About the Graduate Music History Exam (GMHE) and Study Guide

• The exam will be a computer-based test, with multiple-choice questions (4 answer choices per question, with only one correct choice).

• Students may choose between 2 tests:
  Test A (Classical repertoire 90%; Jazz/World music 10%)
  Test B (Jazz music 50%; World music 5%; Classical repertoire 45%)

• Both tests will have questions from the following seven categories of repertoire:
  Five from the Western classical tradition (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, 19th century, 20th century)
  Two categories from outside of the Western classical tradition (Jazz and World Music)

• The difference between tests A and B is in the way that these categories are proportioned.

• Students are free to choose which test they want to take irrespective of their major.

• Students may take only one of the offered tests (Test A OR Test B).

Before the test

• Students will select a testing time, and confirmation details will be sent to your NEC email.

• The test will take place online through Zoom so it can be proctored.

• Students need to bring a photo ID to the exam.

During the test

• Students will have 90 minutes to complete the test.

• During the test, students can pause the test and resume at any time and also skip questions and return to them later.

• No outside material or devices will be allowed (books, notes, cell phones, iPads, tablets, flash-drives).

• Hard-copy dictionaries only may be used (electronic dictionaries will not be allowed), subject to inspection by proctors.

• Students will be required to keep their camera and microphone on so proctors can observe them.

After the test: results

• Students will be notified of their test results by the Office of Academic Affairs.

Questions on these tests are drawn from the following sources. If you are familiar with the information in these basic texts, you should be well prepared to pass the exam. Keep in mind that this is a music history exam. Familiarity with the sound and sight of the music is essential to understanding historical developments in musical style.

For Western classical repertoire (Medieval through 20th century):

Donald J. Grout. A History of Western Music. 9th ed., J. Peter Burkholder, Donald Jay Grout and Claude V. Palisca. New York: Norton, 2014.

A "standard." The narrative of A History of Western Music naturally focuses on the musical works, styles, genres, and ideas that have proven most influential, enduring, and significant—but it also encompasses a wide range of music, from religious to secular, from serious to humorous, from art music to popular music, and from Europe to the Americas. 

Focus on the following issues for each of the Western music historical periods:

• preferred instruments and ensembles (vocal and instrumental)\

• characteristic genres and forms

• defining features of the various genres and forms

• representative works

• representative composers and their approximate dates (early, mid, late century)

• characteristic traits of individual composers' styles

• principal lines of stylistic development

• chronology of events/composers/important works in the period

• definition of terms specific to the period

For Jazz

Mark C. Gridley. Jazz Styles: History and Analysis. 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2006.

A concise account of stylistic developments in jazz, with emphasis on bebop and later styles. Aimed at a general audience, not just musicians. 

For World Music

To limit the scope of this exam, the world music section has been restricted to five general cultural areas of traditional music:

• West Africa (mainly Ghana and Gambia)

• India (mainly South India)

• Indonesia (mainly Bali)

• Japan

• the Middle East (mainly Egypt and Turkey)

Use the relevant chapters in the following source as a guideline for the kinds of questions to expect in the World Music section.

Jeff Todd Titon, et al. Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, Shorter Version (with CD-ROM) [Paperback]