A Taxonomy for Teaching Music Theory: J. S. Bach and Lessons in Invertible Counterpoint

Abstract

Many aspects of J. S. Bach's pedagogical tradition remain relevant to current thinking in undergraduate music theory instruction. This essay draws inspiration from Bach as a teacher, particularly his systematic presentation of ideas and his preference for teaching from compositions rather than abstract exercises. Part 1 explores the potential for applying Bloom's Taxonomy to music theory instruction. Building on recent applications of the taxonomy to music education, particularly work by Deborah Rifkin and Philip Stoecker, I propose a revised taxonomy for teaching undergraduate written theory. This approach provides a great deal of flexibility in the classroom since it can be applied to any theory topic. To demonstrate its effectiveness, Part 2 presents a series of detailed activities for teaching invertible counterpoint following the six categories of the taxonomy. Each activity includes excerpts either from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier or two-part inventions.