 25-100 points
Ear-training
10 points per each level
Drill work I
10-30 points
Teacher Resources
Benward, Bruce, and Saker, Marilyn. Music in Theory and Practice. New York: McGraw-hill,
2009. (Volume I and II)
Benward, Bruce, Carr, Maureen A., and Kolosick, J. Timothy. Introduction to Sightsinging and
Ear Training. Iowa: William C. Brown Communications, Inc. 1992.
http://www.emusictheory.com
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