Aural Skills in Context A Comprehensive Approach to Sight Singing, Ear Training, Keyboard Harmony, and Improvisation

by Jones, Evan; Shaftel, Matthew; Chattah, Juan

• ISBN13: 9780199943821
• ISBN10: 0199943826
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Spiral Bound
• Copyright: 2013-10-12
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Aural Skills in Context takes a comprehensive approach to sight singing, ear training, and rhythm practice. By featuring real examples from classical music to folk and jazz, and offering melodies with their related harmonies, the text parallels the full Music Theory curriculum and reinforces the relevance of aural skills to students' other classes, as well as their performance and listening interests. In addition to a wide variety of partial and complete excerpts, Aural Skills in Context also provides a wealth of activities that range far beyond simply singing the melodies or writing them down from dictation, giving instructors and students the opportunity to engage in improvisation; performance in multiple voices; switching between melody and accompanying lines; creating new melodies above a given bass line; or even an additional "obbligato" voice above the given melody or between the outer voices.

* Rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic drills accompany musical examples and solidify students' understanding of the position of every pitch within the tonal context
* "Expanding Repertoires" sections include listening and dictation-type exercises that allow students to engage in listening beyond the traditional examples
* "Contextual Listening" assignments are accompanied with streaming audio at various tempos and an online mixer for balancing musical parts on the companion website, www.oup.com/us/jonesshaftel
* Designed so that it may be used with Finale Smartmusic, an inexpensive software program that enables students to receive immediate feedback on their sight singing, while keeping a record of their progress.

Author Biography

Evan Jones is Associate Professor of Music Theory and Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition at Florida State University.

Matthew R. Shaftel is Distinguished Associate Professor of Music Theory and Associate Dean at Florida State University.

Juan Chattah is Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the University Of Miami Frost School of Music.

Table of Contents

a Preface. Pedagogical Approach, Curricular Planning, Practicalities
The Foundations of Aural Skills
Introduction to the Student
Major and Minor Scales and Simple Intervals
Basic Rhythmic Patterns
Conducting of Simple Meters
Neighbor and Passing Tones in a Stepwise Context
Keyboard Orientation
First Steps in Improvisation
Tonic Triad
Practice in Multiple Clefs
Six-Step Method for Dictation
Introduction to Smartmusic
Unit 1. The Diatonic Scale Degrees
1. Tonic Triad and its Melodies
Tonic Triad as Melodic Basis
Major and Minor Scales in Context
First Five Notes of the Scale
2. Submediant Scale Degree and Major Pentatonic
Submediant Scale Degree
The I-V-I Harmonic Paradigm
Major Pentatonic Scale
Introduction to Compound Meter
3. Seventh Scale Degree and Minor Pentatonic
Minor Pentatonic Scale
Compound Meter
Leading Tone and Subtonic Scale Degree
Subdominant Harmony
4. Plagal Melodies I
Upper and Lower Dominant Scale Degrees
First Inversion Triads
Expanding the Melodic Range Beyond the Octave
5. Plagal Melodies II
Syncopation
Changing Meters
Harmonic Study of Tonic Prolongation
6. The Octave and Beyond
Excerpts that Span the Entire Octave and Beyond
Periodic Structures (Parallel Period)
Inconclusive and Conclusive Cadences
7. Complete Examples from the Repertoire
Reviewing Unit I through Complete Works
Focus on Rhythm in a Non-Pitched Work
Unit II. Diatonic Contexts & Introduction to Chromatic Pitches
8. Diatonic Sequences
Ascending and Descending Fifths Sequence
Descending Thirds Sequence
Ground Bass
Harmonic Study of Tonic Prolongation. viio6, Passing 6/4, and Inversions of V7
9. Diatonic Sequences II
New Rhythmic Configurations
Ascending Seconds Sequence
Quasi-Sequential Progressions
Four-Part Schemata of Sequences
10. Motivic Development and the Sentence
Sentence Structure
Expansions and Extensions of Sentences
Harmonic Study of Tonic Prolongation. Combination of Predominants with Inversions of vii° and V7
11. Chromatic Neighbor Tones
Chromatic Neighbor Tones as Surface-Level Embellishments
Resolution of Chromatic-Altered Pitches
Chromatic Solmization Syllables (Ascending. di, ri, fi, si, li; Descending. te, le, se, me)
Cadential Progressions with vi and ii
Cadential 6/4
12. Chromatic Passing Tones
Chromatic Passing Tones as Surface-Level Embellishments
Harmonic Study of Mediant and Subtonic Triads
13. Beyond the Stepwise Context
Delayed Resolutions of Chromatic Pitches
Harmonic Study of Tonicization via
14. Complete Examples from the Repertoire
Reviewing Unit II through Complete Works
Focus on Rhythm in a Non-Pitched Work
Unit III. Advanced Melodies, Modulation, and Introduction to Musical Form
15. Melodic Chromaticism
Chromatic Melodies and Bass Lines
Singing Complete Musical Forms
Extended Melodic Range
Lowered Supertonic Scale Degree
Harmonic Study of Tonicization via
16. Modulation
Tonicization vsModulation
Modulation to the Dominant
Harmonic Study of Tonicization via
17. Simple Binary Form
Categories and Classification of Binary Forms based on Harmonic Design
Harmonic Study of Tonicization via
18. Rounded and Balanced Binary Form
Categories and Classification of Binary Forms based on Motivic Design
Harmonic Study of Tonicization via and
19. Modal Mixture
Coloristic Use of Modal Mixture Chords
Tendency of Tones in Modal Mixture Chords
Tonicization of Modal Mixture Chords
Modulation to Modally Mixed Tonal Areas
20. Ternary Form
Categories and Classification of Ternary Forms
Harmonic Study of Chromatic Third Relations
21. Neapolitan Triad and Common-Tone Diminished Seventh
Neapolitan as Predominant Harmony
Uses of Common-Tone Diminished Seventh
Focus on Rhythm in a Non-Pitched Work
Unit IV. Advanced Chromaticism and Larger Forms
22. Introduction to Augmented-Sixth Chords
Augmented-Sixth Chords as Pre-Dominant Harmonies
The Tritone Substitution in Jazz and Popular Music
Harmonic Study of the Common-Tone Diminished Seventh
23. Rondo Form
Five-Part and Seven-Part Rondos
Harmonic Study of Augmented Sixth Chords
24. Further Uses of Augmented-Sixth Chords
Use of Augmented-Sixth Chords in Larger Forms
Advanced Uses of Augmented-Sixth Chords
25. Sonata Form
Basic Harmonic and Motivic Traits of Sonata Forms
Introduction and Coda in Sonata Forms
Harmonic Study of Complex Chromatic Progressions
26. Advanced Melodic and Harmonic Chromaticism
Equal Division of the Octave
Complex Melodic Chromaticism
27. Later Tonal Styles
Post-Romantic, Impressionist, and Contemporary Tonal Styles