Comprehensive Aural Skills is a complete suite of material for both performance and dictation, covering the wide range of sight singing and ear training skills required for undergraduate courses of study. It provides a series of instructional modules on rhythm, melody, and harmony, and blends musical examples from the common-practice repertory with original examples composed to specifically address particular skills and concepts. Each module includes material for classroom performance, self-directed study, and homework assignments.
Features
A complete suite of aural skills material: Comprehensive Aural Skills is a combined sight singing and ear training textbook, audio, and companion website package.
Fully modular, customizable organization: Instructors can choose freely from the set of exercises in the book and supplemental material on the companion website to appropriately tailor the curriculum based on their students’ needs.
Engaging and idiomatic musical examples: Examples are selected and composed specifically for the didactic context of an aural skills classroom.
Dictation exercises for practice and assignment: Practice exercises include an answer key so students can work independently and receive immediate feedback, while homework assignments are given without a key.
Audio examples for dictation: The website hosts live recordings of acoustic instruments performed by professional musicians for each dictation exercise and homework assignment.
Supplemental materials for instructors: A wealth of material for class use and assignment can be found on the companion website.
Teachers’ guide: The guide includes answers for every homework assignment, brief commentary on each module’s content, tips for integrating written theory, and strategies on how to effectively teach new concepts and skills.
This updated second edition includes the following:
Revised rhythm and harmony module structure, now introducing foundational concepts more gradually.
Additional examples from the repertory in the harmony and melody modules.
New and improved recordings on the companion website.
By:
Justin Merritt,
David Castro
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: 2nd edition
Dimensions:
Height: 254mm,
Width: 203mm,
Weight: 879g
ISBN: 9780367225933
ISBN 10: 036722593X
Pages: 390
Publication Date: 28 February 2020
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Part 1: Rhythm Module 1 : Introduction to Simple Meters Module 2 : Simple Meters, Continued Module 3 : Rests and Ties Module 4 : Syncopation in Simple Meters Module 5 : Introduction to Compound Meters Module 6 : Compound Meters, Continued Module 7 : Syncopation in Compound Meters Module 8 : Triplets, Duplets, and Hemiola Module 9 : Compound Meters, Advanced Beat Patterns Module 10 : Asymmetrical and Mixed Meters Part 2: Melody Module 1 : Steps within the Major Scale Module 2 : Steps within the Minor Scale Module 3 : Leaps within the Tonic Triad (Major and Minor) Module 4 : Leaps within the Dominant (Seventh) and vii° Module 5 : Further Diatonic Leaps Module 6 : Stepwise Chromatic Tones Module 7 : Motion to The Dominant Module 8 : Leaps To and from Chromatic Tones Module 9 : Modulation to Closely Related Keys Module 10 : Advanced Chromaticism Module 11 : Modulation to Distantly Related Keys Module 12 : Pentatonic and Diatonic Modes Module 13 : Other Modes Module 14 : Sets and 12-Tone Rows Part 3: Harmony Module 1 : I(i) and V (^1 and ^5 in the Bass) Module 2 : IV(iv), ii6(°6), and ii (^4 and ^2 in the Bass) Module 3 : I(i)6, vii°6, and V6 (^3, ^2, and ^7 in the Bass) Module 4 : V7 and the Cadential 6/4 (^5 in the Bass) Module 5 : Inversions of V7 and The Passing 6/4 (^4, ^2, and ^7 in the Bass) Module 6 : vii°7 and its Inversions and the Pedal 6/4 Module 7 : IV(iv)6, vi(VI), and iii(III) (^6, and ^3 in the Bass) Module 8 : Pre-dominant Seventh Chords—ii(ø)7 and IV(iv)7 Module 9 : Applied Dominants 1—V7/V, vii°7/V, and V7/III Module 10 : Applied Dominants 2—V7/IV(iv) and vii°7/iv Module 11 : Applied Dominants 3—V7/ii, vii°7/ii, V7/vi(VI), and vii°7/vi Module 12 : Modulation to Closely Related Keys Module 13 : Modal Mixture Module 14 : The Neapolitan (bII) Module 15 : Augmented 6th Chords Module 16 : Modulations Using vii°7 and the ct°7 Glossary of Musical Terms; Solmization Systems Dicatation Keys Part 1 Rhythm Part 2 Melody Part 3 Harmony
Justin Merritt is Professor of Music Composition and Theory at St. Olaf College, USA. David Castro is Associate Professor of Music Theory at St. Olaf College, USA.
Reviews for Comprehensive Aural Skills: A Flexible Approach to Rhythm, Melody, and Harmony
Comprehensive Aural Skills lives up to its name; together, the book and the companion website contain all the materials needed for an aural-skills curriculum. ... Comprehensive Aural Skills effectively combines singing and dictation activities in rhythm, melody, and harmony into a single book, and the high quality of the recordings makes Merritt and Castro's print-plus-digital package far more attractive than many automated dictation programs with low-quality MIDI. The inclusion of answer keys at the back of the book also makes this a viable resource for supplemental practice or even independent study ... nearly everything else needed for a four-semester curriculum is provided. - Samantha M. Inman, Music Theory Online, vol. 23, no. 3
