duPont Manual High – \*Advanced Placement Music Theory

Mar 2026 · 2nd Semester

This course is designed to meet the needs of students considering music for serious study after high school and includes instruction in four related areas: (1) written harmony (2) keyboard harmony (3) ear training (4) sight singing. This course concentrates on the learning techniques of the classic European composers of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.  The class includes a comprehensive survey of the harmonic materials used in these historical periods. Also, practical application of these materials takes the form of daily homework assignments solving traditional figured bass four part writing exercises, basic arranging and analysis techniques. Additional exercises in ear training concentrate on the areas of melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic dictations and analysis. Sight singing exercises correlate with the written and ear training material extending into the use of both major and minor key centers and elementary chromaticism. Near the end of the second semester, students will produce an original composition in the 18th century style using the techniques learned from the class. They will compose, arrange, and record their composition as a culminating project. <br>Note: College level curriculum taught in a high school setting.