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I wrote about my theory courses in Promoting Equity: Developing an Antiracist Music Theory Classroom and am posting a rough guideline of what things look like in practice. These notes represent only part of the work we did, the conversations we had, and the music we studied over the course of the semester.
I’m especially grateful to Gilad Cohen, who gave me his lecture notes when I first started adjuncting, to Ethan Hein for his extreme generosity and deep thinking about music theory pedagogy, and to Michelle Ohnona and James Olsen for leading the Doyle: Engaging with Difference Teaching Fellowship.
MODULE 1: ROCK/POP REVISITED
Week 1: Class Introduction, Modes (only 1 class this week)
Class 1
Goals: Break ice, introduce course, bVII for V, intro to modes
Introductions, Disclaimers, Expectations, Final Project, Big Ears Listening
bVII
Modal Harmony
Week 2: Modes Continued, pedals and pentatonics
Class 1
Goals: more on modes, modal mixture, modal harmony
More with modes
Modal mixture and modal harmony
Close listening
Class 2
Goals: pentatonics and pedals
More pentatonics and ways to use them
Pedal points and static harmony
Week 3: Pop Form (1 class this week)
Class 1
Goals: Rock/Pop form
Define the following terms within your groups: intro, verse, chorus, bridge
What else is there?
Common Forms
Close listening
MODULE 2: WAM CONTINUED
Week 4 Secondary Dominants, Leading Tone Chords, and Discussion 1
Class 1
Goals: Context, Secondary Dominants
Where we’re going and what we’re doing, or alternatives to the classical syntax
Secondary Dominants
Class 2
Goals: melody, Discussion 1
Melodic/motivic development
Discussion 1: Women in Music
Week 5: More Leading-tone chords, Cadences, Sentences, and Periods
Class 1
Goals: leading-tone chords, cadences
Leading tone chords
1001 uses
Cadences
Class 2
Goals: sentences and period
Intro to sentences and periods
Guided Listening
Week 6: Sentence/Period Expansions, Sequences
Class 1
Goals: other sentences and periods, intro to sequences
Twists on sentences and periods
Pass out Mozart Phrase Examples
Understanding piano textures
Sequences
Class 2
Goals: More sequences
Review sequences
Close Listening
Week 7: Tonicization and Modulation
Class 1
Goals: tonicizing and modulating
What is tonicization and what is modulation?
Common types of modulation
Week 8: review and midterm
Class 1
Goals: review for midterm
Review for midterm
Class 2
Midterm
Week 9: Altered Chords (Italian, French, German), Neapolitan, Discussion 2
Class 1
Goals: Italian, French, German chords
Altered chords, or “Filling in the Gaps"
Historical context
Practicing
Close Listening
Class 2
Goals: review chromaticism thus far, Discussion 2
Review the chromaticism we’ve covered so far
Discussion 2: Music, Race, and Racism
Week 10 Neapolitan, Classical Form
Class 1
Goals: Hearing modulation, Neapolitan
Close Listening (practice hearing modulations)
More practice with augmented sixth chords
Neapolitan
Class 2
Goals: More WAM forms
Theme-types (sentence, period, small ternary, small binary)
Larger context: main theme, subordinate theme, closing section, transition
Large-Scale Forms
Guided listening
Week 11 Blues, Jazz intro
Class 1
Goals: Blues intro
Question of the day—is this the blues?
Ethos or Spirit of the blues
Form
Class 2
Goals: more blues, ii - V - I, extended dominants, related ii’s, Rhythm Changes
Blues as protest
Jazz harmony
Week 12: Jazz cont
Class 1
Goals: jazz stuff
Autumn Leaves
Blues => jazz
Tritone subs
Class 2
More tritone subs
More blues and jazz
Improv
Week 13: Jazz, Hip-hop, Discussion 3
Class 1
Goals: finishing up with jazz stuff
Improv
Coltrane subs
Chords and compositional ideas
Class 2
Resource list
History of hip hop
Four components
Discussion 3: Music and Protest
Week 14: Hip Hop (only one class)
Class 1
Goals: hip hop origins
Jamaican Influences
Bronx Scene
Punk Influence
Disco Influence
Week 15: White supremacy, more hip hop
Class 1
Goals: white supremacy, hip hop
Recognizing white supremacy and sexism in music theory and more generally
Transition to hip hop
Kool Herc
Class 2
Goals: hip-hop
Africa Bambaataa
Grandmaster Flash
Other innovators
Rapper’s Delight
Week 16: Review Session
Class 1: Open Review for final