Basic Music Theory PDF Worksheets
Over 400 PDF Music Worksheets to download today!
This website provides music teachers with the lesson plans and resources to take their students from a place where they have no functional understanding of music theory at all to a place where they totally "get" Scales, Chords and Keys
Download a PDF Music Worksheet on Spelling Scales
Download a PDF Music Worksheet on Correctly Naming Notes
Click for a PDF Music Worksheet on Intervals
Click the blue text above to download a few basic music theory worksheets that you can use in your music classroom today
Self Contained Basic Music Theory Course
An entire basic music theory course in twelve packs that takes students from a position where they have no functional knowledge of music theory to a place where they "totally get" note names, scales,chords and keys
All without using any notated music!
The reality is (regardless of wether we like it or not) most of our students are not fluent when it comes to reading music
This material offers a pathway to understanding basic and intermediate level music theory without students having to learn about notation first
Download a free pack now!
PDF Music Worksheets can be the cornerstone of a modern music classroom.There are an ever increasing amount of teaching strategies and a whole range of "new" technologies but the reality that we meet on a day to day basis is that the humble pencil and worksheet is still perhaps the most useful tool that a music teacher has
The Music Theory Worksheets (basic and beyond) that make up the musicteachingresources download deal with the basic "nuts and bolts" of teaching music theory in a classroom situation. The melodic and harmonic elements of music. Naming notes correctly, constructing scales, developing a working knowledge of how chords are formed and from there the theory that underpins common harmonic systems (keys etc). If our students cannot be made to understand those important elements then the horrible truth is that we will have failed as music educators. It is as simple and brutal as that.
"Which element of basic music theory should we cover first?"
When teaching music theory to groups or individuals it can be a problem to know just where to begin? MThe majority of our students have access to a limeted amount of music theory but more often than not there are significant "gaps" in their understanding and their lack of "joined up" understanding tends to present in ways such as calling a note of C sharp "D Flat" or not developing a familiarity with the sequence of Major and minor chords in any given key. Some of our students can recall and recite quite advanced fragments of music theory ("the key that contains four sharps is the Key of E") but will be unable to explain "why" this is the case (they often can't tell you which four notes of the E scale are sharpened and more importantly the scale formula that underpins their statement)
The 400+ PDF worksheets available from this site set out to provide a structured way for students to get a firm grasp on the harmonic and melodic components of music theory "from the ground up" with no room for ambiguity or uncertainty
So......Where do we start?
PDF Music Worksheets:
Learning to Assign The "Correct" Letter Names to Notes
It cannot be overstated that the ability to understand how notes are assigned the "correct" letter name is the essential first step to understanding music theory. If our students do not feel confident enough to assign names to notes correctly then they will struggle more than they need to with every other aspect of music theory.
We provide a series of worksheets designed to help students to come to terms with the most basic but important concept associated with developing a working understanding of music theory (that some pitches can be assigned only one letter name while others can be given either of two letter names depending on the circumstances).
If you look closely at the music worksheets in the above graphic you will see that although some of them require students to provide notation many of them do not. If our students can count up to twelve and know the alphabet from A to G then they already have the skills required to understand music theory.
Use of the worksheets in this download will allow learners to get to grips with music theory without obliging them to first become familiar with notation and allows notation to be given its proper place in the study of music.
When they develop a clear and certain understanding of how and why notes are named then they are ready to move on to a study of the two intervals ("whole step" and "half step" intervals) that combine to allow the construction of Major and minor scales
High School PDF Music worksheets: intervals
When learners are able to confidently assign names to musical notes then they need to next study whole-step and half-step intervals. If you download and inspect the three worksheets shown above you will see that the two sheets on the left of the graphic feature representations of a keyboard alongside a text based question paper requiring students to identify a note either a whole or a half step above or below the note that they have named in the circle on the worksheet (an skill that they will have developed when working on the Note Naming Worksheets discussed earlier in this page)
The music worksheet towards the right of the image uses only text (there are no graphics to help out) and is intended to force learners to rely upon (and to reinforce) the knowledge that they have developed with regard to correctly naming notes in order to identify notes a given whole or half-step interval above or below a specified note. Familiarity with whole-step and half-step intervals will allow students to use those two basic intervals in order to construct and understand Major and Minor scales from a strong position.
Click the link below to Download Free, Detailed Lesson Plans designed to take your students from a situation in which they have no functional knowledge of basic music theory to a place where they understand Notes, Scales, Chords and Keys
Download Free PDF containing Lesson Plans For a series of first music theory lessons
Basic Music Theory Worksheets: Scale Construction
When they are capable of naming notes correctly and of understanding whole and half-step intervals then our students are ready to look at the rules and concepts underpinning Major Scale construction
Scale construction is perhaps the single most important "building block" when it comes to developing an understanding of basic music theory and
our very first set of music theory scale worksheets use only letter names and the relevant #'s and b's They are provided with the intention that learners can be introduced to musical notation after they have gained some experience of naming notes and constructing scales.
The worksheet shown above is one of a series designed to be used before the point at which musical notation is introduced These basic sheets feature "support" to the novice by means of relevant graphics demonstrating scale formulae ("W" and "H" representing whole-step and half-step intervals that come between the notes of the scale) In addition, a piano keyboard is provided so that students have a visual aid in front of them which assists them to define the correct letter names and intervals to be used
Below you can see a detail from one such (completed) worksheet which better illustrates the theory behind it.
Students are required to identify the root note of the scale and to use the keyboard diagram to help then move through the correct sequence of whole-step and half-step intervals in order to define the correct notes for the scale
Introducing musical notation and "stretching" our more more advanced students
Below you can see a range of complementary basic music theory scale worksheets that use notation. They can be used to help familiarise learners who become able to identify the letter names for scales along with notation or to help stretch more advanced members of the student group.
400+ Music Worksheets in a simple "one click" download
$18.00
Basic Music Theory Worksheets: Chords
A set of music worksheets themed around the construction of chords. The first sheets are concerned with simple triads. In subsequent worksheets learners will encounter more advanced chord construction (7th chords etc)
Basic Music Theory PDF Worksheets: Music Theory "Mini Exams"
A range of high school level music theory worksheets in the form of music theory tests with ten questions/puzzles on each sheet. Initially the tests are concerned with Major Scales, Minor scales and basic triads. More advanced worksheets introduce 7th chords and (major and minor) pentatonic scales into the mix.
These test papers can be used for homework or in classroom sessions. They are also ideal for diagnostic or assessment purposes to determine the strengths and weaknesses of particular students with regard to music theory.
In addition to allowing you to test your students they also provide an excellent music theory resource for use with substitute teachers when you can't be in the classroom?
Basic Music PDF Worksheets and/or Wallcharts
You also get Thirteen letter sized basic music theory PDF handouts explaining the construction of major, minor, pentatonic and blues scales as well triads and 7th chords etc
These basic music theory resources can be distributed to students and/or printed and displayed as a source of quick reference on your music classroom wall?
Once they have been downloaded you can print these invaluable basic to advanced music theory worksheets and handouts straight from the hard drive of your computer or drop the files onto a memory stick and take them into your high school or college for photocopying etc. Whatever suits the way you work? Any way you choose you can be sure that for the rest of your teaching career you will always have access to first class music theory worksheets and resources.
Enjoy!
DOWNLOAD over 400 Basic Music Theory PDF's NOW!
A lifetime of music theory worksheets for only $18.00
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$18.00
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