An article published in American Music Teacher approximately twenty years ago addressed the issue of students' preparation to consideration college level music theory.

An article published in American Music Teacher approximately twenty years ago addressed the issue of students' preparation to consideration college level music theory. Fifty-eight music majors at the University of Florida were viewed in an attempt to answer the question, "If a promising high instruct music student decides to major in music at community where will the necessary background in theory be acquired?" This questionnaire, distributed in March 1981 sought music majors' opinions regarding the principally helpful pre-college experiences they had. A follow-up thought was conducted in the spring of 2001 to learn whether answers to contemplate questions had changed over the intervening twenty-year period.

The 1981 Study

The article reporting the 1981 reflection revealed that the private instrumental teacher plays a part that is as important as the theory instructor. The article went upon to support this statement with the writings of Frederic W Homan, Elvina T Pearce and Diane Hardy, and to move suggestions for ways in which this responsibility might be carried not at home with the help of MTNA theory guidelines and dispose lessons. (1)

An analysis of the 1981 observe forms revealed that students indicated they felt greatest in quantity prepared in the areas of number (77.5 percent), ability to hear major and minor triads (706 percent) and knowledge of scales (689 percent) (Table 1)

Additionally, 344 percent of the music majors believed they had received the chiefly theory preparation from their private teacher of their major instrument. Other experiences were rated for their value in theory preparation: high instruct . theory class, 13.7 percent; high exercise band program, 10.3 percent; private teacher of the student's secondary instrument, 68 percent; and private theory teacher, 34 percent (Table 2) Although 172 percent of the scholars had participated in a high place of education orchestra program, only one bookish man who completed the questionnaire indicated that this experience had been the most numerous helpful. The study did not categorize scholars by year or number of years they had been in their four-year grade program.

Review of Related Literature

With the exception of the 1981 meditation none of the extant literature upon theory education deal with students' opinions of their high indoctrinate preparation for college-level theory. Livingston notes that a student's private instrumental teacher (primary performing instrument)has a significant character in preparing high school close examiners for freshman music theory. As previously mentioned, her thought examines the responses to a questionnaire of fifty-eight music majors at the University of Florida. pupils were asked to indicate which areas of theory contemplation they felt well prepared for on entering college. Results of the contemplation show that 39.2 percent of wind instrument majors, 533 percent of keyboard majors and 384 percent of voice majors considered their private censure instruction to be the in the greatest degree helpful in preparing for freshman music theory. (2) Livingston cites Pearce (3) in suggesting private instruction instructors give students three individual and individual group lesson per month, with the arrange lesson including aural and written theory exercises. (4)

Carole s Harrison notes that many music majors are not able to perform adequately in the major constitutings of freshman theory: written work, sight reading, ear training and keyboard harmony. Musical aptitude, pre-college musical experience, private subject of attention and ensemble experience, and subject of attention of principal performing instrument all contribute to predicting succes in undergraduate music theory. (5) Her close attention focused on a population of 178 freshman music majors at California State University at Fullerton. The outcomes indicate that three of the predictive factors--general musical ability, musical experience and musical aptitude--were significant gauges of succes in freshman theory classes. (6)

Charles W Walton states traditional theory courses ofttimes are rather narrow in purpose with the various skills taught in a discrete manner without regard to practical application, and indicates six target areas in the teaching of collegiate plain music theory:

1 Listening. The scholar organizes and clarifies what the ear hears.

2 Analysis. The mode with which the student discovers the function of chords and emblems within a piece of music.

3 Music reading. The proces of having the one and the other the ear and eye correspond to music meaning.

4 Creativity. Making music in a variety of original works.

5 Part writing. Putting forward paper what has been heard or created.

6 Keyboard harmony. Enhancing the understanding of music by means of the analysis of melodies, score reading and playing from ear. (7)

Robert C Ehle states that many volumes purporting to be music theory topics are de facto harmony volumes and there is significantly more to a music theory curriculum than the inquiry of harmony. He says collegiate music theory should be linked to the practice of music and used for furthering basic musical universals and skills. A college freshman theory course also should include sight singing, keyboard harmony, written harmony and dictation, Ehle says. (8)