Second semester theory is one of my favorite semesters to teach for a variety of reasons. However, after teaching it for so many consecutive years, a pattern has emerged and I’m hoping that perhaps some of my more experienced readers can chime in with their own observations.

It seems that just about this time every year some of my students reach their saturation point with the material. This generally results in a great deal of frustration and in some cases an inability to make decisions on the page, especially on test days. The students tend to start well when part-writing begins, but as the harmony and rules begin to pile up, there comes a point when the wheels to come off for a selected few, usually around the time that second inversion usage is introduced.

Fortunately, this is also the time when I typically switch gears and spend a few weeks talking about phrase structures and periods, leaving the minutiae of the SATB petri dish for bigger concepts and more musical settings. Experience has taught me that this break from the overt and relentless discussion of harmony seems to recharge most of the students and allows them to sort out whatever issues they might have been struggling with up to this point in the course.

This is important for me to remember because the frustration in this afternoon’s classroom was palpable. Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon and do you have any tricks that you’ve picked up over the years to help students through this period?