Music Theory is the most advanced of the four classroom music courses offered at the Lewis S. Mills High School. The class is offered during the first semester of the year and covers a wide range of knowledge and skills that help students gain a deeper understanding of music construction and analysis.

The content of this course is such that students will grasp a practical application of musical composition. The emphasis will be on the fundamentals of composition as they relate to scales, chords, intervals, and four-part writing. Ear training will play a large role in this course and students will learn to take musical dictation. Sight singing will also be studied. This course is for experienced musicians and can only be taken with permission of the instructor. An interview with the instructor may be required. Regular and on-going evaluation of the students’ progress will be monitored by research projects and written tests.

At the completion of each unit of the course, the students will be applying their knowledge to the development of a 4 part chorale composition. The finished chorale will contain examples of melodic construction, cadences, harmonic progression, modulations and will follow the rules of western partwriting techniques. The students will have chances to listen to their chorales as they are being composed, and will hear final performances on live instruments at the conclusion of the course.