68: How to Easily Include Beginning and Advanced Music Theory in Your Homeschool

Unlock the power of music education at home with Episode 68 of the Music in Our Homeschool Podcast: “How to Easily Include Beginning and Advanced Music Theory in Your Homeschool,” hosted by experienced music educator and homeschooling mom, Gena Mayo. Whether you’re a homeschooling parent feeling intimidated by music theory, or you have a budding musician at home, this episode is packed with actionable tips and encouragement to make both beginning and advanced music theory accessible, engaging, and fun for every family.

Discover why learning music theory is crucial for your child’s education—from enhancing sight reading skills and improving mathematical reasoning to strengthening cognitive flexibility and overall music literacy. Gena Mayo breaks down the benefits of music theory in the homeschool environment and shares how it can be seamlessly integrated into your daily routine, regardless of your own musical background.

Explore Gena’s three comprehensive, self-paced online music theory courses designed specifically for homeschoolers: Beginning Music Theory for Elementary, Beginning Music Theory for Teens, and Advanced Music Theory for Teens. Each course features engaging video lessons, printable worksheets, interactive ear training, and self-grading quizzes to ensure mastery at every level—without requiring parents to know music theory themselves!

This episode covers practical strategies for teaching music theory at home, ideas for incorporating games and manipulatives, and how to help your child progress from foundational concepts to college-prep skills. Plus, learn about exclusive homeschool resources and special membership options that make a quality music education affordable and stress-free.

If you’re looking for step-by-step guidance on how to add quality music theory instruction to your homeschool curriculum, this episode is your go-to resource. Tune in and empower your homeschoolers with the skills they need to thrive musically!

Find links to all resources mentioned in this episode here: https://musicinourhomeschool.com/music-theory-in-your-homeschool/ 

Please follow/subscribe to the podcast and leave a 5-star review and comment if you liked this episode! Find all courses at https://Learn.MusicinOurHomeschool.com ,free music lessons here: https://MusicinOurHomeschool.com/FreeMusicLessons , and lots more links here: https://linktr.ee/genamayo !

Transcript

How to Easily Include Beginning and Advanced Music Theory in Your Homeschool (E68)
Gena: [00:00:00] Hi, friends. Welcome back to the Music in our homeschool podcast. This is Gena Mayo, and today we're talking about how to easily include beginning and advanced music theory in your homeschool.
Music theory is something that can feel a little intimidating, but it doesn't have to be.
Whether you've never read a note in your life, or you've got a budding Beethoven in your home, this episode will help you see just how simple and rewarding it can be to include both beginning and then advanced music theory in your homeschool.
And the best part, you don't have to know any music theory yourself. You don't have to teach it. You don't need any fancy supplies to get started. Today, we'll walk through why it's so valuable and what makes it doable at home and how you can get started [00:01:00] today.
If you are a homeschooler looking for ways to easily and affordably include a quality music education in your homeschool, you've come to the right place. This is the music in our homeschool podcast. I'm Gina Mayo, homeschooling mom of eight, a music teacher for over 30 years.
So first, why study music theory at all? Well, music theory is the foundation of all music learning. It's like the grammar of music. It explains the why behind what you play, hear, and sing. Here are a few benefits for learning music theory.
It strengthens sight reading. It makes learning instruments easier. It improves listening skills and helps students recognize patterns. It boosts mathematical reasoning because rhythm and meter are inherently mathematical. It builds memory and cognitive flexibility, and just [00:02:00] like learning a foreign language, music theory is another form of literacy.
In a homeschool setting, music theory can fit seamlessly into your day. It doesn't need to be a long, complicated, drawn out session, and it doesn't even need to be parent led. With the right structure, it becomes a powerful, self-guided tool for your child's education.
And let's be honest, music is a part of life. It's in our churches, celebrations, movies, video games, cultural traditions, everywhere. Understanding music adds depth to how your children experience the world.
Now, I know what you might be thinking, "But I'm not musical. I can't read music. I wouldn't even know where to start."
Well, this is what I want you to hear clearly. You don't need to know music theory yourself to teach music theory in your homeschool. That's what I'm here for and why I have created these three courses. Beginning Music Theory [00:03:00] for Elementary, Beginning Music Theory for Teens, and Advanced Music Theory for Teens.
Each one is designed for your students to do independently with video lessons, printable worksheets, ear training exercises, and even self grading quizzes. Your job is simply to encourage them and press play. That's it.
In fact, I've had many parents say that they decided to learn alongside their children and discovered a new appreciation for music theory in the process.
What makes these music theory courses different? Well, let me tell you, they were created specifically for homeschooling families by a homeschooling mom, me, who's also a certified and experienced music educator for over 30 years, and someone who is kind of a music theory geek.
These courses are age appropriate. They're engaging and flexible and allow your [00:04:00] child to go at his or her own pace. They combine theory, listening, and performance, so students aren't just memorizing, they're applying what they're learning, and they cover everything you need from the very first note to college prep level skills.
Let me walk you through each of the three courses I offer, so that you can easily choose the best one for your child to start with.
First of all, Beginning Music Theory for Elementary. If you have an elementary aged student, let's say first grade through f ifth or sixth grade, then start here. This course introduces music theory through printable manipulatives, games, body movement, rhythmic activities, and piano play. It's broken into three engaging sections.
Section one are the music theory lessons, and they cover topics such as Notes of the Treble and Bass Clefs. The [00:05:00] Friendly Music Staff song (this is a catchy tune that helps kids memorize the note names). Names of Notes (like quarter note, whole note). Symbols, Rests, and Terms. Note Values (like how long you hold a note with a particular time signature). Rhythms and how to read and count the rhythms. Rhythm Practice through body percussion and bucket drumming. Sight Singing with Solfege Hand Signs. Dynamics and Tempo. Intervals, Scales, and Chords. And High and Low Pitches with Body Scale.
Section two has hand clapping and singing games. Some of the fun hand clapping games are Miss Mary Mack, Pease Porridge Hot, Head and Shoulders Baby 1 2 3, and Four White Horses. These games help reinforce rhythm through fine motor and gross motor [00:06:00] movement and memory through learning the chants.
And then singing games such as Chester, Aiken Drum, Dum Dum Dada, Bow Wow Wow. These help children match, pitch, internalize steady beat, build confidence, and of course have fun.
Section three is music theory through the piano. Now, let me reiterate. This is not a piano course. This is learning music theory through the piano keyboard, but you will learn four simple songs on the piano keyboard. You could have any kind of keyboard for this. Kids will experiment with playing chords to accompany those songs. As we learned about chords in the music theory section, now they're actually going to be playing them and understanding melody and harmony. And then finally they will learn some basics of improvising and exploring sounds.
So this course is very flexible. Your goal is [00:07:00] hopefully exposure and getting your children the basics in. You could do one lesson a week. You can move faster, you can move slower. It's your choice. The goal is mastery. So if you have a younger student who's having difficulty memorizing the lines and spaces of the treble clef, take longer. If you have an older student who could learn that in 30 minutes and move on to something harder, then move faster. It's your choice.
All right. Now the next course is called Beginning Music Theory for Teens. This is one of my most popular courses. I think the reason why is because often by the time the student gets to be a teen, if they've taken lessons such as singing, piano, violin, guitar, by the time they're a teenager, they know if they really want to d elve deeper into it, learn more, make it a part of their life. And then they really want to learn music [00:08:00] theory so that they are really understanding their instrument better. Maybe they've decided they want to do some composition or songwriting, and music theory is definitely needed for that.
This course is going to cover things that were taught in the Beginning Music Theory for Elementary course. So if they took that one when they were younger, I do encourage them to go ahead and move into Beginning Music Theory for Teens. Don't skip all the way to Advanced Music Theory because Beginning Music Theory for teens does have a lot more that we're going to cover, too.
If they didn't take the elementary course though, that is okay. If they're 13 years old and want to start right with Beginning Music Theory for Teens, it'll be perfect for them.
This course is designed for middle and high school students, and it can be completed in one semester. If they are doing it at the high school level and want high school credit, it is a half credit [00:09:00] course and can be done in one semester with four lessons per week, 72 lessons. However, if you do want to stretch it out longer, if your middle schooler is taking it and they wanna take the whole year, that's fine. Or if your high schooler's taking it and wants to take it at a little slower pace, they can do it over the whole year, but still get half credit for it.
Some of the 72 lessons include learning the note names, reading the staff, time signatures, rests, ties and slurs, major and minor scales and key signatures, the circle of fifths, intervals and triads, sight singing with solfege, basic piano skills, flashcard, app, and ear training practice, self grading quizzes, and a final exam.
In the ear training exercises, students listen and identify whether [00:10:00] notes are high or low. The same or different. It's foundational work that improves their listening across all music. Dictation exercises help them hear melodies, and then write them down, just like a real composer. And the app-based practice and flashcards keep it engaging and reinforce the concepts so they go toward mastery.
Yes, this course is beginner friendly. Even if your teen has never taken a music theory course before, they will do just fine. The course starts at square one.
But the other question I often get is, well, what if my child has been taking piano lessons for 10 years already? Is this course going to be too easy for them? I would still encourage you to start here because more than likely something that I'm going to be teaching in the Music Theory for Teens course, they will not have learned yet. And if they have learned it, then it will be an awesome [00:11:00] review for them and they will get even more mastery before they move on to the Advanced Music Theory for Teens course.
The Advanced Music Theory for Teens course is a full high school credit course that goes deep into college level concepts. This course is ideal for high schoolers who are in band, orchestra, or private lessons, and they've already taken the Beginning Music Theory for Teens course. This is one for teens who are interested in composition or having a music career, for a senior in high school who's planning to be a music major in college, or students who are preparing for the AP Music Theory exam, although they will still need to find a certified AP Music Theory teacher in order to have access to take the exam because I am not certified in AP Music Theory.
What will students be learning in the [00:12:00] Advanced Music Theory course? They will study meter and complex rhythms, key signatures, modes, and transposition, triads, seventh chords and inversions, harmonic analysis and chord progressions, aural skills (that's listening to and writing down the music just like we talked about dictation for the previous course), sight singing and dictation. Chord structure and analysis. Four part writing, figured bass and Roman numeral analysis. Advanced scales and modes. Seventh chords and inversions. The Nashville number system, music history, and stylistic analysis.
This course is designed like a high school math course. Each concept will build on the previous one, and mastery is expected and necessary before [00:13:00] moving on to the next lesson. While it's structured to be done in one school year, working on it about 30 to 60 minutes a day, you are encouraged to pause, review as much as you need to and ask me questions. There's a place in every lesson where you can leave a comment to ask me questions and I will personally respond.
So how does this all work in your homeschool? Each course is self-paced, it's accessible on any device. Teachable even has an app through the app store. You get lifetime access to the courses. There are printable worksheets included. It automatically tracks your progress, and it's all online. No prep for Mom.
So in conclusion, whether your child is just beginning or ready to tackle the advanced levels, music theory can be rewarding and a very achievable part of your homeschool. It builds skills and nurtures [00:14:00] creativity. It opens doors. So with these courses, it's never been easier to start.
Visit the link in the show notes or description to find the music theory courses. And if you're catching this right as I'm first putting out the podcast episode, there is a special launch sale going on. So you will definitely wanna check it out today. There are even a few preview lessons that you can watch to see if it's what you're looking for.
One more option, if you'd like access to all of them, plus everything else I have at Music in Our Homeschool, then definitely join the Premium Tier of the Music in Our Homeschool Plus membership. You can find that at MusicinOurHomeschool.com/membership.
Well, thanks for spending time with me today. I believe every homeschool family deserves access to a high quality music education, and I'm here to help you make that happen. Until next time, keep [00:15:00] pressing play and making music in your homeschool.

Find links to all resources mentioned in this episode here: https://musicinourhomeschool.com/music-theory-in-your-homeschool/