Proficiency Examinations for: Master of Music students (Theory, History, Piano) Undergraduate Diploma students (Theory) General Guidelines: All Longy Master of Music programs require students to demonstrate proficiency in Music Theory, Music History, and Piano Skills efore graduation. All Longy Undergraduate Diploma students do not take the Piano Evaluation during Ne Student Orientation, ut ill e required to take a Piano Proficiency during the course of their program. The Piano Evaluation is aived for keyoard majors (Collaorative Piano, Piano, Jazz & Contemporary Music pianists, Harpsichord, Organ, and any other ho ere piano performance majors as an undergraduate). Ne Master of Music students are required to take Music History, Music Theory and the Piano Evaluation (unless mentioned aove) during Ne Student Orientation, regardless of previous history and theory courseork or lack thereof. Piano Evaluation The Piano Evaluation Exam required for all ne Master of Music students. Students ill have to either pass this evaluation during Ne Student Orientation, or take and pass one of our ne courses. Piano & Collaorative Piano majors, Jazz & Contemporary Music (formerly Modern American Music) piano majors, harpsichordists and organists are exempt, as ell as any others ho ere piano performance majors as an undergraduate. Students should prepare: To contrasting solo pieces from different time periods that reflect the level at hich the student is comfortale playing. (Music may e used.) To major and to minor scales of choice played for to octaves, hands together. Sight-reading. Identify key signatures for all major and minor keys. If a student does not have solo pieces or scales ready to play, they still need to e evaluated.
Music Theory The Longy School of Music of Bard College enjoys a strong reputation in the teaching of theory and musicianship, founded on the principle that a complete musician should have as many tools as possile for understanding musical style and analyzing scores. The Master of Music proficiency examination in Music Theory represents the high standards of Longy s on undergraduate theory program, and e encourage you to vie it not as an ostacle ut as an opportunity to challenge yourself and gro musically. The Music Theory examination consists of an aural skills test and a ritten theory test. The aural skills test covers the folloing areas: Recognition of intervals, harmonic and melodic, up to a tenth Recognition of scales and modes Melodic dictation in one and to voices Recognition of chord quality of triads and seventh chords Recognition of progressions y Roman numerals and figured ass symols Rhythmic dictation A set of sample questions for the aural skills test is attached. The ritten test ill include testing of a range of knoledge and skills and ill include at least some of the folloing categories: For Voice, Opera, Strings, Brass, Woodinds, Historical Performance (formerly Early Music), Composition, Piano & Collaorative Piano Majors: Harmonization of a chorale melody in four parts Realization of a figured ass in four parts Formal and harmonic analysis of a short piece For Jazz & Contemporary Music (formerly Modern American Music) Majors: Major and minor scales, modes and diminished scales Spell chords from chord symols, including chords up to a 1 th Transpose a melody for a C instrument to B flat & E flat instruments Analyze a lead sheet The remainder of the test ill e rudimentary, testing knoledge of fundamentals such as interval and chord spelling. Even if your theory ackground is strong, you are encouraged to spend time revieing these sujects so you can est demonstrate your ailities. A concise and inexpensive guide to the Longy theory department s criteria for good four-part riting can e found in Marjorie Merryman s Music Theory Handook (Harcourt-Brace, 1997).
Music History The Music History proficiency examination tests your road knoledge of the history of Western music, including major composers, stylistic developments, genres, and repertoire. It is in four parts and must e completed in its entirety in order for the examination to e passed. Please note: regardless of previous performance in either Graduate History Revie or a previous proficiency examination, all sections of the exam must e filled out ithout exception. Part I consists of a series of listening identifications, score identifications, and listening identifications accompanied y score excerpts. Each listening example ill e played tice. You ill e asked to place each excerpt in its correct historical context and make a logical argument for a proale composer, genre, and style period/era. You should support your ansers y discussing the stylistic characteristics of the excerpt. The questions for Part I ill e ansered in a lue examination ook. Part II consists of multiple-choice questions. Part III consists of name and term categorization. In Part IV, you ill have to sets of short-essay riting prompts. From the first set you ill choose from questions that address topics from the Medieval through Baroque, hile the questions for Set 2 ill cover music from c. 1750 to the present. The topics may ask you to descrie a particular ork or group of orks in some detail, demonstrate your knoledge of important historical trends and genres, or discuss a particular composer s musical legacy. The questions for Part IV ill e ansered in a lue examination ook. Sample Short Essay Questions: Compare the careers of Chopin and Liszt ith respect to ho they interacted ith the musicloving pulic. Ho did they earn their livings, and ho did this influence the music they composed? Discuss specific musical orks y oth composers in this context. Descrie typical musical features found in a Renaissance madrigal. Provide specific examples from pieces y at least to composers in the course of your discussion. Discuss the term neo-classicism and its manifestations in music of the tentieth century. Give at least three specific examples. Recommendations for Study and Preparation We recommend revieing one of the major music history textooks, preferaly Burkholder/Grout, A History of Western Music or Mark Evan Bonds, A History of Music in Western Culture, rd ed. It ould
also e prudent to familiarize yourself ith the accompanying score anthologies. It is not necessary to purchase a CD set for exam preparation, ut CD anthologies from Norton or those that accompany the Mark Evan Bonds text may e useful to you. Pick several representative and major orks from each style period that you can identify y ear, y looking at the score, and can contextualize historically (composer s style, genre development, historical style period). For each of the six style periods (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern (20 th and 21 st centuries), e familiar ith the major composers, genres, and orks of the period. For example, you ould identify Roert Schumann ith the Romantic Era and associate him ith symphonies, lieder (e.g., Dichterliee), and piano music (e.g., Carnaval, op. 9). It ould also e prudent to understand the historical development of major genres: motet, Mass, madrigal, symphony, etc. Theory and History Revie Courses for Master of Music Students Students ho do not pass the Music History and Music Theory examinations during Ne Student Orientation ill e required to enroll in one or more of the folloing structured revie courses eginning ith their first semester at Longy: One semester or a full year of Graduate Theory Boot Camp (separate sections for aural and ritten skills offered each semester) and Graduate Survey of Western Music (a one semester course). Revie courses are one credit.
Graduate Music Theory Placement Exam: Sample Written Portion and Statement of Expectations I. Harmonize in four parts the chorale melody provided. The chorale should e harmonized approaching the style of J.S. Bach. That is: use a consistent harmonic rhythm, ith a change of harmony on every quarter note; supply a ass ith good melodic contour; produce a clear, functional harmonic progression; employ proper use of inversions, clear cadential formulae, good voice-leading and chord voicing. It is expected that the harmonization ill include use of tonicization or modulation. & U & u u ΠII. Realize in four parts the figured ass provided. The example ill typically e eteen 10 and 15 chords long, ith figures that require one to accurately realize non-harmonic tones, seventh chords, and chromatic harmony (including augmented sixth chords, secondary dominants, Neapolitan sixth chords, and mode mixture).? # # # # # # 6 6 7 n # 6 6 8-7 5 # 6 n # # III. Form and analysis. Identify the form and discuss phrase structure, harmony, rhythm, motivic development, and any other details relevant to a short Classical or Romantic piece for piano. You ill e expected to provide a complete harmonic analysis using roman numerals (including inversions.
Graduate Music Theory Placement Exam: Sample Aural Portion I. Identify any interval up to a 10th, played either melodically or harmonically. Each interval ill e played tice. II. Identify scales types, including major, all three forms of minor, dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian, hole tone, chromatic, octatonic, and pentatonic (played once, up and don). III. Notate a melodic dictation similar in length and content to the one provided elo. The complete melody ill e played several times, and each numered segment ill e played separately at least tice. & 1. j. j n 2 &. j n. j. j IV. Notate a to-part dictation similar to the one provided elo. The hole example ill e played five times. &? # # # # 2 2 # # # #
V. Identify the quality of triads and seventh chords. One need not name the inversions, ut e aare that the chords ill e voiced as represented in the examples elo. Chord possiilities include all simple triads (major, minor, diminished, and augmented) as ell as all standard seventh chords (major-major, major-minor, minor-minor, diminished-minor or half-diminished, and diminished-diminished or diminished ). Each chord is played tice. &? # VI. Identify the chords making up a progression, using roman numerals for the chord and araic numerals to indicate inversions. Chord progressions ill e played tice each. Typically, progressions are eteen five and seven chords long. &? VII. Notate a rhythm played for you. The example elo is representative of the length and difficulty you ill encounter. Each rhythm ill e played four times... J