Adult Theory II

And that wraps it up! It was nice meeting you guys.

A little time with Lior. We reviewed the concept of diatonic triads (handout, yo) and I gave him the major diatonic triads worksheet for homework. Next week is the last class.

This was another no-show class. Homework thus remains the same as last week. I've rewritten my handout on diatonic triads, which will help explain what we are doing.

If you want to get ahead, the next assignment will be a worksheet on minor diatonic triads (definitely read the handout before trying!) plus a real piece of music to analyze.

Homework for this class was the "tricky intervals" part of the Intervals II worksheet. I also introduced the concept of "diatonic triads" (aka "roman numerals") and assigned a worksheet on that.

Playing catch-up with Gabe. Homework is A & B of the Intervals II worksheet and additional triad practice via emusictheory.com.

More free-form with Lior, mostly ear training. Some conducting along with recordings. Homework remains the same (intervals I).

We decided to dispense with theory and kick off Liorfest with singing practice. Lior passed his assignment of the first five melodies and went on to try a few more from the first unit. Then, I introduced the concept of solfege in minor. And we did a lot of rhythmic practice, in 4/4 and 3/4. We have an idea about conducting along to Radiohead tunes.

Homework is the same as last week.

We quickly went over triads, heard Lior play his scales, and started talking about intervals.

Homework is to read the intervals packet and try Intervals Worksheet I: The "Smaller" Intervals.

We were unable to play our little game this week, but I have a feeling that Triad War is inevitable. Be prepared.

Back on track! We practiced our circle of fifths and minor scales, then delved into triads.

Homework is Worksheet #4: Triads. Refer to the triads handout if you need help. Also, continue to practice your upper half of the circle of fifths (from three flats to three sharps.) Play all of the major scales in this part of the circle on the piano, one hand, one octave.

For extra practice, try this online chord driller (and the one for scales, while you are at it.) Next week I think we are going to play Triad War, so get ready!

Nobody came. So, there is no new homework. See Class 5.

The next class is April 21.

There *is* class next week, April 7. There is no class the following week, April 14. I apologize for the confusion - unfortunately I do that all the time.

The highlight of class was the triumphant return of Gabe. We are still all in different places but I am optimistic that we will be unified soon. For now, however, we still have personalized homework.

Gabe:

Read the entire scales and sigs handout.
Practice making the circle of fifths - memorize the whole "top half" (from three flats to three sharps.)
Try your hand at the worksheet #3 - major and minor scales

Lior (& Jonathan):

Read the triads handout, and do the triads worksheet.

In class we will return to this rhythm worksheet.

So now each of our Theory II students have had their own one-on-one class. It's no big deal, really, but I look forward to the day when we are reunited as a big, happy family.

So, at this point different people are doing different things, I think.

Jonathan

Lior

Gabe

I got good news about theory class this week. Even though we don't have what the conservatory would like as a minimum class size, they are keeping our section. And, we had one new student this week for a grand total (I think) of three.

We spent some time going over the worksheet on major scales and the circle of fifths. I talked about "minor as a transformation of major" and the way that minor keys fit into the circle. (These points are in the scales and key sigs handout.)

Homework is to continue practicing the circle of fifths. Maybe print out a circle of 5ths worksheet or two and fill them in from memory. Then, do this worksheet on major and minor scales.

I met a new theory student and we basically did a repeat of Class 1.

I gave out my handout on scales and key signatures. We talked about building major scales step-by-step (using the WWHWWWH pattern) and then started to build the "circle of fifths." (Here's a circle-of-fifths worksheet: treble clef version and bass clef.)

Homework is basically still the same - a worksheet on making major scales, but also please memorize the top half of the circle of fifths for major keys. Be able to answer questions like "What key has two sharps? What are they?" or "What is the key signature for E-flat major?"

This is our class blog, where I'll summarize what happens each week and give links to more information.

We got off to a slow start, since only one student was there. I think we'll be getting a couple more next week, so I'm pretty hopeful that this class will happen afterall.

So in the first session I gave out my handout on scales and key signatures. I'll take a few weeks to get through this in its entirety.

For now, our priority is to practice making major scales, thinking about the "WWHWWWH" pattern (rather than worrying about key signatures). Homework for this week is a worksheet on making major scales.

We'll need to practice filling in key signatures in our circle of fifths. I've got a treble clef version and a bass clef version.

Then we'll work some more on our major and minor scales.