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MUSIC THEORY V: AP ADVANCED 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

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

 

Brief Overview of Course

Music Theory V is the final course in a sequence of four courses leading to the Advanced Placement Examination in Music Theory. In Music Theory III, following an in depth study of species counterpoint, students learned how the basic elements of music combined to form musical phrases and sentences.  In so doing, they gained insight into the grammar or syntax that underlies all music of the tonal style and learned how various composers elaborate this grammar in very different ways.   In Music Theory V, students will acquire knowledge of the more advanced tonal resources of the common practice period, including applied dominants and modulation leading to a study of form, including period structure, binary, ternary, rondo and sonata forms in preparation for the Advance Placement Examination in Music Theory, which students will take in May of that year.

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.

 

Course Goals

  • To help students understand the formal designs of the music they are performing
  •   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 figured bass, unfigured bass and melody harmonization in four voices, as well as short compositional projects  modeled after the forms studied)
  • Analytical skills (including harmonic analysis and analysis of form)

     

Course Material

  •  Duplicated material for each lesson will be handed out in class.  Students should purchase a three-ring binder to store this material in.
  • There will be a small fee of $20.00 per semester for this material, which will be added to the student’s bill.

 

PREREQUISITES

  • Students must have successfully completed Music Theory II and Music Theory III.
  • Most high school students take Music Theory IV and V concurrently in the same year in order to be able to take the Advanced Placement in Music Theory in May of that year.
  • It is possible to take Music Theory V by itself, but NOT Music Theory IV, because the aural skills in Music Theory IV depend on a knowledge of the written skills studied in Music Theory IV.
 

COURSE SYLLABUS

Main Topics

EMBELLISHING TONICIZATIONS (APPLIED DOMINANTS AND DIMINISHED SEVENTH CHORDS) 

  • Tonicization is a process by which some scale degree other than 1 temporarily acts as a tonic.
  • Applied Dominant is the term given to the dominant of a tonicized scale degree.

 

MODULATION TO RELATED KEYS (PIVOT CHORD MODULATION)

  • Related  Keys are those in which the new key is no more than  one sharp or flat removed from the  home key
  • Pivot Chord  is one which, belonging to both keys, allows for a smooth transition  between the two keys.

 

THE PHRASE AND SENTENCE

 

THE TWO-PHRASE PERIOD

 

THE DOUBLE PERIOD AND THE REPEATED PERIOD; THE ASYMMETRICAL PERIOD AND THE PHRASE GROUP

 

BINARY FORM

 

TERNARY FORM

 

RONDO FORM

 

SONATA FORM

 

PRACTICE FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAM

 

More Detailed Listing of Topics

         EMBELLISHING TONICIZATIONS

 
  • Applied Dominants I: Figured and Unfigured Bass
  • Applied Dominants II: melody Harmonization and Analysis
  • The Diminished Seventh Chord: Dominant Function
  • Applied Diminished Seventh Chords
  • Extended Tonicizations   

 

MODULATION TO RELATED KEYS

  • Pivot Chord Modulation: Figured and Unfigured Bass
  • Pivot Chord Modulation: Melody Harmonization and Analysis

 

THE PHRASE AND SENTENCE  

                

  • The Open and Closed Phrase: Review of Cadences
  • Motivic Construction of the Phrase       
  • The Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Phrase
  • The Continuous and Divisible Phrase: The Sentence

 

THE TWO-PHRASE PERIOD

  • Melodic and Harmonic Design of the Period
  • The Formal Diagram of the Period: Guidelines for Analysis
  • Composing Periods

 

THE DOUBLE PERIOD AND THE REPEATED PERIOD; THE ASYMMETRICAL PERIOD AND THE PHRASE GROUP

  • Distinction between the Double Period and the Repeated Period
  • Distinction between the Asymmetrical Period and the Phrase Group: Extension of the Phrase
  • Composing Double Periods

 

 

BINARY OR TWO-REPRISE FORM  

 

  • Sectional and Continuous Binary Form
  • Two-Reprise Form in the Baroque Era: Simple Binary Form and Balanced Binary Form
  • Two-Reprise Form in the Classical Era: Rounded Binary Form as a Precursor to Sonata Form
  • The Formal Diagram:  Guidelines for Analysis
  • Composing Short Pieces in Binary Form

 

TERNARY FORM

  • Sectional, Full Sectional and Continuous Ternary Form
  • The Formal Diagram: Guidelines for Analysis
  • Transitions and Retransitions
  • Composite Ternary Form: Da Capo Form
  • Compound Ternary Form: Minuet-Trio Form          
  • Composing Short Pieces in Ternary Form

 

RONDO FORM

  • The Five-Part Rondo
  • The Seven-Part Rondo:  Distinction between the Seven-Part Rondo and Ternary Form
  • Transitions, Retransitions and Codas

 

 SONATA FORM

  • Derivation from Rounded Binary Form
  • Formal Elements of Sonata Form
  • Additional Elements of Sonata Form: The Slow Introduction and the False Recapitulation
  • Analytical Model: Mozart, Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333, Allegro

 

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 obtain the appropriate course material.

 

Assignments

  • After each class there will be an assignment, which will be due at the beginning of the following class. 
  • If a student does not know how to tackle an assignment, he/she should contact the teacher and get help before the following class.
  • Assignments that are more than four weeks late will NOT be graded.

 

Grades

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

 

Attendance

  • Class Participation
  • Weekly Assignments
  • Four Take-home Tests and Four In-class Quizzes

 

MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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

  • In general, students should be the age of a high school sophomore or older in order that they have the maturity to grapple with the concepts of the course. 
  • Students must have successfully completed Music Theory II and Music Theory III with the grade of B+ or better in both courses.
  • In order to be qualified to take the Advanced Placement Examination in Music Theory in May of the same year, students must be taking Music Theory IV and V concurrently.         
  • 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 V.
  • Students should be able to attend class regularly.
  • Students should have time to devote a minimum of three hours a week to assignments.

      

What academic requirements does Music Theory V fulfill?

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

 

How can I pass out of Music Theory V?

Students must successfully pass a Placement Test in Music Theory V.  Please Note that we do NOT give credit for Music Theory V even if a student has achieved the top grade of “5” on the AP Theory Exam because the course  covers much more material than is required for this exam.

 

Can I take the AP Examination in Music Theory when I have successfully completed Music Theory IV and Music Theory V?

Yes, all students who have successfully completed Music Theory IV and Music 

Theory V are qualified to take the AP Examination in Music Theory.

 

Can I take Music Theory V if I do not take Music Theory IV? 

  • Yes, some students wish to study the advanced written skills offered in Music Theory V and either chose not to, or do not have time to, take Music Theory IV.
  • However, it is important to keep in mind that, in order to be qualified to take the AP Examination in Music Theory, students must have successfully completed both Music Theory IV and V.

 

Do I have to take the AP Examination in Music Theory If I take Music Theory V?

No, while most students do take the AP Theory Exam at the conclusion of Music Theory V, a few students take Music Theory V in partial fulfillment of their diploma requirements and choose not to take the exam.

Last updated:  January 5, 2009