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The Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy is a peer-reviewed publication focused exclusively on the teaching and learning of music theory. The journal provides a forum for educators and scholars to share pedagogical research, teaching strategies, case studies, and curricular innovations designed to improve music theory instructor at all educational levels. The journal is separated into articles, resources, and reviews of which articles and resources are solicited for editorial review.
Articles on any aspect of teaching or learning music theory will be considered, whether the topic addresses core music theory and aural skills classes, a more specialized topic, or a general topic such as curricular revision. Preference is given to articles that advance the scholarship of teaching and learning in music theory, and submissions that are accounts of classroom practice may be better suited for the Resources section of the journal. Our audience includes professional music theorists, non-theory-specialists (e.g., performer/teachers), graduate assistants, and teachers of pre-college music theory. Article lengths average 7,000-10,000 words. Contributions will be judged on originality, relevance, interest to a diverse audience, and clarity of writing. The Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy sends submissions to at least two peer reviewers, after which the Editor(s) will make a final determination on publication and will provide anonymized peer reviews to authors. We strive to have peer reviews completed within sixty days to ensure a timely process.
Successful contributions to the Resources section of JMTP focus on core music theory topics (from fundamentals through advanced concepts) in college/university and high school settings. Special consideration will be given to materials that address topics likely to be taught by junior faculty, non-theory specialists (e.g., performer/teachers), and graduate assistants. We especially welcome resources submissions that embrace not only Western music, but also popular, jazz and world music, and music by traditionally underrepresented groups.
Resource submissions may fall into any of the following categories:
The Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy is a project of the Gail Boyd de Stwolinski Center for Music Theory Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma. The Center was established in 1985 to provide an international clearinghouse for information concerning the teaching and learning of music theory and began publishing the journal with the first volume in 1987.
In 2010, a collaborative effort was mounted, approval secured, and funding provided by the Gail Boyd de Stwolinski Center for Music Theory Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma to develop a website that served as a repository for all things relating to music theory pedagogy.
The journal was published by the Carolyn Wilson Collections at Lipscomb University until 2025. In 2026, it was relaunched as an open access journal published by the University of Oklahoma Libraries, with the support of the Weitzenhoffer College of Fine Arts at the University of Oklahoma.
The Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. All content in JMTP is freely available without charge to the user or their institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative's definition of open access.
Users may subscribe to the journal at no cost by clicking on the “Register” link in the top right-hand corner of the journal. By registering and creating an account, users may opt in to being notified via email when new volumes or announcements are published.
Additionally, there is no cost for authors to submit manuscripts. The Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy does not charge any article processing fees (APCs) for any submissions or publications. Additional information and author guidelines can be found on the Submissions page.
For articles published 1987 - 2025: © The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, 1987 – 2025. All Rights Reserved. The Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy and its contents are made available for noncommercial, research, teaching, and educational uses pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 4.0, which can be found at the following URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Authors who publish with the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy as of June 1, 2026, must agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright for their work without restrictions. Articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC-BY-NC-ND) license
By granting a CC BY-NC-ND license in their work, authors retain copyright ownership of the work, but they give explicit permission for others to copy, download, reuse, reprint, and/or redistribute the work, as long as the original source and author(s) are properly cited (i.e., a complete bibliographic citation and link to the JMTP website). No permission is required from the author(s) or the publishers for such use. The license does not permit commercial use.
If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you may only do so for personal use and may not distribute the modified material. Exceptions to the application of the CC BY-NC-ND license may be granted at the author(s)’ discretion if reasonable extenuating circumstances exist. Such exceptions must be granted in writing.
You hereby grant to us a worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable license to reproduce, distribute, and display the edited manuscript in the JMTP (and other publications prepared by us or on our behalf) in any media now or hereafter.
We do not restrict your distribution or use of the manuscript following publication in the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy. In fact, we encourage it with our built-in social media share buttons. However, we have the right to publish the manuscript first on our journal website. Thus, the foregoing licenses are exclusive to us prior to our publication of the manuscript. You have the right to convey the foregoing licenses.
Compensation: You have free, open access to unlimited copies (PDF) of any article published online in the journal. You will not receive a royalty or other monetary return from the journal for using the article.
This contract is the sole and exclusive agreement between the parties regarding the manuscript and supersedes all prior conversations and understandings regarding its subject matter. This contract may be modified or supplemented only by a mutually signed writing.
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
Click the "Register" button at the top of the page to be automatically notified by email when new journal issues or announcements are published.
New authors will need to register with the journal before submitting. View the Submissions page for information on submitting your article to this journal.
The Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy is a publication of the University of Oklahoma Libraries and supported by the Gail Boyd de Stwolinski Center for Music Theory Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma.
Articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC-BY-NC-ND) license.
