CREATIVE MUSIC THEORY

Since its founding, the Longy School has maintained a tradition of excellence in the teaching of solfège and theory. An important foundation for the study and appreciation of music, Creative Music Theory classes are designed for students ages 8-18 who have completed at least one year of instrumental or vocal studies. (Ages and instrumental experience are a guideline. The instructor may determine readiness through a brief interview.) In our carefully sequenced curriculum, students learn scales, clefs, intervals, and conducting patterns. They also learn to sing using solfège syllables, compose melodies, and analyze harmonic progressions.

Fee for all levels of Creative Music Theory:
$340/semester (including books and materials)
$305/semester when concurrently enrolled in private lessons or performing ensemble
All classes meet on Saturdays (15 sessions
each semester)
Fall semester start date: September 15, 2007
Spring semester start date: February 2, 2008

Creative Music Theory Level I
Section I - Course: PY131-A
Instructor: van Buskirk
Location: Room 13
Meets: Saturdays, 9:00-9:55 AM
Section II - Course: PY131-B
Instructor: Romm
Location: Room 301
Meets: Saturdays, 12:00-12:55 PM
Creative Music Theory Level I is an entry-level solfège and music theory class. Students learn basic theoretical concepts such as rhythmic values, meter, and major and minor intervals and chords by singing and listening to examples from classical and folk music. Solfège syllables, sight-reading in the treble clef, and conducting patterns will be introduced. Writing skills are developed by composing short pieces at home and in class. Ear-training exercises such as "melody-conversations" and simple music dictations develop students' aural skills and ability to read and understand musical language. Level I is geared towards beginning theory students who are in the early stages of their instrumental study (1-2 years of study).

Creative Music Theory Level II
Section I - Course: PY132-A
Instructor: Romm
Location: Room 301
Meets: Saturdays, 9:00-9:55 AM
Section II - Course: PY132-B
Instructor: Romm
Location: Room 301
Meets: Saturdays, 1:30-2:25 PM
Musical skills introduced in Level I are reviewed and further developed in this course. Concepts such as consonance, dissonance, sequence, and antecedent-consequent phrases are discussed and explored through examples and short composition assignments. Over the course of the year, students begin working in the bass clef as well as preparing more advanced treble clef exercises that modulate. Syncopation and simple two-part rhythmic exercises are introduced.

Creative Music Theory Level III
Section I - Course: PY133-A
Instructor: Aghababian
Location: Room 12
Meets: Saturdays, 9:00-9:55 AM
Section II - Course: PY133-B
Instructor: Morrison
Location: Room 202
Meets: Saturdays, 10:00-10:55 AM
Section III - Course: PY133-C
Instructor: van Buskirk
Location: Room 13
Meets: Saturdays, 1:30-2:25 PM
Level III theory again extends the depth and breadth of command of basic musical materials begun in Levels I and II. The items studied - intervals, scales, chords, rhythm and pitch sight-singing, and solfège - remain the same, with slightly greater emphasis on the abstract side of music theory. The function of chords in keys, simple dictation of melody and harmony, and phrase relationships are examples of the more advanced work incorporated in this level.

Creative Music Theory Level IV
Section I - Course: PY134-A
Instructor: Aghababian
Location: Room 12
Meets: Saturdays, 10:00-10:55 AM
Section II - Course: PY134-B
Instructor: van Buskirk
Location: Room 13
Meets: Saturdays, 12:30-1:25 PM
Level IV is the beginning of the study of theory as opposed to rudiments of music. All the skills under development in Levels I-III continue to grow in complexity and difficulty while we take up the study of functional harmony, part-writing, simple counterpoint, and small musical forms.

Creative Music Theory Level V
Section I - Course: PY135-A
Instructor: van Buskirk
Location: Room 13
Meets: Saturdays, 10:00-10:55 AM
As students move from Level IV to Level V, they will begin to learn advanced solfège and singing from quartets and scores with alto and tenor clefs. Students begin sight-reading complicated rhythmic patterns and chromatic melodies that modulate to distant keys. Various modes, musical forms and cadential formulas are examined and relatively advanced examples of music are analyzed. Students begin harmonic studies by learning voice-leading principles, analyzing chorale harmonizations, expanding their harmonic vocabulary, and realizing figured bass progressions. Students learn to compose melodies that modulate to desired keys and create their own harmonizations of melodies.

Creative Music Theory Level VI
Course: PY136
Instructor: Aghababian
Location: Room 12
Meets: Saturdays, 12:30-1:25 PM
A one-year continuation of Level V that introduces contrapuntal exercises and continues to expand students' harmonic vocabulary through composition and the analysis of examples from the Romantic period. Students work on fairly ambitious composition projects that use established musical forms while also allowing experimentation with their
own musical structures.

Creative Music Theory Level VII
Course: PY137-A
Instructor: Frazin
Location: Room 4
Meets: Saturdays, 11:00-11:55 AM
This course features score reading, transposition, form and analysis, and advanced solfège exercises. Projects concentrate on larger chamber works and symphonic repertory. Toward the end of the year, some of the challenges and demands presented by 20th-century music will be examined. Students will work on composition projects in a variety of forms for different ensembles.

Creative Music Theory Level VIII
Harmony and Counterpoint
Course: PY138
Instructor: Aghababian Location: Room 12
Meets: Saturdays, 11:00-11:55 AM

Teen Theory-Year 1
Section I - Course: PY 139-A
Instructor: Romm
Location: Room 301
Meets: Saturdays, 11:00-11:55 AM
Section II - Course: PY139-B
Instructor: Morrison
Location: Room 202
Meets: Saturdays, 11:00-11:55 AM
An accelerated course for teenagers who are beginning theory studies. It is designed as a two-year course. By completion, students should be prepared to enter Level 5 or 6 of the standard theory program. Section II - Year 2 is designed for students who were enrolled in Teen Theory last year.

Teen Theory-Year 2
Section III - Course: PY139-C
Instructor: van Buskirk
Location: Room 13
Meets: Saturdays, 11:00-11:55 AM

COMPOSITION

Composition Seminar
Fee: $340/semester ($305/sem. when concurrently enrolled in private lessons or performing ensemble)
Course: PY171
Instructor: Frazin
Location: Room 4
Meets: Saturdays, 9:00-9:55 AM
An innovative course for students interested in explor-ing the materials and methods of composition. Students will undertake composition projects for members of the seminar, and perform each other's works. This is an elective course which, with the instructor's permission, may be used to fulfill the Young Performers Creative Theory requirement. Full-year course.

Advanced Composition Seminar
Fee: $340/semester ($305/sem. when concurrently enrolled in private lesson or performing ensemble)
Course: PY271
Instructor: Frazin
Location: Room 4
Meets: Saturdays, 10:00-10:55 AM
This course is for advanced composition students of high-school age. Each semester will focus on a different compositional topic or musical genre. Students will be expected to present lecture-discussions on the chosen topic. The course's primary emphasis will be on individual compositional projects related to the semester's topic or genre (i.e., piano trios, text setting, or variation technique, etc.), culminating in a series of reading sessions and a public performance/presentation of the new student works by Longy instructor-performers.

MUSIC HISTORY

A Journey Through the History of Music
Fee: $340/semester ($305/sem. when
concurrently enrolled in private lessons
or performing ensemble)
Course: PY140-A
Instructor: Romm
Location: Room 301
Meets: Saturdays, 10:00-10:55 AM
This course will enrich a student's study of music in private lessons, chamber music, theory, and orchestra by examining the periods and styles of music from the Renaissance to the 21st century. We will listen to and compare music across history and discuss the lives of composers and the influences on their music. Students will gain an understanding of the origins and development of genres such as suites, concertos, sonatas, and symphonies, as well as forms such as rondo and variation, fugue, and sonata/allegro. Full-year course. (One year of a two-year sequence.)

2007-2008 Preparatory Studies Catalog (See pages 22-24)
2007-2008 Registration form and policies