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THEORY3.php

MUSIC THEORY III: AP DIATONIC HARMONY

 

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

INSTRUCTOR AND FACULTY COORDINATOR:    

Margaret Henry  

Phone: 585-274-1962

Email: mahenry@esm.rochester.edu

Office: Room 214 in Messinger Hall

 

Office Hours:

Tuesday: 3:30-4:30 PM

Friday: 3:00-4:00 PM  or by Appointment

 

Extra Help Sessions:

Wednesday: 4:00-5:00 PM

Friday: 7:00-8:00 PM

Saturday: 1:30-3:00 PM

 

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

 

Brief Overview of Course

Music Theory III is the second course in a sequence of four courses leading to the Advanced Placement Examination in Music Theory.  In Music Theory I and II, students learn the basic elements or building blocks of music – clefs, pitch alteration, rhythm and meter, scales and modes, intervals and triads – through written work, ear training and sight singing.  In Music Theory III, students will learn how these basic elements combine to form musical phrases and sentences.  In so doing, they will begin first, to understand the grammar or syntax that underlies all music of the tonal style and secondly, to see how various composers elaborate this grammar in very different ways.

 

Students should know that this is a demanding course of study for high school students and adults and that the curriculum approximates the course content of freshman music theory at the Eastman School of Music.  It is also the second course in a sequence of four courses leading to the Advanced Placement Examination in Music Theory.

 

Course Goals

  • to help students understand, and interpret in their own performances, the broad range of tonal music that we, as musicians, have come to love

  • to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Test in Music Theory

  • to fulfill all or part of the theory requirements for an ECMS diploma

     

 

Course Activities

  • Written activities (including two-voice counterpoint, figured bass, unfigured bass and melody harmonization in four voices, as well as short compositional projects)

  • Analytical skills (including harmonic analysis and phrase analysis)

                 

     

Course Material

  • Duplicated material for each lesson will be handed out in class.  Students should purchase a three-ring binder to store this material.

  • There will be a small fee of up to $25 per semester for this material, which will be added to the student’s bill.

 

PREREQUISITES

  • Students must have successfully completed Music Theory I (or Introductory Music Theory A and IB) and Music Theory II or be taking Music Theory II concurrently with Music Theory III.
  • Most high school students take Music Theory II and III concurrently in the same year.
  • Generally, younger students take the same two courses in successive years.

 

COURSE SYLLABUS

Main Topics

  • INTRODUCTION TO SPECIES COUNTERPOINT
    • Counterpoint is the writing of a melody against a given melody.
    • Species denotes a specific type of rhythmic motion between the given voice and the added counterpoint.
  • THE BASIC PHRASE MODEL AND CADENCES               
    • Phrase Model is the grammar or syntax of any phrase in the tonal style.
    • Cadence is the succession of chords that punctuate the end of any phrase.
  • EXPANSION OF THE BASIC PHRASE MODEL I:  THE CADENTIAlPREDOMINANT
    • A Predominant Chord is any chord that leads to the cadential dominant.
  • EXPANSION OF THE BASIC PHRASE MODEL:  SEVENTH  CHORDS AND THE CADENTIAL SIX  FOUR
    • The Cadential Six four is a special way of expanding the cadential  dominant.               
  • EXPANSION OF THE BASIC PHRASE MODEL III:  THE DIATONIC HARMONIC SEQUENCE
    • A Harmonic Sequence is the repetition of a melodic and harmonic pattern at a different pitch.
  • EMBELLISHING THE BASIC PHRASE MODEL
    • Embellishing Tones are tones that are not part of the underlying  harmony  but which are  used to ‘embellish’ a particular voice.
  • EXPANSION OF THE BASIC PHRASE MODEL IV:  CONTRAPUNTALEXPANSIONS
    • Contrapuntal Expansions occur when weaker decorative harmonies are used to expand a single harmony, most often the tonic.

 

More Detailed Listing of Topics

 

  • INTRODUCTION TO SPECIES COUNTERPOINT  
    • Melodic Composition: Principles for Writing a Cantus Firmus
    • Two-Voiced Composition I:  First Species (1:1) Counterpoint
    • Two-Voiced Composition II: Second Species (2:1) Counterpoint
    • Two-Voiced Composition III: Third Species (4:1) Counterpoint
    • Two-Voiced Composition IV: Fourth Species Counterpoint (The Suspension)
    • Two-Voiced Composition V: Fifth Species Counterpoint (Free Counterpoint)

 

  • THE BASIC PHRASE MODEL AND CADENCES
    • Building a Vocabulary for the Phrase I: Triads and Inversions in the Major Mode; Introduction to Figured Bass
    • The Basic Phrase Model and Cadences in the Major Mode
    • Building a Vocabulary for the Phrase II: Triads and Inversions in the Minor Mode
    • The Basic Phrase Model and Cadences in the Minor Mode

 

  • EXPANSION OF THE BASIC PHRASE MODEL II:  SEVENTH  CHORDS AND THE CADENTIAL SIX FOUR
    • Building a Vocabulary for the Phrase: Seventh Chords and their Inversions
    • Expansion of the Cadential Dominant: The Accented Cadential Six Four
    • Expansion of the Cadential Predominant: Predominant Seventh Chords

 

  • EXPANSION OF THE BASIC PHRASE MODEL III:  THE DIATONIC HARMONIC SEQUENCE
    • The Diatonic Harmonic Sequence in the Major Mode
    • The Diatonic Harmonic Sequence in the Minor Mode
    • Parallel Six-Three Chords and Sequences with Seventh Chords

 

  • EMBELLISHING THE BASIC PHRASE MODEL: 
    • Unaccented Melodic Tones of Figuration
    • Accented Melodic Tones of Figuration

 

  • EXPANSION OF THE BASIC PHRASE MODEL IV:  CONTRAPUNTAL EXPANSIONS
    • Contrapuntal Expansions I: First Inversion Passing and Neighbor Chords and Introduction to the Three Levels of Analysis
    • Contrapuntal Expansions II: The Inversions of V7
    • Contrapuntal Expansions III: The Unaccented Six-Four Chord
    • Summary of Contrapuntal Expansions I: Introduction to Melody Harmonization        
    • Summary of Contrapuntal Expansions II: The Three Levels of Analysis Revisited
    • Contrapuntal Expansions IV: The Embedded Cadential Motion (ECM) and the Mediant Chord as Part of a Contrapuntal Expansion

                    

 

COURSE POLICIES AND WEIGHTING OF GRADES

Attendance

  • This is a very demanding course and students must attend class regularly in order to keep up with the material and achieve a good grade for the course.                                                          

  • If a student cannot attend a class, he/she should let the teacher know before the  class and attend the other section of the same course that week.

     

Grades

Grades will be given at the end of each semester.  Grades are based on the following four factors:

  1. Attendance

  2. Class Participation

  3. Weekly Assignments

  4. Four Take-home Tests and Four In-class Quizzes

 

MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I know if I should be taking Music Theory III?

  • In general, students should be the age of a high school freshman or older in order that they have the maturity to grapple with the concepts of the course.
  • Students must have successfully completed Music Theory I (or Introductory Music Theory A and B) and Music Theory II or be taking Music Theory II concurrentlywith Music Theory III.
  • It is highly recommended, though not mandatory that non-keyboard majors have passed either the Piano Proficiency Test or the Diploma Piano class before taking Music Theory II.
  • Students must have received the grade of B+ or better in both Music Theory I and Music Theory II.
  • Students should be able to attend class regularly.
  • Students should have time to devote a minimum of two hours a week to assignments.

 

What academic requirements does Music Theory III fulfill?

  • It is the final required theory course for the Diploma in Theory or the Advance Diploma in an Instrument or Voice.
  • It is a required course for the Advanced Diploma in Theory, the Pre-collegiate Diploma in an Instrument or Voice or the Preparatory Diploma in Theory.
  • It is the second of four required courses qualifying a student to take the Advanced Placement Examination in Music Theory.

 

How can I pass out of Music Theory III?

         Students must fulfill one of the following requirements:

    1. receive the top grade of “5” in the AP Examination taken through their high school
    2. successfully pass a Placement Test in Music Theory III.

 

Can I take the AP Examination in Music Theory when I have successfully completed Music Theory II and Music Theory III?

  • No, at the ECMS, preparation for the AP Examination in Music Theory requires a  minimum of two years.  The required courses are Music Theory II, III, IV and V.
  • Most high school students take Music Theory II and Music Theory III back to back in the same year.
  • Generally, we recommend that younger students take the same two courses in successive years.
  • All students must also have successfully completed Music Theory IV and Music Theory V before they are qualified to take the AP Examination in Music Theory.

 

Last updated:  July 21, 2008