Graduate Music Theory Placement

Before incoming graduate students may enroll in music theory courses, they first must demonstrate proficiency in harmony, form, counterpoint, sight-singing, and aural training, as determined by the CIM diagnostic test. This test is given to all auditioning students, and those who do not show proficiency must take and pass the MUTH400A / MUTH400B course before undertaking graduate-level study in music theory.

What will be on the diagnostic test?

• Harmony, Form, and Counterpoint:
  • Realize a figured bass which contains diatonic and chromatic harmony, demonstrating excellent voice leading
  • Analyze chords and non-chord tones in a chorale texture
  • Analyze an 18th- or 19th-century work for its overall form as well as phrase structure and general compositional devices
  • Analyze an 18th-century work for its contrapuntal aspects
• Sight-singing and Aural Training:
  • Sing, at sight, melodies in treble, bass, alto, and tenor clefs which will include chromaticism and modulation
  • Use solmization such as fixed do, moveable do, numbers, etc.
  • Aural identification of intervals and various chord types
  • Harmonic dictation of chorale-texture examples which will contain diatonic and chromatic harmony

What to expect in MUTH 400A/400B

MUTH 400A General Theory: Review of Musical Structure
Provides review in fundamentals of form, counterpoint, and four-part harmony. Course designed for graduate students; credit is not applicable toward degree requirements. Must be satisfactorily completed within the first two semesters of study at CIM.
Prerequisite: assignment by placement testing.

MUTH 400B General Theory: Sightsinging-Eartraining Review
Provides review in fundamentals of sightsinging in four clefs, and melodic and harmonic dictation including chromatic harmony and modulation. Course designed for graduate students; credit is not applicable toward degree requirements. Must be satisfactorily completed within the first two semesters of study at CIM.
Prerequisite:assignment by placement testing.

Re-Testing

Do you think that you should have passed the proficiency test? You can be re-tested. First, you should study the appropriate material in these sources:

• Tonal Harmony by Kostka, Stefan, and Dorothy Payne (McGraw-Hill) - This is the harmony textbook which a number of the CIM theory faculty use. Although it is in 6th edition, the content changes very little from edition to edition. While the current edition costs almost $100 for the textbook, an earlier edition (used) can be purchased online for under $10. In this book, there is a section on fundamentals.
• www.cim.edu/conservatory/theory/videos.php - Video series produced by CIM in 2010. Prof. Jeanette Davis explains what is expected for a student to place into MUTH 101 or 107.
• www.musictheory.net - Outstanding on-line source for tutorials and exercises.
• www.lightandmatter.com/sight/sight.html - Online sight singing materials.