Music Theory Placement Test
There is no formal bachelor’s or master’s degree in Music Theory. Interested undergraduate students may pursue a concentration in theory within the context of the B.A. in music. Admission to the B.A. in music, like all of our undergraduate programs, requires an instrumental or vocal audition. To audition for the School of Music, please contact the Area Coordinator for your performance area.
All incoming undergraduates who wish to (or need to) take music theory at FIU must take a theory placement test. They should take this test at the time of their audition, unless they are currently enrolled in a theory class (ie., a high school AP theory class or a theory class at another university), in which case they may wish to postpone until just before the start of the semester in which they enter FIU.
Graduate students in the M.M. program in Composition study some advanced theory and may have the opportunity to serve as a Graduate Assistant in Music Theory. There is no audition for the M. M. in Composition. Rather, applicants should contact Dr. Orlando Garcia at garciao@fiu.edu to arrange for an interview and submission of a portfolio.
Upcoming Placement Exam Dates
The next Music History and Music Theory Placement Tests will be given on the Thursday before classes start in the fall, from 11:00am until 1:00pm and will be located in the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center (WPAC), Room 150. Students should allow themselves between one to three hours to take the exam.
Expectations for Theory Placement Exams
To place into Theory I, we expect familiarity with the following:
• notation of rhythm and meter, including compound meters
• scale types: major, natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor
• triad types: major, minor, diminished, augmented
• seventh-chord types: dominant, major, minor, diminished half-diminished
• inversions of triads and seventh chords and the figured-bass symbols that denote them (6, 6/4, 7, 6/5, 4/3, 4/2 or simply 2; note that the absence of a figure indicates a 5/3 chord).
If you are rusty on figure-bas symbols or they are new to you, you can still get into Theory I if the rest of the test is sound.
To place into Theory II, we expect the above plus the following:
• ability to realize figured and unfigured basses and melodies using diatonic triads and seventh chords (along with their idiomatic inversions)
• ability to use the cadential 6/4 chord
• ability to modulate to V in major and to III in minor
To place into Theory III, we expect the above plus the ability to recognize and use the following:
• diminished and half-diminished leading-tone seventh chords
• applied (i.e., “secondary”) dominant and leading-tone chords
• harmonic sequences
• diatonic modulations beyond those mentioned for Theory II
• melodic and rhythmic embellishments (various kinds of passing tones, skips, neighbor tones, suspensions, and anticipations)
To place into Theory IV, we expect the above plus the ability to recognize and use the following:
• borrowed chords (i.e., chords generate via modal mixture)
• ninth chords (and other extensions)
• the Neapolitan (also known as bII or “Phrygian II)
• the various augmented-sixth chords
• chromatic voice-leading techniques
• chromatic modulations
To place completely out of the Theory Sequence:
• All of the above plus individual appointment with Professor Joel Galand
To place out of Graduate Theory Review:
• All of the above, plus some knowledge of classical form (e.g., binary forms, sonata forms, etc.) plus some familiarity with post-tonal materials (e.g., ability to recognize whole-tone and octatonic collections).
For Practice
You may review the appropriate chapters from our undergraduate tonal harmony textbook Aldwell, Edward, and Carl Schachter. Harmony and Voice Leading. 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Schirmer, 2011. We suggest you try your hand at the chapter exercises. Fundamentals covers materials in chapters 1-4 and 6, Theory I goes through chapter 14, Theory II through chapter 23, Theory III through chapter 28, and Theory IV through the end. The reason the more advanced courses move more slowly is that we increasingly incorporate other topics not reflected directly in the text, such as form, model composition, and post-tonal techniques.
Contact Information
For further information, contact Dr. Joel Galand at galandj@fiu.edu or 305-348-7078.