online music theory assignments

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PDF Workbook

Kyle Gullings

The buttons below are links to download all worksheets from the textbook as combined PDFs.

This may be useful if, for example, you do not have reliable internet, or you are simply browsing the whole workbook at once. But in general, we recommend using the links at the end of each chapter instead of downloading this file. This is because:

• The PDF may not have the most up-to-date assignments. This is a static file, meaning that has to be manually re-uploaded to make changes—it is not automatically generated.
• The PDF has been compressed to reduce the file size. Some images or text may be compromised from this process.
• The PDF is split in two parts due to file size constraints. Assignments are in the order they appear in the textbook. The split is in the middle of the Chromaticism part of the book. The workbook Part 1 stops after Modal Mixture; Part 2 begins at Augmented Sixth Chords.

Download PDF Workbook Part 1

Download PDF Workbook Part 2

Last updated: August 1, 2023

OPEN MUSIC THEORY Copyright © 2023 by Kyle Gullings is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom

(3 reviews)

Robert Hutchinson, University of Puget Sound

Copyright Year: 2017

Publisher: Robert Hutchinson

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Free Documentation License (GNU) Free Documentation License (GNU)

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Alek Palmersmith, Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University on 7/27/23

The book is detailed, with a lot of information, with a clear index, but it's missing a glossary. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The book is detailed, with a lot of information, with a clear index, but it's missing a glossary.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is clear and accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

While the fundamental concepts of music theory have stood the test of time, I believe this book could have included more modern examples from various genres to make it more relevant to students learning music theory now.

Clarity rating: 4

It is concise, which is helpful. It does however use some jargon that can get in the way of easy understanding and real-world application.

Consistency rating: 5

It's very consistent in formatting, content, and terminology.

Modularity rating: 5

It's easy to jump from one section to another to get the information you need. In fact, it is probably best used as a reference guide instead of read cover to cover.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

It's well-organized with clear chapter and sub-chapters.

Interface rating: 4

It's pretty clean, but could be a little more visually appealing.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found no errors while reading this book.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Nothing was offensive and it is inclusive. However, I think it could include examples from more styles of music.

Solid overall book, helpful for learning the concepts of music theory.

Reviewed by Cherise Leiter, Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 8/17/22

Overall, this text is quite comprehensive, including the topics generally covered in a 4-semester theory sequence. There are a few instances where there is not as much detail as I am used to (for instance, I couldn't find mention of the Phrygian... read more

Overall, this text is quite comprehensive, including the topics generally covered in a 4-semester theory sequence. There are a few instances where there is not as much detail as I am used to (for instance, I couldn't find mention of the Phrygian half cadence), but the text includes a significant amount of pop and jazz music theory which many texts do not cover. Both the index and glossary are easy to use and by using links, send one immediately to the correct place in the text.

The accuracy is very good. I did not see any obvious mistakes.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The text had a nice balance of examples from art music, popular, and jazz music styles. Personally I would have liked to see a few more examples from the musical theatre genre, since at our school music theatre majors have to take two semesters of music theory. More examples from female composers would also be a relevant element.

Clarity rating: 5

The text utilizes succinct explanations of concepts and employs clear language overall. The examples are easy to follow and relate clearly to the topic under discussion.

The text employs consistent language, style, and layout in each chapter.

The text is well organized into modules that can be re-ordered quite easily. In some cases, the modules for certain topics occur later than typically found, but are presented in their module in a way that would allow an instructor to utilize it earlier. However, some modules would need to be broken up, but the subheadings generally make that possible.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The text is fairly well organized. There are some instances where I would prefer a topic be separated out or placed in a different module (for example, modes, whole-tone scale and octatonic scales are only listed in a chart in the jazz theory chapter) but overall, the text flows in a logical manner.

Interface rating: 5

I did not notice any interface issues.

The text was well written and contained no grammatical errors.

Overall I appreciated the breadth and variety of musical examples used in the text and homework assignments. As stated above I would like to see more examples by women and other underrepresented groups, particularly when giving examples of art music.

I very much appreciated the ancillary materials such as homework assignments and practice tests. Not all OER music theory texts include them, and these were in-depth and creative. I also found the practice exercises at the end of each chapter helpful, with answer keys at the end of the text. There were also several chapters included in this text that are not normally found in music theory textbooks that I thought were a good inclusion, such as the chapter on Accompanimental Textures.

Reviewed by Geoffrey Cunningham, Adjunct Music Lecturer, Holyoke Community College on 6/28/21

The text is very comprehensive. Each chapter is concise and clear, without being overly verbose as some music theory textbooks can be. The index is very effective, in that you can just click on the link next to each term or topic and it will give... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text is very comprehensive. Each chapter is concise and clear, without being overly verbose as some music theory textbooks can be. The index is very effective, in that you can just click on the link next to each term or topic and it will give you the section being referenced with also a link to navigate you right to the location in the book where it is cited for full context. In a way, this index functions as a glossary as well by giving such quick access to descriptions and definitions.

There are 35 chapters in this book, and I have yet to find any errors.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is up-to-date and relevant. It covers all of the traditional topics usually covered in music theory courses 1-4. Anything that needs updating should be quite easy to implement, as the chapters are all organized and divided into neat and tidy subunits.

As I had commented before, the writing is clear and concise without using any unnecessary language. The book does a good job of including great visual graphics and charts, along with several imbedded musical examples in every chapter to help illustrate the concepts.

Yes, terminology is consistent from chapter to chapter.

This books seems to have been structured with modularity in mind all along. Each chapter is divided into smaller sub chapters that would make it easy to divide and reorganize topics and subjects within. I plan on using this textbook in the coming year, but will likely change the order of chapters to match the order I usually present these topics in. Thankfully, there is not much cumulative/chronological overlap between chapters, so it makes it easy to do things in a different order. For example, the part-writing section which is covered later than usual (Ch 26) doesn't include practicing the chromaticism covered in earlier chapters (Ch 19 - 23) until the very end of the unit, so it makes it easy to use that chapter earlier in the semester.

Organization is very clear, logical, and easy to navigate.

Interface is clear and without issues.

The grammar is clear without any glaring errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I am very impressed with the cultural and stylistic diversity presented in the musical examples throughout this textbook. Too many traditional theory books lean so heavily on the music of 18th Century European classical composers. This book will illustrate a concept equally with examples from Bach, Mozart, the Beatles, Bruno Mars, and Cee Lo Green, all in the same chapter!

Table of Contents

• 1 Basic Concepts 
• 2 Major Scales and Key Signatures 
• 3 Minor Scales and Key Signatures 
• 4 Basics of Rhythm 
• 5 Intervals
• 6 Triads 
• 7 Roman Numerals and Cadences 
• 8 Seventh Chords 
• 9 Harmonic Progression and Harmonic Function 
• 10 Non-Chord Tones 
• 11 Melodic Analysis
• 12 Form in Popular Music 
• 13 Phrases in Combination 
• 14 Accompanimental Textures 
• 15 Creating Contrast Between Sections 
• 16 Figured Bass 
• 17 Secondary Dominant Chords
• 18 Secondary Diminished Chords 
• 19 Mode Mixture 
• 20 The Neapolitan Chord
• 21 Augmented Sixth Chords 
• 22 Modulation 
• 23 Enharmonic Modulation
• 24 Binary and Ternary Forms
• 25 Sonata and Rondo Forms 
• 26 Voice Leading Triads 
• 27 Voice Leading Seventh Chords 
• 28 Voice Leading With Non-Chord Tones 
• 29 Voice Leading Chromatic Harmonies 
• 30 Introduction to Counterpoint 
• 31 Introduction to Jazz Theory 
• 32 Impressionism and Extended Tonality 
• 33 Set Theory 
• 34 Serialism 
• 35 Minimalism

Ancillary Material

• Robert Hutchinson

About the Book

Music Theory for the 21st–Century Classroom is an openly–licensed online four–semester college music theory textbook. This text differs from other music theory textbooks by focusing less on four–part (SATB) voiceleading and more on relating harmony to the phrase. Also, in traditional music theory textbooks, there is little emphasis on motivic analysis and analysis of melodic units smaller than the phrase. In my opinion, this led to students having difficulty with creating melodies, since the training they are given is typically to write a “melody” in quarter notes in the soprano voice of part writing exercises. When the assignments in those texts ask students to do more than this, the majority of the students struggle to create a melody with continuity and with appropriate placement of harmonies within a phrase because the text had not prepared them to do so.

In Music Theory for the 21st–Century Classroom, students learn about motive, fragment, phrase, and subphrase, as well as types of melodic alteration like inversion, intervallic change, augmentation, diminution, rhythmic change, ornamentation, extension, and retrograde. By understanding motive and subphrase (also known as “phrase segment” or “phrase member”), I believe students will better understand the logic and construction of melodies, which will aid them in creating their own music.

This text is meant to take the student from the basics of reading and writing pitches and rhythms through twelve–tone technique and minimalism over the course of four semesters. Whenever possible, examples from popular music and music from film and musical theater are included to illustrate melodic and harmonic concepts, usually within the context of the phrase.

About the Contributors

Robert Hutchinson , University of Puget Sound

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Transfer Credits

Online undergraduate-level course, music theory and composition 3.

Authored by Tom Hojnacki , Kari Juusela

Course Code: OCOMP-210

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3-credit tuition, non-credit tuition.

The third of a four-semester curriculum, in Music Composition and Theory 3 you’ll explore everything from the rhythmic elements of Jamaican and Cuban music to the connection between South American guitar music and Bach. This course is designed to take you from a strong review of Music Theory and Composition 1 & 2 topics, including major key, minor key, blues, modal interchange, secondary dominants, approach notes, non-harmonic tones, voice leading, guide tone lines, hybrid chords, bass and drum grooves, and traditional harmony concepts. The course will then move into extended dominants, related II chords, substitute dominant chords, Neapolitan and augmented sixth chords, diminished seventh chords, modal minor, and a thorough look at modulation.

• Identify the basic vocabulary of polychord voicings and employ voicings in the context of a short arrangement
• Understand the concept of the extended dominant series and be able to apply that in a composition and analyze it correctly
• Understand the concept of substitute dominant chords and be able to apply them within the context of an arrangement or original composition
• Differentiate between different non-chord tones in harmonic and melodic use and be able to analyze them in the context of a short piece
• Identify and apply different approach tone patterns in jazz and popular music and be able to analyze them in a short piece
• Understand the concept of modulation in short form compositions and be able to employ pivot, direct or transitional modulations in a composition
• Differentiate between classical figured bass and contemporary lead sheet analysis techniques
• Write variations in a standard theme and variations form in Classical style
• Differentiate the rhythmic grooves between different Indian, African and Latin rhythmic grooves

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Lesson 1: Review of Material from Music Theory and Composition 2

• Why, That’s a … !: A Review of Notational and Analytical Nomenclature
• The Right Stuff: A Review of Basic Diatonic and Diatonically Related Materials
• Back In the Groove: A Review of Drum Notation, Grooves, and Asymmetrical Meters
• Inside the Box: A Review of Form and Formal Analysis
• Composers' Corner: Interviews with Composers About Music Theory and Creativity

Lesson 2: Extended Dominant Series, Deceptive Resolution of Secondary Dominants, and Voice Leading

• Sliding Home: Extended Dominants
• Laying It Out: Expressing an Extended Dominant as a Chord Scale
• Expect the Unexpected: Deceptive Resolutions of Secondary Dominants
• Make it So!: 4 and 5-Part Voice Leading of Secondary and Extended Dominants

Lesson 3: The Substitute Dominant, Related IIs, and Extended Substitute Dominants

• The Slippery Slope: The Substitute Dominant Chord
• Inside Out, Outside In: Related II Chords for Substitute Dominants
• Laying It Out: Chord Scales for Extended Dominants and Related IIs
• Riding the Express Train: Extended Substitute Dominants

Lesson 4: Deceptive Resolution – Primary and Secondary Dominants

• The European Connection 1: The Neapolitan 6th Chord
• The European Connection 2: German, French, and Italian 6th Chords
• Go Figure!: Advanced Figured Bass
• Putting It Together: 4-Part Voice Leading of Augmented 6th Chords

Lesson 5: The Diminished 7th Chord in a Diatonic Context

• Up, Down, or Stay the Same: Categories of Diminished 7th Chords in Popular Music and Jazz
• Laying It Out: Chord Scales for Diminished 7th Chords
• Upholding Tradition: Uses of Diminished Triads and 7th Chords in Classical Style
• Make It So!: Voice Leading Diminished 7th Chords in Classical Styles
• Composers' Corner Interviews with Composers About Music Theory and Creativity

Lesson 6: Non-Chord Tones and Approach Tones

• Embellishing the Harmony: The Phenomenon of Non-Chord Tones
• Pattern Identification: Non-chord Tones Defined
• Approaching the Target: Defining Approach Tones In Contemporary Harmony
• Elaborating the Surface: An Introduction to Harmonizing Approach Tones

Lesson 7: Upper Structure Triads and Poly-chord Voicings

• Extending the Limits: Exploring Upper Structure Triads
• Building the Tower: Building Extended Chord Voicings with Upper Structure Triads
• This Over That: Building a Vocabulary of Poly-Chords
• Mountains Rising: The Contemporary Classical Concept of Extended Chords

Lesson 8: Modulation

• Sunrise, Sunset: The Aesthetic Effects of Direct Modulation
• Revolving Door to an Unexpected Room: Pivot Modulations Revisited
• Walking on Air: The Transitional Modulation
• A Fork in the Road: The #IV-7(b5) Chord and Other Paths to Extended Phrase Endings

Lesson 9: World Music Concepts Music of South America and the Caribbean

• Beats and Island Breezes
• Panpipes and Hocket
• Bach to Brazil
• Rhythms of Cuba

Lesson 10: Musical Forms 3

• Form Redux: A Review of Common Musical Forms
• Theme and Variations: T&V Form
• Thesis and Antithesis: An Introduction to Sonata-Allegro Form
• Old Bottles, New Wine: More Common Musical Forms

Lesson 11: Minor Key Revisited

• The Saddest of All Keys: A Review of Minor Key Functions
• A Brighter Minor Key: Dorian Modal Choices
• A Darker Minor Key: Phrygian Modal Choices
• The Expanded Minor Universe: A Review of the Complete System of Minor Key Harmony
• Composers' Corner: Interviews with Composers about Music Theory and Creativity

Lesson 12: Blues III

• All Blues: A Review of the Basic 12 Bar Concept
• The Thrill Is Gone: Exploring Further Options for the Minor Blues
• So What: Modal Blues
• Blues for Bird: The Bebop Blues

Requirements

Prerequisites and course-specific requirements .

Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills Completion of  Music Theory and Composition 2  or equivalent knowledge and experience is required. In addition:

• Ability to read notated music 
• Ability to record MIDI in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
• Ability to sync your compositions with various short video clips and export as MP4 file

Textbook(s)

• No textbooks required
• Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software, such as GarageBand (Mac), Mixcraft (PC),  Cakewalk by BandLab  (PC), etc.
• Scanner or digital camera to convert handwritten notation into PDF format
• Recommended: MIDI keyboard controller
• Studio monitors (pair), such as JBL 305Ps or better, as well as an audio interface and necessary cables
• Over-ear studio headphones, such as Sennheiser HD 600, Sony MDR-7506, Philips SHP9500, Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, etc.
• Manuscript paper with 8 or 9 staves per page (printable template provided in the course)

Student Deals After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.

General Course Requirements

Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Chats. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course. 

• macOS High Sierra 10.13 or later
• Windows 10 or later
• Latest version of Google Chrome
• Zoom meeting software
• Speakers or headphones
• External or internal microphone
• Broadband Internet connection

Instructors

Tom Hojnacki enjoys an unusually varied musical career. As a keyboard player, Tom has worked with the national touring productions of the Big Apple Circus, A Chorus Line ,  Altar Boyz ,  Beautiful! ,  Matilda , and Finding Neverland . He has appeared with the Prague Radio, the Claflin Hill, the Plymouth Philharmonic and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestras and as a chamber musician in performances of the music of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Bartok, Messiaen, and Shostakovich. 

Kari Henrik Juusela is a Finnish-American composer, performer, and educator who presently serves as dean of the Professional Writing and Music Technology Division at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing music in styles ranging from pop to contemporary classical, he enjoys playing and recording the cello, bass, guitar, piano, table, and the Finnish Kantele. 

Internationally touring musician, Mark Zaleski, has distinguished himself as a uniquely dynamic soloist, multi-instrumentalist, and band leader.He has performed with a diverse group of notable artists including Dave Brubeck, Christian McBride, Ian Anderson, Connie Francis, Mahmoud Ahmed, Rakalam Bob Moses, the Either/Orchestra, Jason Palmer, and Matt Savage.  At the young age of 33, he has established faculty positions at Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, and Longy School of Music at Bard College.

Rick McLaughlin’s work has been heard all over the world. A band leader, side-man, and member of the Grammy-nominated jazz group Either/Orchestra, he has performed on stages and in recording studios in places ranging from greater Boston, MA to Los Angeles, CA; from Barcelona, Spain to Rome, Italy; and from Phuket, Thailand to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Dozens of CDs feature Rick McLaughlin, including his own debut as a leader, Study of Light , which garnered critical acclaim (“…illuminates your aural universe with singleness and sincerity.” – Marcel Polgar, Double Bassist Magazine).   He has shared the stage with a wide range of musicians, from jazz luminaries such as Don Byron, Steve Lacy, John Medeski, Danilo Perez, and John Zorn, to rock musicians Willie “Loco” Alexander, Morphine and Peter Wolf, and country music star Roger Miller. A frequent collaborator with musicians from all over the globe, McLaughlin has also performed with Ethiopia’s great singers Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayhu Eshete, as well as the innovator behind Ethio-Jazz, Mulatu Astatke. 

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AP Music Theory Online

AP Music theory prepares students to sit for the AP Music Theory Exam after one academic year. Students have the opportunity to study with an experienced music theory instructor with extensive experience in teaching music theory at the collegiate level. Levine’s music theory students have a longstanding track record of success and have scored a full point (out of 5) over the national average on the AP exam.

AP Music Theory serves as an introduction to college-level music fundamentals, musicianship (sight singing, listening, dictation, and transcription), harmony, musical analysis, and composition. AP Music Theory prepares students with a broad base of knowledge and skills that are essential for performance and composition in many musical genres, including classical, jazz, and popular music.

This 32-week course is designed for students to participate remotely. Each week, students will complete a prerecorded lesson, a reading assignment, and theory/musicianship assignments. This work can be completed at any time during the week. Students have regular interaction with the instructor through email, office hours (for local students), and video chat.

Students will also participate in monthly live online review sessions with the instructor. These live sessions will be conducted in a hybrid format – students may attend in person or via Zoom. To view a listing of the live session dates/times, please click on “more information and enroll” at the bottom of this page.

This course uses an online classroom and integrated music-theory software, enabling students to complete assignments digitally. Students also have access to online review materials in AP Classroom. All software fees are included with tuition. The required textbook is Harmony in Context, 2nd edition, which students should purchase prior to the first session.

This course has been authorized by the College Board. Students who complete the course can earn college credit, based on AP Exam performance. Students who wish to earn high school credit in addition may request independent study credit, with the approval of their high school counselor. Students who are not able to take the exam at Levine’s Washington, D.C. location are responsible for finding a local testing site.

Please note: Students must have access to a laptop or desktop computer with a microphone. Students must have the ability to read and write standard musical notation.

Basic musical performance skills are also recommended. The course is recommended for high-school aged musicians, but younger students who demonstrate extraordinary accomplishments in music theory may register with the instructor’s permission.

Students must take an online placement test prior to registering for the class.

Live Sessions: 9/11, 10/16, 11/13, 1/18, 2/12, 3/5, 4/9, 4/30 For more information please contact the Department Chair at [email protected].

Sep 11, 2021 - Apr 30, 2022

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The Choir Director Corner

Using musictheory.net for assessment in your choir.

By mattwalker on May 7th, 2020 in The Blog!

Awwww yeah, it’s music theory time, my friends!  Now, remember, before you freak out: it’s not rocket science!

For Part 4 of my Teaching Choir During Covid series, my post is about one of my favorite tools for teaching music theory:

www.musictheory.net

The folks at musictheory.net do have a couple of paid apps, if you are interested in those (more info on their website).  However, my experience is you can get plenty done with the website by itself–and, it’s free to use!

My discussion is going to focus on the Lessons and the Exercises on the website.  There’s also an area with quite a few helpful Tools, and also an “Exercise Customizer” for teachers that lets you create assignments as well.

The lessons are basically powerpoint presentations.  There’s a few moving parts as you go from slide to slide; each presentation explains the concepts by showing what things look like on a staff as well as on a piano.  You can easily go back and forth from slide to slide.  I find the lessons very straight-forward; it clearly explains the concepts, in a way that a complete beginner (which some of my students are) can understand.

With my classes I typically go through the lesson presentations in class.  I go through the lesson step-by-step, explaining the different concepts.  I then give them an assignment: with each exercise, they had to do 20 exercises with a specific (80%, 90%, etc.) success rate.  I use the lessons on note identification and key signatures, and then dive into intervals.  If I have time, I will get into the different types of scales and chords, but we may not get to those by the end of the year.  I will also use the different exercises to help my singers practice utilizing solfege.

For an LMS, my school uses Canvas, so I just have my students copy the URL link provided by the website, and then students paste the link inside Canvas to submit the assignment. 

Here’s a quick tutorial:

1-At the bottom of the “Exercises” page there is a tab that says “Exercise Customizer”.  Once you click on that, you come to a page where you can select the exercise you want (I’ll use Key Signature Identification as the example).

2-Once you select the exercise, there are several different parameters to assign.  For assignments, there is an option for “Challenge Mode”,  which you can use to  limit the number of questions, assign a time limit, and also decide if the student gets multiple chances at a question.  For this example, “multiple chances” is turned off, I assigned a limit of 3 minutes, and there is a limit of 20 questions.  You can change any of these parameters, depending on how many exercises you want them to do, what you want the minimum percentage correct to be, etc.

3-Once that is all set, you can go to the very bottom of the page where there is a weblink listed–this changes as you change the different aspects of the assignment.  When you have everything set, you copy the weblink, and that is what you send to your students.  They receive the link, and they are taken directly to the assignment.

4-Once the student finishes the assignment, they are given their percentage correct and the time it took to complete the assignment. 

They then have the option to “View Report”–clicking on this button takes you to a “report” with the different statistics relating to the assignment.

5-At the top of this page there is a field where the student can “sign” the report.  They type in their name and submit, which then gives them a link to copy.  That link is what the student sends to you, which allows you to see their results on the exercise.  

Again, if you have an LMS that students can use to submit assignments, it’s easy for them to submit the URL link provided by musictheory.net.  But for those teachers that don’t have that type of system at their disposal, students could email you the link, or even take a screenshot of their results on the exercise.

Even if you don’t use musictheory.net for the assignments–the lessons are still a great way to cover music theory topics with your students online.  And if you ar e a teacher that is having to do “voluntary” learning activities with choice boards, etc.,  this would be a great opportunity to include some music theory activities for your students!

If you have any questions about musictheory.net, or if you have other ways that you are covering music theory topics online with your singers, send me an email at: 

[email protected] . I’d love to hear from you!  

Hope you enjoyed the post, see you tomorrow for Teaching Choir During Covid, Part 4!  

And for more great content and a fantastic online community of choir directors, head over to our FREE Facebook Group, The Choir Director Corner Private Group!  You can find it at:  www.ChoirDirectorCornerGroup.com .

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