Music Theory I

Instructor: Isa Dunaway

(840) 327-3109
isadunaway@trinityes.org

This course explores, from a novice to intermediate level, the fundamentals of musical notation, the construction/recognition of melodic, rhythmic and harmonic components and the use of musical terms and nomenclature. The musical keyboard will be studied as the means of expression for these topics.

The course will enable the students to:

• understand the organization of the treble and bass clefs,
• recognize and write the location of pitches within each clef,
• recognize and write ledger line pitches,
• interpret written time signatures
• identify time signatures when listening to simple musical scores
• read and play rhythmic duration of quarter, half and whole notes/rests
• identify and write the rhytmic duration of quarter, half and whole notes/rests in music dictation
• recognize and construct half-step and whole-step intervals,
• recognize and construct additional intervals up to the octave,
• recognize ledger line pitches up to two lines above and below each clef
• interpret the musical terms and symbols describing dynamics, articulation and tempi. Examples include forte, piano, fortissimo, mezzo piano, crescendo and decrescendo marks, da capo al fine, del segna, andante, presto, etc.
• construct and recognize major and minor key signatures
• construct and recognize major, perfect, minor, augmented and diminished intervals,
• construct and recognize major and minor scales;
• construct major, minor, augmented and diminished chords
• understand the organization of the musical keyboard
• play simple tunes on the keyboard, reading music in the treble and bass clefs

Music Theory II

Prerequisite:    Music Theory 1 or passing grade of the Music Theory 2 entrance test.


This course builds on the topics learned in Music Theory 1. The class explores, from intermediate to advanced level, the fundamentals of musical components. It is designed to equip students for IB music. At the end of the semester, in addition to the topics learned in Music Theory 1, the students will also be able to:

• Read and play rhythmic duration of dotted quarter notes, thirty-second notes, triplets, ties and rests.
• Identify and write rhythms with whole, half, quarter and eighth notes, rests and dotted notes in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 time.
• Recognize all Intervals from minor seconds to major sevenths.
• Recognize major, minor, augmented and diminished chords and chord progressions in I, IV, V, V7, in all major and minor keys.
• Take melodic dictation in 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8 time including intervals of 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths and octaves.
• Identify and write time signatures of written rhythms and simple melodies in 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 meters.
• Construct chromatic and wholetone scales with up to two sharps or flats.
• Recognize a variety of instruments.
• Understand the relation of Lydian, Dominant, Dorian, Aeolian, Phrygian and Lochrian scales to the parent major or minor scale.
• Read and play simple to intermediate tunes on the keyboard.Materials: The Piano Lesson Book you will need will be determined after your keyboard skills have been assessed. In addition to the musical keyboard, the software Practica Musica will be used to study and further reinforce these topics. This software is available for use in the music lab

Evaluation: Students are evaluated on a total point basis.