What I learned from teaching theory class. Now that sounds like an essay for school.
On Saturday, I taught a theory class. The class was open to all of the students. The purpose of the class was to review and to find out which areas of theory that the students need to do the most review work.
We started off with very easy work sheets that covered naming treble clef and bass clef notes. A little confidence building before we get into the more involved work. Next it was onto matching the names of major and minor key signatures to the actual key signatures. The layout of this worksheet proved a little confusing. I will make up an easier to follow format for later classes.
Next it was on to filling in the key signatures for the given example. For example, the student might have been given A major. They were then expected to draw that key signature on the staff. The students did well on the majors but needed reminders on how to work backwards to find out what the minor key signatures would look like. Learning to navigate major to minor and minor to major key signatures can be a challenge. However, I am happy to report that all of the students have progressed very nicely in this area since our theory class in November of 2009.
The final worksheets had the students comparing two intervals and identifying which one was correct. This was to be followed by worksheet asking the student to write the given interval.
At the end of class all of the students agreed that it was a great experience and that they would definitely like to attend more classes.
I enjoyed working with the students outside of the studio and their regular lesson times. Our next class will be in January. At that point we will be reviewing for the NFMC theory tests that the students will take in February.