AP Music Theory Ms. Friedrichs

Course Overview AP Music Theory is designed for the music student who has an understanding of the fundamentals of music and basic keyboard skills. The student will gain advanced knowledge of music theory, increased sight-singing ability, ear training and composition. The course will provide a solid foundation in interval identification, scale structures, rhythmic patterns, and terminology. This course will serve to prepare the student for the Advanced Placement Music Theory exam and college entrance exams.

AP Music Theory Goals: To develop the student’s ability to recognize, understand, and describe the basic materials and processes of music that are heard or presented in a score. The achievement of this goal may be best promoted by integrated approaches to the student’s development of: Aural skills through listening exercises Sight-singing skills through performance exercises Written skills through written exercises Compositional skills through creative exercises Analytical skills through analytical exercises.

Pitches Intervals Scales and keys Chords Meter Rhythm The course will first seek to instill mastery of the rudiments and terminology of music, including hearing and notating: Pitches Intervals Scales and keys Chords Meter Rhythm

Melodic and harmonic dictation Building on this foundation, the course should progress to include more sophisticated and creative tasks, such as: Melodic and harmonic dictation Composition of a bass line for a given melody, implying appropriate harmony Realization of a figured bass Realization of a Roman numeral progression Analysis of repertoire, including melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, and form Sight-singing

Fundamentals of Music Notation Scales, Tonality, Key Modes ex. F# Harmonic Minor Scale Modes ex. Phrygian, Mixolydian, Ionian

Intervals Chords Major Minor Augmented Half-diminished P1 M2 M3 P4 P5 M6 M7 P8 Chords Major Minor Augmented Half-diminished Fully-diminished 7th and extended chords

The Structural Elements of Music Cadences and Non harmonic Tones Melodic Organization Texture and Textural Reduction Species Counterpoint Voice leading in Four-Part Chorale Writing Harmonic Progression and Harmonic Rhythm Modulation Form

Figured Bass Same figured bass Figured bass as it harmonized in four-part harmony: Figured bass as it appears originally: 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 4

Roman Numeral Analysis Crüger: “Herr, ich habe missgehandelt” (“Lord, I have transgressed”), mm. 1-9. i V i6 V i iv V7 i

Summary AP Music Theory is an interactive class in which students can apply their knowledge to different styles of music, whether choral, instrumental, 14th century through present day, classical, popular or jazz.