Integrated Aural Skills and Theory

A central component of our Core Curriculum designed to provide students with a comprehensive foundation in musicianship, this class aims to deepen a student’s understanding of the inner workings of music by progressively developing a student’s listening skills in conjunction with written theory. The course utilizes fun games and written exercises, is highly beneficial for students who desire to play by ear, and prepares students for the theory portion of the Certificate of Merit Exam. Limited to 8 students per class, ages 7 and above, and meets once per week.

The classes cover:

• Hearing and identifying melodies, rhythms, and harmonies
• Rhythm through movement games, body percussion, and rhythmic instruments
• Rhythmic and Melodic improvisation
• Dictation (notating on staff paper what you hear)
• Basic composition
• Written theory, from melodic intervals, key signatures, to harmonic analysis