Music Theory Class

Call 908-789-9696 for details on this year’s class!

We are proud to announce two new music theory classes being offered in 4 month increments.  This is an excellent opportunity to develop and sharpen your understanding of the basic elements of music in a multi-modal, fun, and social atmosphere.  Both classes are taught by master teacher Helen Ryba who also teaches piano and classical voice at the NJ Workshop for the Arts. We are offering an introductory level intended for children and an intermediate level intended for students who either have 2-3 years of prior music experience or have completed the introductory course.

Introductory Level

This course is designed for beginning students ages 7 through 12. The main goal of this course is to develop an understanding of the basic elements of music – pitch, rhythm, and tempo. For each of the elements above, students will learn how to connect sound to written music. Each music element will be introduced and learned through listening, singing and writing.

By the end of the course, students will have learned the following music theory skills:

  1. Being familiar with the piano keyboard and its structure (octaves, black and white keys).
  2. Basic pitch notation – staves, clefs, notes, lines, and spaces.
  3. Basic rhythm and meter notation – rhythmic values (whole, half, quarter and eighth notes, dotted notes), bars, double and triple meters, rests, and their rhythmic values.
  4. Basic tempo values and Italian terminology.
  5. Basic dynamic values and Italian terminology.
  6. Basic articulation values and marks, Italian terminology.

At the end of this course students will have developed the following aural skills:

  1. Ability to differentiate low and high notes.
  2. Ability to differentiate minor and major chords (introduced as sad and cheerful).
  3. Ability to differentiate one note from multiple notes (intervals or chords).
  4. Ability to sing/solfege major and minor scales (C major, A minor) and simple melodies including sight singing.
  5. Ability to write simple music dictations.

In addition, students will be introduced to different music instruments and their qualities and timbre.

Intermediate Level

This course is designed for intermediate level students. This course has prerequisites – the Introductory Level course or prior music experience of 2 to 3 years. The main goal of this course is to continue learning basic and advanced music elements – rhythm, tempo, pitch, tonality, intervals and chords, articulation, dynamics, ornamentation, and basic music form. For each of the elements above students will learn how to connect the sound to the written music. Each music element will be introduced and learned through listening, singing and writing. In addition, applicable music history topics will be introduced.

At the end of the course, students will have learned the following music theory skills:

  1. Scales and scale degrees.
  2. Concept of tonality, knowledge of the circle of fifths.
  3. Concept of enharmonic spelling.
  4. Basic intervals and chords.
  5. Simple and compound meters.
  6. Tempo values and Italian terminology.
  7. Dynamic values and Italian terminology.
  8. Articulation values and marks, and Italian terminology.
  9. Basic embellishments and notation.
  10. Introduction to music forms – binary, ternary, fugue, and sonata.

At the end of this course, students will have developed the following aural skills:

  1. Ability to differentiate intervals.
  2. Ability to differentiate scale degrees, basic triads, and chords.
  3. Ability to sing/solfege intervals and chords.
  4. Ability to sing major and minor scales in simple tonalities.
  5. Ability to sing/solfege more complex melodies including sight singing.
  6. Ability to write more complex music dictations.

In addition, students will be introduced to the concept of polyphony and music styles of the Baroque period (Bach), Viennese Classicism (Mozart, Beethoven), Romanticism, and Impressionism.

Call 908-789-9696 for more information!

Photographs and/or videos of participants in this program may be used in various forms of publicly released media such as websites, social media platforms, advertisements, brochures, posters, etc. Parents/guardians of participants must notify the NJWA in writing if they do not consent to these uses of photos/videos of their child(ren).