There were 35 students in Music Theory I. Similar to theory classes in the US, a large number did not continue into this second semester, leaving our Music Theory II with the 8 sophomores you see in the photo(freshmen had a scheduling conflict)
There is something unique about teaching a small group of motivated and bright students. Written musical notation is brand new to all of them. We began with a nice Hungarian Ear Training curriculum.(Kodaly based) They were challenged to sing their weekly homework assignments in front of their classmates. We became like a little family-lots of laughing and joking, mixed with genuine hard work.
For the final we took a hymn and learned the solfa for the Soprano, Alto and Tenor lines. Then they broke into groups of three and performed for the class. I was very proud. Singing notation is difficult even for experienced musicians. I already miss my Tuesday mornings!
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