Carlsbad High School Bands

3557 Monroe Street- Carlsbad, CA 92008 (760)-331-5765 pmanzi@carlsbadusd.net

www.carlsbadlancerbands.com

2015-2016 Syllabus AP Music Theory

Contact Information:
Peter Manzi
(760) 331-5765 Office
pmanzi@carlsbadusd.net
Mr Manzis Daily Schedule- I am here 2nd & 3rd Block of the day as well as after school. The way to reach me
is by e-mail. I am not here before school start; Mrs. Allen will let students into the room before school
Course Description:
This course is intended for advanced students with extensive Choral or Instrumental performance experience
who wish to continue on in music at the college level, and thus wish to take and pass the Advanced Placement
Examination for Music Theory.
Course Objectives:
First, the arts teach children to exercise that most exquisite of capacities, the ability to make judgments in the
absence of rules. - Elliot W. Eisner
Although it may seem like we are studying classical music harmony, the content of the AP music theory
examination contains relevant, current principles applicable to popular and contemporary musical styles.
The ultimate goal of the AP Music Theory course is to develop a students ability to recognize, understand,
and describe the basic materials and processes of music that are heard or presented in a score. The achievement
of this goal may be best promoted by integrated approaches to the students development of:
Aural Skills through listening exercises
Sight-singing skills through performance exercises
Written skills through written exercises
Compositional skills- through creative exercises
Analytical skills- through analytical exercises
The types of problems you will face will also force you to use critical thinking to make the correct musical
call given a fairly extensive set of rules. Even including these rules, you as an individual will need to exercise
judgment to make the correct call.
Schedule:

The Big Day Monday May 9, 2016.

Carlsbad High School Bands

3557 Monroe Street- Carlsbad, CA 92008 (760)-331-5765 pmanzi@carlsbadusd.net
www.carlsbadlancerbands.com
Course Outcomes
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
a. Notate pitch and rhythm in accordance with standard notation practices
b. Read melodies in treble, bass, and movable C clefs
c. Write, sing, and play major scales and all three forms of minor scales
d. Recognize by ear and by sight all intervals within an octave
e. Use the basic rules that govern music composition
f. Harmonize a melody with appropriate chords using good voice leading
g. Analyze the chords of a musical composition by number and letter name
h. Transpose a composition from one key to another
i. Express musical ideas by composing and arranging
j. Understand and recognize basic musical forms
k. Write simple rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic dictation
WHY Do we study all of these rules and practices from 1700? Because in order to better perform music
and better understand contemporary music, we need to be able to perform the following tasks

The objectives below have been adapted from the Expanded Course Specifications posted on the AP
Music Theory Home Page on AP Central.
Expanded Course Objectives:
1.
Identify and notate pitch in four clefs: treble, bass, alto, and tenor.
2.
Notate, hear, and identify simple and compound meters.
3.
Notate and identify all major and minor key signatures.
4.
Notate, hear, and identify the following scales: chromatic, major, and the three minor forms.
5.
Name and recognize scale degree terms, for example: tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant,
dominant, submediant, subtonic, leading tone.
6.
Notate, hear, and transpose the following modes: Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, and Mixolydian.
7.
Notate, hear, and identify whole-tone and pentatonic scales.
8.
Notate, hear, and identify all major, minor, diminished, and augmented intervals inclusive of an octave.
9.
Transpose a melodic line to or from concert pitch for any common band or orchestral instrument. 10.
Notate, hear, and identify triads, including inversions.
11. Notate, hear, and identify authentic, plagal, half, and deceptive cadences in major and minor keys. 12.
Detect pitch and rhythm errors in written music from given aural excerpts.
13. Notate a melody from dictation, 6 to 12 bars, in a major key, mostly diatonic pitches, simple or compound
time, three to four repetitions.
14. Notate melody from dictation, 6 to 12 bars, in a minor key, chromatic alteration from harmonic/ melodic
scales, simple or compound time, three to four repetitions.
15. Sight-sing a melody, 4 to 8 bars long, major or minor key, duple or triple meter, simple or compound
time, using solfge, numbers, or any comfortable vocal syllable(s).
16. Notate and analyze simple 2-bar counterpoint in sixteenth- and/or eighteenth-century styles.
17. Realize a figured bass according to the rules of eighteenth-century chorale style, major or
minor key, using any or all of the following devices: diatonic triads, seventh chords, inversions,
nonharmonic tones, and secondary-dominant and dominant seventh chords.
18. Analyze a four-part chorale-style piece using Roman and Arabic numerals to represent chords
and their inversions.

Carlsbad High School Bands

3557 Monroe Street- Carlsbad, CA 92008 (760)-331-5765 pmanzi@carlsbadusd.net
www.carlsbadlancerbands.com
19. Notate, hear, and identify the following nonharmonic tones: passing tone (accented and unaccented),
neighboring tone, anticipation, suspension, retardation, appoggiatura, escape tone, changing tone
(cambiata), pedal tone.
20. Notate the soprano and bass pitches and the Roman and Arabic numeral analysis of a harmonic
dictation, eighteenth-century chorale style, seventh chords, secondary dominants, 4 to 8 bars
in length, major or minor key, three to four repetitions.
21. Compose a melody or expand a motive with or without text, 6 to 12 bars long, given specific
directions about key, mode, phrasing, rhythm, and harmonic language.
22. Harmonize a 4 to 12 bar melody by writing a bass line, chords and/or chord symbols, given
specific directions about key, mode, phrasing, rhythmic and harmonic language.
23. Define and identify common tempo and expression markings.
24. Identify aurally and/or visually the following: modulation, transposition, melodic and harmonic
rhythm, sequence, imitation, ostinato, augmentation, diminution, inversion, retrograde, and
fragmentation.
25. Recognize standard musical idioms (i.e., standard melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic idioms) that
occur in music.

Feedback and Grading:

i: Testing Policies:
Tests will be given at the end of each unit of study, and will consist of practice multiple choice
questions, practice notation exercises, and singing exercises similar to and in many cases taken from those
found on the AP exam.
CA Content Standards 1.0 Artistic Perception, 2.0 Creative Expression and 4.0 Aesthetic Valuing figure
prominently in these areas.
ii: Assignments:
Assignments, both written, visual / electronic and listening will be given daily both during class and as
homework. Do not neglect your homework, as once you get behind, it is difficult to catch up. Much like a
mathematics class, in music theory each concept learned serves as an essential foundation for the next, and must
have proper time to set into your cognitive understanding in order to move on. Cramming will decidedly not
work here.

iii: Grade Breakdown:

10% - Attendance and Participation
30% - Written Assignments
20% - Aural Skills / Ear Training / Sight Singing
30% - Tests
10% - Final Examination and Project

Carlsbad High School Bands

3557 Monroe Street- Carlsbad, CA 92008 (760)-331-5765 pmanzi@carlsbadusd.net
www.carlsbadlancerbands.com
iv: Attendance and Participation Policies:
In order to pass the AP examination, you must be able to effectively audiate pitches and sing them, as
well as notate them. Many students in the AP class can do one, or the other, but not both. Participation is
essential to improving whichever side you are weaker in. Remember, music is a doing thing, not simply an
exercise in knowing facts. Additionally, we all learn best in in an environment of common goals. In order to
provide that environment, everyone must grin and bear it equally when we are trying to improve as a group.
Excessive (more than 5 per quarter) tardies will result in disciplinary action and grade penalties for
participation. Excessive absences (more than 3 unexcused) will result in a conference with me about your
future in the AP Music Theory program.

Discipline Policy:
Discipline will follow guidelines set in the CHS Lancer member responsibilities handout as well as
established school policy. Violations will be generally dealt with using a verbal warning on first offense,
followed by informal detention before escalating to formal referral to counseling. Repeated violations will
negatively impact student citizenship grades.
Website:
The website is www.carlsbadapmusictheory.weebly.com I will post sheet music, mp3s, etc. there first. I will
also use the website to post listening examples, links to multimedia required for assignments, musical parts to
be printed, and other utilities specific to your instrument. Please check the website regularly.
For SchoolLoop - I will post grades whenever possible according to student ID number. I will also send out
weekly emails through both the Website and SchoolLoop system.