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Florida State / College of Music / Areas of Study / Music Theory & Composition / Departmental Exams / Graduate Music Theory and Composition Majors / Graduate Theory and Composition Competency Exams
Graduate Theory and Composition Competency Exams
All graduate students in music theory must pass these three exams as part of their degree requirements. Both the keyboard harmony and part writing and melody harmonization exams are also required for the Music Theory Pedagogy Certificate. All composition students are required to pass the Style Identification competency exam; doctoral students in composition may also be required to pass the other tests as an outcome of their diagnostic examination. Exams will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis and may be taken as many times as needed to pass. One or more of the exams may be taken any semester at the student's discretion, but students must attempt every exam at least once every year until they have passed it. The exams are described below.
A. Style Identification Competency Exam (required for all graduate degrees in music theory and composition)
This exam is given on the first Wednesday of Fall term and on the last Wednesday of Spring term. The exact time and location of the exam will be announced just prior to its administration. You will hear five excerpts one time each, then examine five scores (excerpts from ten separate works). You will be asked to identify the probable composer and date of the excerpts, and then, considering issues of style and genre, you will be asked to provide three thoughtful statements to support your assertion of composer and date for each excerpt. A masters level student will be expected to score approximately 60%, while a doctoral student will be expected to earn a score of approximately 80%. A sample exam may be found here: http://mailer.fsu.edu/~mshaftel/STYLES_PRACTICE_TEST/
B. Keyboard Harmony (required for graduate degrees in music theory and for the music theory pedagogy certificate; recommended for composition majors)
This exam is normally conducted on the third Wednesday of Fall and Spring semesters, beginning at 2:30 in Dr. Rogers's office (Longmire 406). Each exam will last approximately 10 minutes, and at least three members of the theory faculty will be present. A sign-up sheet will be posted on the bulletin board outside Dr. Rogers's door (beside Longmire 406) the week prior to the exam.
You will be asked to play one or more examples from each of the components below. You may retake parts of the exam that you do not pass; you may also elect to take only portions of the exam at one time. The exam is performed entirely without notation. To pass a section, you must demonstrate appropriate harmonic progressions and voice-leading with adequate fluency. The exercises may be played slowly, but each should maintain a clear beat and meter. Obviously, you will want to maintain typical keyboard style (i.e., one voice in the left hand and three in the right).
You should prepare the following exercises in all major and minor keys up to four sharps or four flats. The examining committee may ask you to repeat a progression in a different key or mode. All progressions should be long enough to establish the tonic, illustrate the required feature, and end with a conclusive cadence. (Usually 7-12 chords is sufficient.)
- Establish the initial key, smoothly modulate either to the dominant or to the relative key (your choice), and end with a convincing cadence in the new key.
- Establish the initial key, smoothly modulate either up a tritone or up a half-step (i.e., to #IV or bII -- your choice), and end with a convincing cadence in the new key.
- Play short progressions that illustrate characteristic uses of common chromatic chords: secondary dominants, secondary leading-tone chords, mode mixture chords, augmented-sixth chords (all three types), and Neapolitan (bII) chords. You may incorporate two or more of these chords into a single progression (examining committee choice).
- Play some form of ascending sequence (your choice), leading to a suitable cadence.
- Play some form of descending sequence (your choice), leading to a suitable cadence.
To help you prepare for the exam, you may wish to consult the keyboard harmony appendix of Aldwell and Schachter's Harmony and Voice Leading, which is on reserve in the Music Library.
C. Part Writing and Melody Harmonization (required for graduate degrees in music theory and for the music theory pedagogy certificate; composition majors should consult their adviser after taking diagnostic exams)
These two questions will be on the same exam, given on the tenth Wednesday of the semester from 2:30-6:30 pm; please contact Dr. Jones if you have a conflict with this timeframe. Exams will be distributed from Longmire 209. A figured bass of approximately 10 measures in 4/4 time must be realized in SATB texture. The part writing must be error free. A melody of approximately 10-12 measures must be harmonized in SATB texture. The part writing must be error free and the progressions should be in the style of common practice tonal music. You may check your work at a keyboard.
