ollege of Musical Arts

Study Guide for History/Theory Entrance Exam

Introduction Music History Music Theory Policy for Entrance Tests and Re-tests in Music History and Theory Music History Exam Study Guide Music Theory Exam Study Guide

Introduction
One of the responsibilities of any institution offering a graduate degree in music is to ascertain that entering students have an undergraduate level of competence in music history and theory. To that end, diagnostic examinations are administered prior to the first semester of graduate study. If, on the basis of those examinations, deficiencies are noted, remedial course work is assigned. Since these courses do not count toward your degree, it is important that you do well on the examinations. This study guide is intended to help you prepare for the examinations, It lists composers, terms, and styles covered in standard undergraduate music history courses, and concepts and skills common to undergraduate theory training. Consequently, it may be viewed as an extensive memory aid, recalling to your mind what you already know. The following comments are offered as suggestions on how to use the guide.

Music History
The history section is divided into two areas: 1) composers or groups of composers; 2) terms appropriate to each period. For the composers, know their stylistic characteristics (important historical contributions, musical innovations, common compositional techniques) and genres with which they are associated. For the terms, know the definitions, characteristics, and composers with which they can be associated.

Music Theory
The theory section is divided into five parts: 1) Part Writing; 2) Analysis; 3) Form; 4) Counterpoint; 5) Twentieth-century techniques. For the first, be able to demonstrate, in written fashion, the suggested voice leading, part writing and figure bass skills. For the other parts, be able to identify items when you see them in musical excerpts, and be able to provide appropriate analyses of given musical examples.

Policy for Entrance Tests and Re-tests in Music History and Theory
1. All entering graduate students must take tests in music history and theory before beginning their graduate work. There is no exception to this rule. 2. These tests are normally taken during the first two days of Orientation Week preceding the start of the Fall semester. Students who enter the graduate program in January or in the summer must take the tests before enrolling for classes. 3. Students who pass these tests may enroll in graduate history and theory courses without restriction. 4. Students who fail part or all of these tests have two options: 1. Students may take remedial courses to make up deficiencies. MuCT

506 is required of those who fail the theory test; MuCT 507 and/or MuCT 508 are required of those who fail one or both portions of the history test. 2. Students may elect to take re-tests in the areas of deficiency. In this case the student is allowed one semester to study the material. At the end of the first semester of residence, usually in December, re-tests will be administered. THESE RE-TESTS MAY BE TAKEN ONLY ONCE AND MUST BE TAKEN AT THE END OF THE FIRST SEMESTER OF STUDY. Students who pass the re-tests are permitted to enroll in graduate history and/or theory courses without restriction. Students who fail the re-tests MUST take the appropriate remedial courses. 5. Students who fail most of the tests may wish to balance independent study with remedial course work. Thus, a student who, on the basis of the history test, needs both MuCT 507 and 508, may choose to take one of the courses and study the material of the other for a re-test. This decision should be made on the basis of the schedule of course offerings, so that the completion of the degree may not be hindered. Approved by College of Musical Arts Graduate Committee 9/12/1988

Music History Exam Study Guide

Sacred and Secular Medieval

Composers and Schools

Notker Balbulus Tuotilo Guido dArezzo Adam de la Halle Bernart de Ventadorn Guiraut de Bornelh Walter von der Vogelweide Hans Sachs Jongleurs Goliardic poets Troubadours Trouveres Minnesinger Meistersinger

Terms
Gregorian Chant Antiphonal psalmody Responsorial psalmody Direct psalmody Syllabic setting Neumatic setting Neume Jubilus

Liber usualis Liturgical drama Modal system Hexachord Solmization Gamut Mutation Chansonniere Roman liturgy Pastourelle Lauda Roman Mass Sequence Trope Antiphone Psalm tone Estampie Conductus Chanson de geste Cantigas Melismatic setting Late Medieval Music to 1400

Composers and Schools

Leonin Perotin Franco of Cologne Petrus de Cruce Guillaume de Machaut Philippe de Vitry Francesco Landini St. Martial Santiago de Compostella Notre Dame Avignon

Terms
Rhythmic modes Musica enchiriadis Vox principalis Vox organalis Winchester Troper Magnus liber organi Cantus firmus

Isorhythm Trecento Ars nova Formes fixes Roman de Fauvel Messe de Notre Dame Musica ficta Mensural notation Landini cadence Double leading tone cadence Clausula Conductus Organum Parallel organum Florid organum Stimmtausch Motet Hocket Discant style Cauda Ballade Rondeau Virelai Ballata Caccia Madrigal Isorhythmic motet Early Renaissance to 1500

Composers and Schools

John Dunstable Guillaume Dufay Gilles Binchois Johannes Ockeghem Antoine Busnois Josquin des Pres Heinrich Isaac Jakob Obrecht Burgundians Netherlands

Terms
Old Hall Manuscript

Plainsong Mass Cantus firmus Mass Parody Mass Musica ficta Soggetto cavato Musica reservata Motet Mass Fauxbourdon Carol Canon Sixteenth Century

Composers and Schools

Claudio Monteverdi William Byrd John Bull Tomas Victoria Carlo Gesualdo Orlando de Lasso Giovanni Gabrieli John Dowland Nicolas Gombert Adrian Willaert Jacobus Clemens Philippe Verdelot Claudin de Sermisy Clement Janequin Heinrich Finck Ludwig Senfl Paul Hofhaimer Thomas Tallis Sebastian Virdung Gioseffo Zarlino Cipriano de Rore Luca Marenzio Claudio Merulo Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Thomas Morley Michael Praetorius Netherlanders Venetians

Virginalists and Madrigalists

Terms
Council of Trent Dodecachordon Musica transalpina Triumphes of Oriana Harmonice Musices Odhecaton Psalter Fitzwilliam Virginal Book Sonata piane forte Musica reservata Madrigal (Ital. and English) Chorale Frottola Lauda Quodlibet Lied Ricercar Canzona Toccata Cori spezzati Villancico Basse-danse Lute Song Ayre Fantasia Baroque Vocal Music

Composers and Schools

Claudio Monteverdi Giulio Caccini Jacopo Peri Giacomo Carissimi Francesco Cavalli Marc Antonio Cesti Dietrich Buxtehude Heinrich Schutz Jean-Baptiste Lully Alessandro Scarlatti Henry Purcell Reinhard Keiser Johann Sebastian Bach

Jean Philippe Rameau George Handel Florentine camerata Roman opera Venetian opera Neapolitan opera

Terms
Prima prattica Secunda prattica Le nuove musiche Doctrine of Affections Bel canto Gradus ad Parnassum Royal Academy of Music Monody Cantata (sacred and secular) Motet Mass Oratorio Passion Opera seria Tragedie lyrique Da capo aria Opera-ballet Recitativo secco Recitative accompagnato arioso Ground bass Baroque Instrumental Music

Composers
Girolamo Frescobaldi Johann Jakob Froberger Denis Gaultier Jacques Champion de Chambonnieres Arcangelo Corelli Giuseppe Torelli Francois Couperin Georg Telemann Antonio Vivaldi Johann Sebastian Bach George Handel

Jean Philippe Rameau Johann Pachelbel

Terms
Trio sonata Concertato Concerto Orchestral suite Temperament Partita Traite de lharmonie Agrements Style brise Tablature Basso continuo Fugue Suite Toccata French Overture Italian Overture Sonata da chiesa Sonata da camera Chorale prelude Concerto grosso Stile concitato Chaconne Passacaglia Fantasia Canzona Ricercar Classical Period

Composers and Schools

C.P.E. Bach J.C. Bach Domenico Scarlatti Muzio Clementi Luigi Boccherini William Boyce Giovanni Sammartini Johann Stamitz Giovanni Pergolesi Christoph Willibald Gluck

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Joseph Haydn Ludwig van Beethoven Mannheim Vienna

Terms
Rococo Empfindsamer Stil Sturm und Drang Sonata Singspiel Opera buffa Opera comique Ballad opera Symphony String Quartet Orchestra and its development Opera reform Sonata form Sonata cycle Minuet and Trio Ternary form Binary form Theme and variations Rondo Sonata rondo Scherzo Romantic Period

Composers and Schools

Hector Berlioz Franz Schubert Felix Mendelssohn Franz Liszt Robert Schumann Johannes Brahms Anton Bruckner Frederic Chopin John Field Antonin Dvorak Peter Tchaikowsky Gioacchino Rossini

Gaetano Donizetti Vincenzo Bellini Giuseppe Verdi Carl Maria von Weber Heinrich Marschner Richard Wagner Giacomo Meyerbeer Charles Gounod Caesar Franck Georges Bizet

Terms
Idee fixe Requiem Thematic transformation Cyclic form Cantata Oratorio Tone poem (symphonic poem) Lied Song cycle Fantastic opera Grand opera Opera comique Opera lyrique Music drama Leitmotiv Gesamtkunstwerk Ballad Late Romanticism and Nationalism

Composers
Gustav Mahler Richard Strauss Hugo Wolf Michael Glinka Modest Mussorgsky Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakov Alexander Scriabin Bedrich Smetana Leos Janacek Edvard Grieg Charles Ives

Jan Sibelius Edward Elgar Manuel de Falla Gabriel Faure Erik Satie Claude Debussy Maurice Ravel Giacomo Puccini

Terms
The Mighty Handful Societe nationale de musique franaise Verismo Impressionism Twentieth Century

Composers
Bela Bartok Carl Orff Ralph Vaughn Williams Gustav Holst Benjamin Britten Aaron Copland Gian-Carlo Menotti Darius Milhaud Arthur Honegger Francis Poulenc Paul Hindemith Olivier Messiaen Igor Stravinsky Arnold Schoenberg Alban Berg Anton Webern Dmitri Shostakovich Serge Prokofiev Edgard Varese Karlheinz Stockhausen Pierre Boulez Milton Babbitt John Cage George Crumb Gyorgy Ligeti Luciano Berio

Iannis Xenakis Elliot Carter

Terms
Expressionism Neo-Classicism Serialism Atonality Polytonality Dodecaphony Pandiatonicism Primitivism Gebrauchsmusik Sprechstimme Klangfarbenmelodie Continuous variation Ballet Ostinato Musique concrete Electronic music Indeterminacy Minimalism Darmstadt School

Music Theory Exam Study Guide

The theory section consists of five parts:

1. Part-writing
Two-chord examples and figured bass realization that includes chromatic chords (secondary dominants, secondary leading tones, mode mixtures, borrowed chords, Neapolitan sixths and augmented sixth chords). Writing in four-part choral style (SATB) using traditional 18th-century voice leading.

2. Analysis
Chromatic chords (as listed above), modulation, non-chord tones (non-harmonic tones) and cadence types.

3. Form
Identify and label phrase structures (periods, phrase groups, double periods); tonal areas; concepts associated with simple binary, rounded binary, simple ternary and sonata-allegro form.

4. Counterpoint
Recognize, in a musical score, contrapuntal techniques and elements pertaining to baroque inventions and fugues (real and tonal imitation, stretto, canon, inversion, augmentation, dimunition, countersubject, answer, episode, sequence, motive, countermotive).

5. Twentieth-century techniques
Analyze the following in musical excerpts: Tonality (centricity, neotonality, atonality, polytonality, pandiatonicism); Harmonic structures (secundal, extended tertian, quartal,

quintal, added-note and polychords); Scale structures (pentatonic, modal, whole-tone, octatonic and other synthetic scales); Rhythmic/metric techniques (polymeter, additive rhythm, complex meter, tempo modulation, syncopation, asymmetrical meter); Settheory analysis (pitch-class set, interval class, normal form/order, transposition, inversion, prime form); Twelve-tone (row forms, hexachoral combinatoriality)