Syllabus

Lesson 1: Determining the Time Signature and Conducting

• Demonstrate the Beat
• Determining the Time Signature: Is it 2/4 or 3/4?
• Counting the Beats in 2/4 and 3/4
• How to Conduct in 2/4 and 3/4
• Making It Real: Recognizing the Time Signature of Familiar Songs
• Making It Real: Discovering the Time Signature of Popular Recordings
• Assignment 1.1: Read, Conduct, and Perform Rhythm Examples in 2/4 and 3/4
• Assignment 1.2: Identifying the Time Signature, Conducting, and Counting

Lesson 2: Introducing 4/4 Time and the Counting Method

• Introducing 4/4 Time: Conducting and Counting
• Reading Rhythms in 4/4 that Include Eighth Notes
• Making It Real: Rhythmic Performance in Three Stages
• In the Practice Room
• At the Rehearsal
• On the Performance Stage
• Assignment 2.1: Sight-Reading Rhythms in 4/4
• Assignment 2.2: Making It Real—Onstage Performance

Lesson 3: Is the Song in Major or Minor and Transcribing Rhythms in 4/4

• Major or Minor—Gut Feeling
• Finding the Root of the Scale, Finding Do
• How to Determine If the Song is in a Major or Minor Key
• Using Conducting and the Counting Method for Transcribing Rhythms in 4/4
• Assignment 3.1: Is the Song in Major or Minor?
• Assignment 3.2: Rhythmic Transcription in 4/4

Lesson 4: Introducing the Major Scale and the Movable Do Solfège System

• Introducing the Major Scale
• Movable Do Solfège
• Fixed Do Solfège
• Singing the Major Scale with Numbers and Solfège Syllables
• Introducing the Sol-Fa Method
• Using the Vertical Tone Ladder
• Transcribing Rhythms in 4/4 Using the Rhythm Grid
• Assignment 4.1: Singing Sol-Fa
• Assignment 4.2: Rhythm Transcription in 4/4

Lesson 5: More about the Sol-Fa Method and Memorizing Rhythm Words

• Using the Sol-Fa Method as a Translator when Listening to Music
• Determining the Sol-Fa to Familiar Melodies
• Making Sol-Fa Real with Popular Song Melodies
• Memorizing Two-Beat Rhythm “Words”
• Assignment 5.1: Transcribe the Melody Using the Sol-Fa Method
• Assignment 5.2: Compose, Notate, and Perform an Original 12-Bar Rhythm Song in 4/4

Lesson 6: Music Literacy: Reading and Writing Major Key Melodies

• Taking a Look at the Melody
• Navigating the Treble Clef
• Using the Dry Solfège Method
• Reading and Sight-Singing Stepwise Melodies in the Major Key
• Notating Simple Stepwise Melodies
• Combining Sol-Fa Method and Standard Music Notation
• Open the Book—Reading and Listening to Rhythms Together
• Assignment 6.1: Reading and Singing Major Key Melodies Using Solfège
• Assignment 6.2: Melodic Dictation Featuring Stepwise Motion

Lesson 7: Introducing the Tonic I Chord and Tendency Tone Pairs

• Hearing the Tonic I Chord
• Tendency Tone Pairs
• Memorizing the Tendency Tone Pairs Song
• Recognition of Tendency Tone Pairs in Melodies
• A Musical Experiment: Checking in with the Melody of ‘Bolero’
• Spotlight on Reading Rhythms in 3/4
• Making It Real: Rhythmic Reading in 3/4 for the Audition
• In the Audition Waiting Room: Practicing the Chart
• At the Audition: Using ‘Play Alongs’ to Practice the Groove
• Assignment 7.1: Sing the Tendency Tone Pairs Song from Memory
• Assignment 7.2: Rhythmic Reading in 3/4

Lesson 8: Harmonic Hearing: Adding the IV and V Chords

• Relating the Tendency Tone Pairs to I, IV, V Harmony
• Adding the IV and V Chords
• Defining Dominant and Subdominant
• Identifying the Chord Progression
• Hearing the Root Motion
• Reading and Notating Bass Lines in the Bass Clef
• Navigating the Bass Clef
• Rhythm Transcription in 3/4 time
• Assignment 8.1: Harmonic Dictation
• Assignment 8.2: Reading and Singing Bass Lines in Bass Clef

Lesson 9: Memorizing I, IV, V Chord Progressions and Blues Harmony

• Hearing Progressions that include the I, IV, and V Chords
• You Gotta Know the Blues!
• Making It Real: The Benefits of Memorizing Common Chord Patterns
• Applying the Vertical Approach for Hearing Harmony
• Really Making It Real: Transcribing the Chord Progression of Recorded Song
• Open the Book: Transcribing Rhythms in 4/4 Using Opening Clues
• Assignment 9.1: Sing the Blues Bassline with Solfège Syllables
• Assignment 9.2: “Making It Real” Harmonic Transcription

Lesson 10: Melody + Bassline = Harmony and Composing a Melody

• The Relationship between Melody and Harmony
• Melody + Bassline = Harmony
• Singing harmonic duets
• Compose a Chord Tone Based Melody
• The Lead Sheet Notation of a Melody
• Assignment 10.1: Duet Reading and Performance, Featuring the I, IV, and V Chords
• Assignment 10.2: Compose and Perform a Chord Tone Melody

Lesson 11: Improvising—Playing by Ear

• Using Improvisation as Part of the Practice Routine
• Using the Hand Mapping Method
• About the Blues
• Improvising Using the Blues Pentatonic Scale
• Melodic Song Form in the Blues: AAA or AAB
• Determining the Exact Rhythmic Notation of the Melody Using the Lyrics
• Assignment 11.1: Improvising in the Major Key
• Assignment 11.2: Singing or Playing the Blues (or both!)

Lesson 12: Review Rehearsal and the Final Encore Performance

• Rhythm
• Summary of Goals and Methods
• Rhythm Practice Outcome
• Melody
• Summary of Goals and Methods
• Melody Practice Outcome
• Harmony
• Summary of Goals and Methods
• Harmony Practice Outcome
• Putting It All Together: Dress Rehearsal
• Assignment 12.1: The Final Encore Performance