Preparatory Music Theory Course
Welcome to this self-guided online prep course! We're glad you're here!
STEP 1) Watch this short video to get an overview of what this course is about and how it will benefit your growth as a musician.
STEP 2) Check out the "Resources and Help" section at the bottom of this page. Use the provided drill sheet until you wear it out... and then print another one! An invite to the #theory-prep Discord channel and my email is also listed to help you succeed!
STEP 3) This course is divided into four main units. If you feel confident with an area's material and would like to try to test out of it, take the self-graded Diagnostic Quiz provided at the top of the area to make sure you're ready to move on. Be diligent! Be honest with yourself. Avoid having any gaps that will hold you back in your music-making. The higher you set your standard, the more confident you'll be going into the entrance exam and your first semester of college-level music theory classes.
STEP 4) Read the following TIPS, and then have fun going through the course!
TIPS:
- Take the time to watch the videos. They're relatively short and focus on one concept at a time. Pause and go back to review anything that didn't make sense. (I've done my best to proof the content, but if you catch a glitch in the videos, contact me via email or Discord (see the "Resources and Help" section).
- After watching the videos, have fun drilling the concepts. They can be done on any kind of device with a browser. The more your drill, the more things will become second nature!
- Click on the icon next to a drill to get important suggestions on how it works and what its focus is.
- After drilling, complete the worksheets to check your knowledge. Since they're PDFs, you can either print them out or use your favorite digital device to write on them. Once you've completed a worksheet, check the corresponding Answer Key to grade yourself. Don't be tempted to look at the Answer Key before doing the worksheets! It's in your best interest to do the work solely on your own before using the Answer Key. Keep drilling the concepts you struggle with until they become easy.
- In addition to the worksheets being available individually, all of the printable worksheets and diagnostic quizzes can be found in a big PDF in the "Resources and Help" section that you can print out or download so you have them all in one place.
Notation of Pitches
In this section, you'll practice reading and getting notes onto the staff. You'll understand whole and half steps and how accidentals work (i.e., sharps/flats/naturals). You'll learn about where all the notes are on a piano keyboard, and how it can serve as a theory learning tool! Being able to read and write notes in both clefs is invaluable to any musician, no matter what instrument you play or voice part you sing. Reading a piano/orchestral/band/chamber/choral score quickly and easily will help you understand what's going on in all the parts and how they interact in a musical conversation. It will help you know how you fit into the musical dialogue. It will help you conduct and coach ensembles. It will unlock the basics of notating compositions. Learn the notes and you'll be ready to start building scales and chords - the building blocks of melody and harmony!
Diagnostic Quiz
If you'd like to "test out" of this area, take the following self-graded "Diagnostic Quiz". Don't peek at the Answer Key until you're done! It won't help you succeed in any way if you do. The quiz will direct you to which sections of this area you need to focus on. If you're unsure of any of the material in this area, watch the videos and do the practice. Aim high!
The Staff
Learn
Practice
The Treble Clef
Learn
Practice
The Bass Clef
Learn
Practice
The Grand Staff and Keyboard Basics
Learn
Practice
Accidentals and Enharmonics
Learn
Practice
Summary: A Brief Analysis
Learn
Practice
Scales and Keys
Scales are the building block of melodies and help provide a solid foundation of understanding harmony. The better you know your scales, both practically (the sound and on your instrument/voice) AND intellectually (how they work), the more fluent your sight-reading will be, your ear will develop (hearing the quality of scales and melodies), and your compositional/analytical chops will thank you. Drill your scales and key signatures until they're instinctive!
Diagnostic Quiz
If you'd like to "test out" of this area, take the following self-graded "Diagnostic Quiz". Don't peek at the Answer Key until you're done! It won't help you succeed in any way if you do. The quiz will direct you to which sections of this area you need to focus on. If you're unsure of any of the material in this area, watch the videos and do the practice. Aim high!
Major Scales
Learn
Practice
Minor Scales
Learn
Practice
Scale Degrees
Learn
Practice
Key Signature Intro
Learn
Practice
Watch this series of videos to be ready for the next section!
Recognizing and Writing Key Signatures
Learn
Practice
The Circle 5ths and Other Memory Techniques
Learn
Practice
Continue drilling your key signatures!
Practice writing out the Circle of 5ths on a piece of paper!
Use the Drill Sheet in [Resource and Help] to help!
Minors Keys, Relative and Parallel Keys
Learn
Practice
Scales and Scale Degrees Using Key Signatures
Learn
Practice
Intervals and Triads
This section will cover how to figure out the size of Simple Intervals, which will you prepare you to learn interval quality (major, major, perfect, diminished, augmented) and Compound Intervals (intervals greater than an octave). Knowing your intervals will help you build chords, understand the flow of a melodic line, help you transpose music... and even prepare you for a future understanding of how to find the concert pitch of an Eb Alto Saxophone or A Clarinet part! (In a later course ;) Triads are foundational in tonal harmony. In this course, we cover the basics of triads so you can be ready to delve into the world of inversions, seventh chords, and so much more!
Diagnostic Quiz
If you'd like to "test out" of this area, take the following self-graded "Diagnostic Quiz". Don't peek at the Answer Key until you're done! It won't help you succeed in any way if you do. The quiz will direct you to which sections of this area you need to focus on. If you're unsure of any of the material in this area, watch the videos and do the practice. Aim high!
An Intro to Intervals
Learn
Practice
A Foundation for Tonal Harmony: Triads
Learn
Practice
Recognizing Triads
Learn
Practice
Basics of Rhythm and Time
You often hear that one of the most important things in an audition is how solid your time and rhythm are. To be a credible and convincing musician, your time needs to be rock solid. Knowing how to read, write and perform rhythmic durations (quarters, eighths, halfs, etc.) and understanding how they're put together to create rhythmic flow in what we call meter is essential to your success as a musician. This section covers the very basics of rhythmic duration and how meter and time signatures work. You'll learn about the difference between Simple and Compound Meters and how rhythmic durations add up in various meters. Solidify your time, and your music making will make your audience dance (or at least tap their foot!)
Diagnostic Quiz
If you'd like to "test out" of this area, take the following self-graded "Diagnostic Quiz". Don't peek at the Answer Key until you're done! It won't help you succeed in any way if you do. The quiz will direct you to which sections of this area you need to focus on. If you're unsure of any of the material in this area, watch the videos and do the practice. Aim high!
Rhythm Building Blocks: Note Duration
Learn
Practice
Do these short review tutorials on musictheory.net. Pull out a piece of staff paper and practice writing notes with a variety of rhythmic durations!
Stems, Beams and Flags
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Practice
Pay close attention to all the music you find to see how flags and beams are treated. Beams are a useful visual tool to group notes into beat patterns. You'll practice the technique more in your first semester, but it's good to know about it, since a lot of times it can help you figure out a time signature quickly.
Extending Basic Durations
Learn
Practice
Meter: Creating Rhythmic Flow
Learn
Practice
Determining Meter
Learn
Practice
Aural Skills
Aural Skills: Using Your Ears!
Learn
Practice
Pull out a piece of staff paper and write down a few (or a handful) of your favorite tunes! See how much you can get down before checking it on an instrument. Use the tonic as a reference point. Have fun!
Resources and Help
Practice Resources
The Music Theory Prep Drill Sheet
Use this handy dandy review sheet to drill key signatures, the order of flats and sharps, major and minor scale building recipes, the Circle of 5ths, a little piano keyboard and more! Print it out and wear it out! See how fast you can go!
Free Staff Paper! No watermarks, copyright or logos included... Just clean, plain, 10-line staff paper for you to practice your notation chops.
Theory Prep Course Printable Packet
All of the courses PDF worksheets, diagnostic quizzes and resources in one big zip archive to make the materials easy to access.
This online set of tutorials and exercises is fantastic! The drill in this course comes from this site. You can customize exercises, practice ear-training, review concepts with tutorials, and even download practice apps.
For even more tutorials and drills, give teoria.com a try. Fantastic for review and practice!
How to Get Help!
If a concept just isn't making sense, or you have a question about the prep course or college level theory in general, feel free to join the #theory-prep channel on Dr. Ludema's Discord Server to chat with others working through the course!
If you'd rather contact me directly, my email address is eddieludema@isu.edu.