Music Theory

Abstract

This chapter describes issues related to teaching music theory online and presents experiences with online music theory instruction in narratives provided by professors teaching music theory online. It provides background on music theory pedagogy and the nature of music theory study. It lists accreditation standards for the study of music theory and explains its signature pedagogy. It reviews the state of the practice, including the status of music theory curricula and online music theory instruction as reported in several surveys. It features four professors who describe their online teaching experiences: development, evolution, and teaching of a fully online music fundamentals course; asynchronous music theory courses; and music theory pedagogy in flipped classrooms. Each professor offers suggestions for prospective online music theory teachers, and the chapter concludes with some lessons drawn from the field.