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Today's music theory instructors face a changing environment, one where the traditional lecture format is in decline. The Routledge Companion to Music Theory Pedagogy addresses this change head-on, featuring battle-tested lesson plans alongside theoretical discussions of music theory curriculum and course design. With the modern student in mind, scholars are developing creative new approaches to teaching music theory, encouraging active student participation within contemporary contexts such as flipped classrooms, music industry programs, and popular music studies.
This volume takes a unique approach to provide resources for both the conceptual and pragmatic sides of music theory pedagogy. Each section includes thematic "anchor" chapters that address key issues, accompanied by short "topics" chapters offering applied examples that instructors can readily adopt in their own teaching. In eight parts, leading pedagogues from across North America explore how to most effectively teach the core elements of the music theory curriculum:
- Fundamentals
- Rhythm and Meter
- Core Curriculum
- Aural Skills
- Post-Tonal Theory
- Form
- Popular Music
- Who, What, and How We Teach
A broad musical repertoire demonstrates formal principles that transcend the Western canon, catering to a diverse student body with diverse musical goals. Reflecting growing interest in the field, and with an emphasis on easy implementation,
The Routledge Companion to Music Theory Pedagogy presents strategies and challenges to illustrate and inspire, in a comprehensive resource for all teachers of music theory.
List of contents
PART I: Fundamentals / 1. Music theory and working memory (Leigh VanHandel) / 2. Putting the music in music fundamentals (Melissa Hoag) / 3. A cornucopia of accidentals (Paula J. Telesco) / 4. Contouring as a powerful tool for pitch awareness (Jan Miyake) / 5. Incorporating melodicas into the music theory classroom (Chelsey L. Hamm) / 6. Music fundamentals games (Stefanie Dickinson) / PART II: Rhythm and Meter / 7. Introducing musical meter through perception (Stanley V. Kleppinger) / 8. Starting from scratch: Representing meter using simple programming tools (Daniel B. Stevens) / 9. 'Computer programmed with just one finger': Transcribing rap beats with the Roland TR-808 (Michael Berry) / 10. Rebeaming rhythms: Helping students 'feel' the need for correct beaming (Gene S. Trantham) / 11. Clapping for credit: A pedagogical application of Reich's Clapping Music (Jon Kochavi) / 12. Hindustani Tal: Non-Western explorations of meter(Anjni H. Amin) / PART III: Core Curriculum / Diatonic Harmony / 13.Small-scale improvisation in the music theory classroom (Nancy Rogers) / 14. The cognitive and communicative constraints of part-writing (Daniel Shanahan) / 15. Voice-leading detectives (Meghan Naxer) / 16. Harmonic sequences simplified: The first week of instruction (Brent Auerbach) / 17. Grading the song (Michael Baker) / 18. Finding the implied polyphony in the Minuet II from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major (Edward Klorman) / Chromatic Harmony / 19. Using tendency tones to teach the morphology and syntax of chromatic harmony (Stacey Davis) / 20. Apply yourself! An active learning lesson plan
About the author
Leigh VanHandel is Associate Professor of Music Theory at the University of British Columbia.
Summary
Today’s music theory instructors face a changing environment, one where the traditional lecture format is in decline. The Routledge Companion to Music Theory Pedagogy addresses this change head-on, featuring battle-tested lesson plans alongside theoretical discussions of music theory curriculum and course design.
Report
Society for Music Theory Outstanding Multi-Author Publication Award, 2022
