Hi Peter,

I teach both grade school and high school and I encourage you to look at the Alfred Music theory program. There are 3 volumes (cds) for online study. They are fun and interesting. The computer will track where the student left off. And, you can design tests. Say, for example, you only want to assess quarter notes, half notes and eighth notes, but not dotted notes. You can tell the program what to test on. There are also books to go along, but my kids like the online version. The PC makes funny sounds when the response is wrong and everyone applauses when the answer is correct. It's fun and definitely a challenge when the clock is ticking! For my money, it is the best online application. It starts assuming no prior knowledge and goes all the way to inversions and 7th chords. In addition, there is ear-training exercises. If you go to JWPeppper music, you can check current prices. All the best,

 

Mark Downey

Hi, Peter.

 

I have no direct experience with it, but I do know that the Dolmetsch website (hosted by Dolmetsch Recorders in England and Dr. Brian Blood) does have online theory tutorials. You might take a look.  (Of course they probably talk about crotchets and quavers!)

 

And I have to comment that in my late wife's youth choir (in a rather small parish, although we discovered that we were actually the largest parish in S.W. Virginia!) not only did she use both the RSCM concepts (complete with ribbons) combined with Kodály methodology, but her singers did NOT "fly up" to the senior choir (by their own choice), and when they came home from college at Christmas they sang with the Choristers, not the senior choir. In part that was simply because they were better musicians than the members of the senior choir and they knew it (although she NEVER told them that!), and in part because when the boys' voices started changing she wrote new parts for them using their new ranges, while continuing to have them sing along with the trebles on unison anthems. One result of which was our older son, who is now a professional countertenor! (And now living in Philadelphia, as a matter of fact, and scheduled to sing 3 performances of the Pergolesi Stabat Mater in Pittsburg in two weeks.)

 

All the best,

 

John

 

 

It requires some teacher guidance, but www.musictheory.net has excellent material that covers a lot of ground:  note names, interval recognition, chord quailty recognition and more.

 

For software,

Musition and Auralia by the maker of Sibelius are known pretty well.

I teach music theory and AP music theory at a public high school and have a pittance for a "budget," so I'm always on the lookout for good resources that cost little or nothing. I use musictheory.net quite a bit in both my theory classes and choir classes. It has some excellent tutorials as well as a number of 'trainers' to help students practice visual and aural identification skills, but as Robert noted, it does require some teacher guidance. There's no cost to use musictheory.net.

 

Another excellent, no-cost resource that includes both tutorials and exercises is teoria.com. It covers a lot more theory material than musictheory.net, enough to keep an AP music theory class occupied for a full year. Also, it has exercises that allow students to practice visually identifying and constructing scales, key signatures, intervals, chords, etc., as well as a number of excellent ear training exercises (including dictation) that you can customize to meet the needs of your students.

 

I also use emusictheory.com quite a bit in all my classes. It has no tutorials, but it has good drills for practicing theory fundamentals. The drills are free and can be customized in much the same way as the teoria exercises. emusictheory.com also offers a range of subscription options (based on the number of students you have) which allow you to create assignments, set deadlines, and assign drills to specific students or groups. The subscription rates are very reasonable, and because students can submit their scores online you can practically do away with written worksheets and tests altogether.

 

www.mibac.com/Pages/Theory/Main_Theory.html has good music theory reference material. It's free, although www.mibac.com has  comprehensive software programs available for purchase.

 

If you're on the hunt for good websites that are specifically designed for aural skils practice, I recommend you look at www.good-ear.com and www.ossmann.com/bigears/. Both are free, although you are welcome to make a donation.

 

Laura Sandham

Rosemount, MN

 

GREAT!

Hi, Peter,

 

I use many of the resources mentioned above as cheap-as-free classroom aids. If you're looking for a free alternative to Sibelius or Finale, might I also suggest Noteflight, a browser-based notation program that saves scores to its own server (like Google Docs does). You can find them at Noteflight.com.

 

Also, if your students are of the proper age and experience level, I am currently writing an online-only AP Music Theory curriculum to be offered next fall through Virtual High School. Feel free to drop by their website here.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

 

Matthew Haynes