AP Music Theory Syllabus
Cheryl Blockland
Calvert High School
Course Overview
The AP Music theory course expands upon the skills learned in Music Theory
Fundamentals and is designed for students with a desire to continue the study of music
beyond secondary school.
Course Objectives
This course is designed to develop musical skills that will lead to a thorough
understanding of music theory and composition. Students are prepared to take the AP
Music Theory Exam when they have completed the course.
General Course Content
1. Review of music fundamentals, including: scales, key signatures,
circle-of-fifths, intervals, triads, and inversions
2. Daily ear training, including rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic
dictation
3. Weekly Sight-Singing using Curwen/Kodaly hand signs and solfege syllables
4. The study of modes
5. The study of figured bass
6. The study of two-part counterpoint
7. The study of four-part harmony
8. The study of seventh chords
9. The study of secondary-dominant functions
10. The study of musical form
11. The study of common compositional techniques
12. An overview of Music History as it relates to developments in Music Theory
Expanded Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course students will be able to:
 Notate pitch and rhythm
 Identify and notate all major and minor key signatures
 Identify, notate, and aurally recognize simple and compound meters
 Read and notate melodies in the treble, bass, alto and tenor clefs
 Notate, sing, and play all major, minor scales and chromatic scales
 Name and aurally recognize individual scale degrees
 Notate and aurally discriminate among the following modes: Ionian;
Dorian; Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian
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Notate and aurally identify the following scales: whole tone; pentatonic;
and octatonic
Notate, hear, and identify all melodic and harmonic intervals within an
octave span
Notate, hear, and identify traids and seventh chords in all inversions
Notate, hear, and identify augmented sixth chords and other non-diatonic
chords
Notate, hear, and identify authentic, plagal, half, and deceptive
cadences in major and minor keys
Transpose for all wind instruments
Detect pitch and rhythm errors in aural musical examples
Notate from dictation simple melodies in major keys, minor keys, and
commonly heard modes
Notate from aural dictation the soprano and bass line of a harmonic
progression
Realize a figured bass
Analyze a four-part chorale style piece using Roman and Arabic numerals
to represent chords and their inversions
Notate, hear, and identify the following non-harmonic tones: passing tone
(accented and unaccented), neighboring tone,
anticipation, suspension, retardation, appoggiatura, escape tone,
changing tone (cambiata), pedal tone
Recognize, define, and utilize expressive markings
Compose a brief melody within guidelines
Identify aurally and/or visually the following: modulation; transposition;
melodic and harmonic rhythm; sequence; imitation; ostinato;
augmentation; diminution; inversion; retrograde; fragmentation
Sight-sing a melody, 4 to 8 bars long, major or minor key, duple or triple
meter, simple or compound time, using solfege, numbers, or any
comfortable vocal syllable(s)
Primary Texts
One of the biggest challenges of an AP Music Theory Teacher is to select a text
that includes all of the skills outlined by the AP Music Theory curriculum. The
Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis written by Jane Piper Clendinning, Elizabeth
West Marvin and Joel Phillips provides the prescribed materials presented in a spiral
manner. The series is comprised of: a textbook, an anthology with corresponding CDs, a
student workbook, and an aural skills text that includes dictation and sight-singing
practice.
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Textbooks
Clendinning, Jane Piper and Elizabeth West Marvin. The Musician’s Guide to Theory
and Analysis. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York: 2005.
Clendinning, Jane Piper and Elizabeth West Marvin. The Musician’s Guide Workbook.
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York: 2005.
Clendinning, Jane Piper and Elizabeth West Marvin. The Musician’s Guide Anthology.
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York: 2005.
Phillips, Joel, Jane Piper Clendinning, and Elizabeth West Marvin. The Musician’s Guide
to Aural Skills: Volume 1. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York: 2005.
Additional Resources
Burkhart, Charles. Anthology for Musical Analysis, 6th ed. New York: Schirmer, 2003.
Kostka, Stefan, and Dorothy Payne. Tonal Harmony. McGraw Hill, New York: 2004.
Ottman, Robert W. Music for Sightsinging 6th ed. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River,
NJ: 2001.
Spencer, Peter. The Practice of Harmony. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ: 2000.
Technology Resources
MacGAMUT 2003 for Mac and Windows). Columbus, Ohio: MacGAMUT Music
Software. www.macgamut.com
Ricci Adams’ Music Theory Web site: www.musictheory.net
Free download of Finale NotePad software at: www.finalemusic.com
Student Expectations
1. Students will participate in all classroom activities and discussions.
2. Students will complete all assigned readings and exercises.
3. Students will keep and maintain a Music Theory notebook,
that includes class notes, handouts, assignments, and
dictation.
4. Students will study the released AP Exams and take practice
tests to prepare for the exam.
5. Students will listen to and provide written analysis/evaluations of each listening
selection. These written assignments should include the following:
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melodic characteristics (conjunct/disjunct)
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harmonic characteristics (harmonic idioms present)
rhythm (straight/syncopated)
texture (homophonic, monophonic, polyphonic,
heterophonic)
timbre (instrumentation, tone color)
dynamics (dynamic contrasts)
tempo (tempo changes)
meter (duple/triple, simple/compound, regular/irregular)
mode (major, minor, modal, atonal)
form (binary, ternary, sonata, rondo, etc.)
articulation (legato, staccato, etc.)
7. Students will complete assigned compositions each nine weeks, based on assigned
form and content. The student will demonstrate an understanding and synthesis of the
concepts presented in class. These compositions include:
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A song in binary form
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A song in ternary form
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A song in sonata form
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A song based on a major mode
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A song based on a minor mode
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A song using two-part counterpoint
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A four-part choral-style harmonization
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A song that modulates through the use of a pivot chord
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A song based on the whole-tone scale
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A song based on the chromatic scale
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A song based on a tone row or serialism
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A song based on a church mode
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An orchestration or arrangement with correct notation, range, and
transposition for the various instruments is the final composition project for
the year.
Timeline for Class
Note: Chapter references are to the Clenndening and Marvin textbook unless otherwise
noted.
First Nine Weeks
Week 1 – Chapter 1
Review of basic pitch notation: Pitch and pitch class, the staff and its evolution, clefs,
ledger lines, the grand staff, octave designation, half steps and whole steps,
intervals, enharmonic equivalents and accidentals.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level One—Introduction to solfege, major and minor
keys and simple rhythms.
Harmonic Dictation: bass voice
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Week 2 – Chapter 2 & 5
Review of meter and rhythm: Beat and tempo, accent, meter and measure, meter
signatures and their corresponding conducting patterns, simple meters, compound meters,
asymmetric meter, conflict of rhythm and meter, beat divisions, syncopation, cross
rhythms, hemiola, dots, ties, rests, dynamic and articulation markings.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level One— Continued use of solfege major and minor
keys and simple rhythms, add conjunct melodies using do-sol
Harmonic Dictation: bass voice
Week 3 – Chapter 3
Review of major scales/circle-of-fifths/key signatures: the chromatic
scale, the pentatonic scale, the major scale, transposition, tonality,
key signatures, the placements of sharps and flats, the outer circleof-fifths and the whole-step/half step relationship.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Two— Continued use of solfege major and
minor keys and simple rhythms, conjunct melodies using do-la, add and stress ti-do
movement.
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices
Week 4 – Chapter 4
Review of minor scales/circle-of-fifths/key signatures: the inner circle-of-fifths,
relative major and minor scales, the natural minor scale, the
harmonic minor scale, the melodic minor scale, the parallel minor keys.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Two— Continued use of solfege major and
minor keys and simple rhythms, conjunct melodies using do-la, add and stress ti-do
movement.
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices
Week 5 – Chapter 6
Review of intervals: generic intervals, quality of intervals
(major, minor, diminished, augmented), the intervals of the major scale,
alteration of interval quality, enharmonic intervals, inversions of intervals,
simple versus compound intervals, diatonic vs. chromatic intervals.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Three—major key, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi and sol
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices
Week 6 – Chapter 7
Triads and seventh chords: building and identifying triads (major
triads, minor triads, diminished triads, augmented triads), building and
identifying seventh chords (major seventh chords, minor seventh chords,
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diminished seventh chords, augmented seventh chords).
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level 3— major key, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi and sol
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices
Week 7 – Chapter 7
Chord inversions: identifying and building triadic inversions (root
position, first inversion, second inversion), identifying and building
inversions of the seventh chord (root position, first inversion, second
inversion, third inversion).
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Four— major key, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi and sol, add skips from do-sol.
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices
Week 8 – Chapter 7
Realization of a figured bass. Chord symbols and figured bass: using traditional
eighteenth-century nomenclature to identify and analyze chords.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Four— major key, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi and sol, add skips from do-sol.
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices
Week 9 – Chapter 7
Diatonic triad functions in major and minor keys: diatonic primary
and secondary chords in a major key, diatonic and chromatically
altered primary and secondary chords in a minor key (based on
form of scale).
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Four— major key, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi and sol, add skips from do-sol.
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices
Cumulative Assessment on Part I of Text.
Second Nine Weeks
Week 1 – Chapter 7, Koska and Payne; Supplement with Chapter 8-11,
Clendenning and Martin
Functional tonal principles: tonality, chordal hierarchy, progression vs.
regression, harmonic motion, harmonic rhythm, variants in a minor key,
idiomatic chord substitutions (vii/V, IV/ii), and 2 and 3 part counterpoint.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Five— major and minor keys, diatonic
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pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices and authentic cadence
Week 2 - Chapter 10, Koska and Payne; Supplement Chapter 8-11, Clendenning
and Martin
Cadences: perfect authentic cadence, imperfect authentic cadence, plagal cadence, half
cadence, deceptive cadence.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Five— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la
(le)
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, authentic cadence and plagal cadence
Week 3 - Chapter 11 & 12, Koska and Payne; Supplement Chapter 8-11,
Clendenning and Martin
Embellishing/non-harmonic tones: passing tone, neighboring tone,
changing tone, anticipation, suspension, retardation, simultaneous
embellishing tones, pedal point; use of non-harmonic tones in harmonic
analysis.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Five— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la
(le)
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, authentic cadence and plagal cadence, add deceptive
cadence
Week 4 - Chapter 11
Melodic principles in four-part writing/voicing chords: characteristics
of the individual line’s range, tessitura, spacing, movement, doubling
and resolution of tendency tones.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Six— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, skips to la (le),
add skips to fa (fe)
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices and primary triads (major and minor)
Week 5 – Chapter 12
Principles in chord connection: contrary motion, oblique motion, similar
motion, and parallel motion.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Six— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la
(le)
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices and primary triads, I, IV, V (major and minor)
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Week 6 – Chapter 13
Connecting root position triads: triads in a fifths relationship, triads in a
thirds relationship, triads in a seconds relationship
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Six— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la
(le)
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Week 7 – Chapter 14
Voicing triads in first inversion: frequency, spacing, doubling of first
inversion chords, connecting root position and first inversion triads.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Seven— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips using do, mi (me) and sol, skips from do-sol, add skips to la
(le)
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Week 8 – Chapter 14
Part writing using nonchord tones: voicing suspensions and retardations,
stylistic use of nonchord tones
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Seven— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Week 9
Review for Exam
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Seven— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Mid Term Exam
Third Nine Weeks
Week 1 – Chapter 15
Triads in the second inversion: the cadential six-four chord, the passing
six-four chord, the pedal six-four chord, the arpeggiated six-four chord
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Eight— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches
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Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Week 2 – Chapter 16 & 17
Connecting triads in all inversions, continuation of cadences, phrases and melodies.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Eight— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Week 3 – Chapter 18
Root progressions in SATB harmonization, part writing with chordal inversions, writing
with non-chord tones
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Eight— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Week 4 – Chapter 19
The dominant seventh chord: part writing with the V7 chord, part writing
with inversions of the V7 chord, proper resolutions of tendency tones in
the V7 chord
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Nine— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Week 5 – Chapter 19
The leading-tone seventh chord: part writing with the vii o7 chord, part
writing with inversions of the vii o7 chord, proper resolution of tendency
tones in the vii o7 chord
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Nine— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Week 6 – Chapter 19
Harmonizing with using seventh chords: common diatonic seventh
chords in major keys, common diatonic seventh chords in a minor key
(based on the cale), voice leading with non-dominant seventh chords,
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predominant seventh chords, sequences using seventh chords, chains of suspensions
using seventh chords.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Nine— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Week 7 – Chapter 19 & 21; Supplemental Material Chapter 16 Koska and Payne
Secondary dominant chords: the V/V, V/iii, V/ii, V/vi chords and the V7/V, V7/iii, V7/ii,
V7/vi chords.
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Ten— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree add altered pitches
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Week 8 – Chapter 19 & 21; Chapter 17 Koska and Payne
Secondary leading tone chords: the viio/V, viio/iii, viio/ii, viio/vi chords and
the viio7/V, viio7/iii, viio7/ii, viio7/vi chords and modulation to any key
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Ten— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree, altered pitches add compound meter
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, all triads, seventh chords, secondary
dominants
Week 9 - Selections from an Anthology
Identifying secondary dominants in analysis of music, part writing with
secondary dominants, voice leading with secondary dominants
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Eleven— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree, altered pitches add compound meter
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
Fourth Nine Weeks
Week 1 – Chapter 23
More harmonization and analysis with use of secondary dominant
Chords. Modulation to closely related keys, Binary and Ternary Forms, Rondo, Sonata
Form
Melodic Dictation/Sight-Singing: Level Eleven— major and minor keys, diatonic
pitches, melodies with skips to any scale degree, altered pitches add compound meter
Harmonic Dictation: outer voices, primary I, IV, V (II, VII) and secondary triads III, VI
(major and minor)
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Weeks 2–6
Review for AP Music Theory Exam
Take practice free-response questions
Week 7
Work on final composition project
Week 8
Work on final project
Week 9
Presentation of final projects
Written Final Exam
This course stresses the importance of using appropriate musical terminology in
regular conversation throughout the duration of the course. Knowledge of the” language”
of music is essential for success on the AP Exam. Students are informed from the
beginning of the course that it is of the greatest importance to speak using proper musical
terminology. Of equal importance is the understanding of standard music theory
protocol.
The students demonstrate their understanding of the concepts taught in class
through composition assignments that include specific guidelines and expectations.
Student Evaluation
Classwork
Homework
Sight-Singing Quizzes
Dictation Quizzes
Listening Quizzes
Unit tests
MacGamut
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