Advanced Placement Music Theory:
Description of a Course to be Given at
The Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts
Pittsburgh Public Schools
Prepared by:
Gilbert DeBenedetti,
Music Theory Teacher,
Pittsburgh High School for the
Creative and Performing Arts
925 Brushton Avenue / Pittsburgh, PA 15208
247-7860 or 247-7868
Purpose
This page describes a proposed Advanced Placement Music Theory course to be given at the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) beginning in the fall of 1997. One purpose of this course is to give students at CAPA a year of college credit in Music Theory. Once a year in May, the College Board administers standardized tests nationwide so that colleges can determine whether a student should receive college credit in various subjects. Many high schools have courses designed to prepare students for these tests. As such, the Advanced Placement Music Theory course at CAPA will save our students' families tuition money, it will improve our students' chances of being accepted at colleges of their choice, and it will give our students a head start in their studies as music majors in college, possibly helping them to graduate early. Furthermore, as our students get advanced standing in college, the reputation of CAPA and that of the Pittsburgh Public Schools will be enhanced.
From an educational perspective, the purpose of the AP Music Theory course is to help our students to perform better musically by giving them an appreciation for how music is composed. Music theory can be described as the study of the structure behind the music. It is important for performers to know about this implicit organization in music because it helps them to study what they are to play. Music theory explains musical concepts on an intellectual level, a level which facilitates communication and understanding of ideas which are otherwise left to the ambiguities of feelings. The study and understanding of music, in turn, result in intelligent and sensitive performances from our young musicians.
Perhaps most importantly, music theory should also be studied for its intrinsic value. There can be a fascination for understanding how music can move us so deeply. To quote Peter Warsaw, a teacher writing in the Teacher's Guide to the Advanced Placement Course in Music Theory, "Early and often I share with my students my own lifelong quest: my passion to explain why music slays me. What is it doing, and how does it do it? Why do I feel such powerful reactions to it? These are the questions that music theory can begin to explain."
Text
In preparing this course description I have consulted syllabuses of AP Music Theory courses given around the country which are included in the teacher's guide quoted above. (For those who are interested, the College Board has a web site with more information about AP music theory.) All five syllabuses in this guide which describe courses given as a class (that is, excluding those for independent study) indicate that each student has his or her own copy of a textbook. One text which is highly recommended is Benward and White's Music in Theory and Practice, Volume 1, and this is the text I have decided to adopt. A book order for this text was submitted to the main office at CAPA on January 31, 1997.
Music theory is an important aspect of all musical styles, and the text that I have chosen for this course, although emphasizing European art music, also includes music from all over the world. In particular, the book discusses some aspects of jazz and blues theory (for instance, the blues scale in Chapter 2, lead or fake sheets in Chapter 4, the 12 bar blues progression in Chapter 10, and tritone substitution in Chapter 15). The AP course at CAPA will augment this material by including still more elements of African American music. These elements include jazz instrumentation in various style periods and the notation of jazz chords. This material is beyond that required for the AP test, and its inclusion is a reflection of CAPA's nature as a Pittsburgh magnet school, a school whose population is approximately half African American.
Scheduling
The amount of material to be covered in AP Music Theory dictates that classes meet consistently. All five syllabuses mentioned above indicate that classes for those courses meet five days a week. These AP theory classes also include what we have been teaching in our Solfege classes as well as what we have been traditionally calling, "music theory." Accordingly Mr. Garrick, the music department coordinator, and Mr. Neely, the head of the voice department, have agreed to schedule AP Music Theory, with its Solfege component, five days a week at CAPA as well. Students will sign up for this course before the end of the previous school year so that classes can start on the first day of school in the fall. The policy with respect to conflicting performances, private lessons and ensemble rehearsals is as follows:
- It is understood that some classes will be missed due to performances and special rehearsals for these performances. It is only asked that the ensemble directors keep these rehearsals to a minimum, and that they give the music theory instructor reasonable notice for classes which will be missed.
- Students will be permitted to regularly miss class once a week to go to a private lesson on their major instrument (or voice). This situation will be allowed only if it is impossible to reschedule the lesson at a time which does not conflict with AP theory. The student will be responsible for obtaining material missed during that class, and, if needed, for making up tests. No special consideration will be given to a student in this situation in terms of grading.
- Students will not be permitted to regularly miss class due to an ensemble which is scheduled to conflict with AP theory.
The amount of material to be covered also dictates that homework will be given frequently, almost every day. Homework assignments will usually be taken from the text, and students will be able to work ahead if they choose.
More About Content
A large component of the AP examination is aural. Students will be taking melodic and harmonic dictation, they will be identifying characteristics of recorded music, and they will be required to sight sing. The sight singing portion of the examination is worth 10 percent of the total grade. Therefore, with the order for Benward and White's text, I submitted an order for Ottman's Music for Sight Singing which was also recommended in the teacher's guide. Students will have aural exercises every day, and they will be required to sing in class.
Included in this course description is a curriculum chart and a list of terms (not yet on-line). The chart is loosely based on the number of weeks needed to learn the material in each chapter of the text. The columns show, for each week, the chapter to be covered in the text, music theory topics, theory objectives, aural objectives, theory drills, suggested activities, materials and assessment. Some of these categories require some explanation:
- Chapter in Text: A few items in this column refer to supplementary material which is not actually found in the text. For example: Musical Terms, Instruments and Voices (week 4), and Miscellaneous Forms (week 28).
- Theory Topics: Jazz and Blues items which are beyond the scope of the AP test are starred.
- Aural objectives: "Ch" followed by a number refers to a chapter in Ottman's sight singing book. "SS, Dict" is an abbreviation for "sight sing and take dictation."
- Theory drills: Each class, for most of the year, will begin with drills to develop speed, accuracy and familiarity with basic concepts. Occasionally chord construction "races" will be held among several students at the blackboard.
- Suggested Activities: Sight singing is not listed since it will be done every day. Dictation will be done almost every day.
- Materials: A CD and cassette tape player will be needed. This equipment is not listed for particular weeks because it will be used throughout the year.
- Assessment: Chapter tests will be modeled after those in the teacher's manual.
Not shown in the curriculum chart is the study of music which the students themselves play in various CAPA ensembles. Ensemble directors will be contacted and scores will be obtained for the students to analyze. The scheduling of these analyses depends on what pieces are played and when they are played, and so they could not be listed in the chart.
The list of terms which follows the curriculum chart includes terms taken from the AP teacher's guide, terms given at the beginning of each chapter of the text, and terms from supplementary material, including jazz terms, which the author feels are important. In this list, the "In Chapter" column refers to which chapter the term will be presented with. The number 3.5 refers to a unit presented between Chapters 3 and 4; 17.5 refers to a unit after the end of the text (Chapter 17) and before the AP test; and 18 refers to a unit after the AP test and before the end of school.
Conclusion
It is hoped that an Advanced Placement Music Theory course will help our students at CAPA become knowledgeable musicians, confident in their ability to make intelligent decisions about their performances and confident in their ability to communicate their thoughts clearly. As educators, our primary goals are intangible--instilling knowledge, confidence, curiosity, analytical ability, and the ability to find creative solutions, to name a few. Beyond these abstract ideas, any benefits in college credit, in the saving of tuition money, and in CAPA's reputation, are bonuses which we will also gladly accept.
Citations
Benward, Bruce and Gary White. Music in Theory and Practice, Volume 1, 6th ed. Madison, WI: Brown and Benchmark, 1997. Return to text.
Ottman, Robert. Music for Sight Singing. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1986. Return to text.
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