Music Theory

At SCPA, Music Theory is a core component of every music student’s artistic development. Beginning in seventh or eighth grade, students are placed in Foundations of Music Theory, where they acquire fluency in the language of Western music. This course strengthens their natural performing, listening, and creative instincts while introducing them to notation, rhythm, scales, chords, ear training, sight singing, and beginning piano.

Music Theory Highlights

Foundations of Music Theory

Students learn to read and write in treble and bass clefs, and are introduced to beginning music theory concepts, including rhythm, major keys, intervals, and chords, as well as studying the musical notation that affects dynamics, style, and direction. Ear training, sight singing, and dictation reinforce listening and musicianship skills.

Music Theory I (High School)

Required for the artistic diploma, students must pass this two-semester course, which builds fluency in musical concepts, including rhythm, intervals, and chords, as well as in reading, writing, and analyzing music in major and minor keys. Students will learn composition through study of species counterpoint and four-part writing, and will further develop listening skills through dictation.

AP Music Theory

Students earning a B or higher in Theory I may advance to this rigorous, college-level course. AP Music Theory follows the College Board curriculum, covering advanced analysis, composition, ear training, and sight singing. Coursework includes daily written exercises, rhythmic and melodic dictation, and sight singing practice, with preparation for the AP exam each May.

Students completing the Music Theory sequence will be able to:

• Fluently read and write music in multiple clefs.
• Demonstrate fluency in all major and minor keys.
• Identify and write intervals, chords, and progressions.
• Analyze diatonic and non-diatonic music using standard techniques.
• Sight-read and sight-sing with confidence.
• Take melodic and rhythmic dictation.
• Compose in four parts, applying counterpoint, harmony, and non-chord tones.

All music theory courses are taught by Elise Schowalter, who brings sixteen years of university-level teaching experience. She holds music degrees from Wichita State University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and has completed DMA coursework in Horn and Music Theory at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Her passion is demystifying music theory and equipping students with the tools to take their musicianship to the next level.