Advanced Music Theory

AdvancedMusicTheory

This year will follow the syllabus for the Royal Irish Academy of Music Grade 5 Theory Exams. Following on from the Year 7 Musicianship class, this class will further develop skills and understanding.

Areas that will be covered include:

Keys of major scales up to 5 sharps and 5 flats, and minor keys up to 4 sharps and 4 flats
Chromatic scales
Triads and their inversions
Melody Writing – composition of four-bar ideas
Transposition
C Clef (Alto Clef)

By the end of the year, it is intended that students will be prepared to take the RIAM Grade 5 Theory Exam should they wish to.

Entrance to this class is subject to the satisfactory completion of the RIAM Grade 4 Exam, OR, through satisfactory completion of the in-house entrance paper for this Grade.

This year will follow the syllabus for the Royal Irish Academy of Music Grade 7 Theory Exams. Following on from the Advanced Music Theory: Grade 6 class, this class will further develop skills and understanding.

Areas that will be covered include:

All major and minor keys
Melodic Composition
Harmonic understanding in major and minor keys
- Chords in Root Position
- Adding chords to a given melody
- Adding inner parts to SATB scoring
- Harmonic Analysis
Historical and Instrumental Knowledge of the Classical Period
General understanding of orchestral music

By the end of the year, it is intended that students will be prepared to take the RIAM Grade 7 Theory Exam should they wish to.

Entrance to this class is subject to the satisfactory completion of the RIAM Grade 6 Exam, OR, through satisfactory completion of the in-house entrance paper for this Grade.

This year will follow the syllabus for the Royal Irish Academy of Music Grade 8 Theory Exams. Following on from the Advanced Music Theory: Grade 7 class, this class will further develop skills and understanding.

Areas that will be covered include

Melodic Composition
Harmonic understanding in major and minor keys
- Chords in Root Position, 1st Inversion, and Cadential 2nd Inversion
- Dominant 7th Chords
- Adding chords to a given melody
- Adding inner parts to SATB scoring
- Harmonic Analysis
Historical and Instrumental Knowledge of the Romantic Period
General understanding of orchestral music

By the end of the year, it is intended that students will be prepared to take the RIAM Grade 8 Theory Exam should they wish to.

Entrance to this class is subject to the satisfactory completion of the RIAM Grade 7 Exam, OR, through satisfactory completion of the in-house entrance paper for this Grade.

This year will follow the syllabus for the Royal Irish Academy of Music Grade 6 Theory Exams. Following on from the Advanced Music Theory: Grade 5 class, this class will further develop skills and understanding.

Areas that will be covered include

Keys of major keys up to 7 sharps and 7 flats, and minor keys up to 5 sharps and 5 flats
Triads and four-note chords
Irregular time signatures
Tenor Clef
Melody Writing – composing from a given opening

By the end of the year, it is intended that students will be prepared to take the RIAM Grade 6 Theory Exam should they wish to.

Entrance to this class is subject to the satisfactory completion of the RIAM Grade 5 Exam, OR, through satisfactory completion of the in-house entrance paper for this Grade.

In our Advanced Music Theory classes, students continue to develop their aural skills but are now ready intellectually to explore, and understand more fully, the more abstract aspects of music theory.

Students are led to an understanding of the various styles and periods of music, together with the study of harmony, analysis and composition. These aspects are important to further support their instrumental training as they progress onto more advanced repertoire.

Should my child continue with Advanced Music Theory?
These classes are strongly recommended for students who are learning advanced instrumental repertoire Grade 5 level and above. In these classes students will explore more advanced musical and theoretical concepts which are necessary for a complete understanding of the repertoire they are playing.

What Curriculum is used in Advanced Music Theory?

These classes are based on the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) curriculum (Grade 5-8). At the end of each year students will have the opportunity and be supported to sit the RIAM Grade exam for their class level. Sitting the RIAM exam is optional, students will be able to progress to the following Grade without the exam.

Upon completion of the Advanced Music Theory Grade 8 programme, students will have developed the skills required for admission to third-level music courses if this is a path they wish to explore.

Advanced Music Theory

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