Placement Exams

All entrance exams will be delivered in-person, not online.

Class Piano (MUS 1151/1152/1155) Placement Exam Sign-Up Sheet

Tonal Theory Exam

• Tuesday, August 26th: 3:30-4:15PM in room 225 (Ferguson Hall)

Tonal Ear-Training Exam 

• Tuesday, August 26th: 4:15-5:15PM in room 225 (Ferguson Hall)

Advanced Tonal Harmony (corresponding to MUS 4571) | Wednesday, August 27: 4:00-4:45PM in room 115 (Ferguson Hall)

• WHO: Students who have passed both the Tonal Theory and Tonal Ear-Training Exams (or, for graduate students, remediated through Music 3508 and/or 3518) and wish to demonstrate this prerequisite by examination rather than by enrolling in Mus 4571. Courses requiring 4571 as a prerequisite include Music 5950 (Gesture Theory – Mazzola) (Spring 2024) and certain graduate tonal theory courses offered in future years.

Post-Tonal Theory (corresponding to MUS 4573) | Wednesday, August 27th: 5:00-5:45PM in room 115 (Ferguson Hall)

• WHO: Students who have passed both the Tonal Theory and Tonal Ear-Training Exams (or, for graduate students, remediated through Music 3508 and/or 3518) and wish to demonstrate this prerequisite by examination rather than by enrolling in Mus 4573. Courses requiring 4573 as a prerequisite include graduate post-tonal theory courses offered in future years, including Music 5333 and Music 5534.

*Entering Music Education and Music Therapy graduate students are not required to take the theory placement exams.

Exam Preparation Materials for Keyboard Skills/Class Piano (undergraduate students only)

For students with voice or non-keyboard instruments as their primary instrument of study:

• • MUS 1151 (Piano Class Lessons I) Study Guide (PDF)

  • MUS 1152 (Piano Class Lessons II) Study Guide (PDF)

For students with piano or organ as their primary instrument:

• • MUS 1155 (Keyboard Skills)

Contact Michael Min with any questions: minxx155@umn.edu 

Theory and Ear-Training Resource Packet

• Contains the information listed on this page, in PDF and Google Doc format

Practice Exam Materials for Theory and Ear-Training

• Tonal Theory and Ear-Training Practice Exam, Exam Key & Audio Files

Testing Accommodations

Students who need any kind of testing accommodations for the Theory placement exams need to contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) prior to the exam. It is recommended that students document their accommodations with the DRC at least two weeks in advance of the Theory placement exams, providing both the DRC and the SoM enough time to prepare for their request. 

Unless first documented with the DRC, The School of Music may not be able to provide accommodations to students needing them.

Information for Undergraduate Students

The core undergraduate music theory sequence at the School of Music consists of two semesters of paired courses (depending on your degree program, not all of these courses may be required):

• Tonal Theory I (MUS 1501) / Tonal Ear-Training I (MUS 1511) – Offered Fall only

• Tonal Theory II (MUS 1502) / Tonal Ear-Training II (MUS 1512) – Offered Spring only

After completion of the two core courses, students may choose their upper-level courses in music theory. These include: 

• Chromatic Harmony and Form in Western Art Music 1700–1900 (MUS 4571)

• Theory and Analysis of Popular Music (MUS 4572) 

• Theory and Analysis of Western Art Music after 1900 (MUS 4573) 

• Jazz Theory (MUS 4574)

For undergraduate students who have studied music theory previously through another program, AP Theory, or individually, the SOM offers a theory placement exam at the beginning of each semester. There are 4 exams: the Tonal Theory Exam, Tonal Ear-Training Exam, Advanced Tonal Harmony Exam, and Post-Tonal Theory Exam.

If you are transferring into the SOM from another institution, you should take the exam for placement and to attempt to test out of courses. Please note that any courses you test out of may be waived, but you will likely need to make up as music electives the credits that those courses would have contributed toward the minimum number of music credits required by your degree.

Information for Graduate Students

Graduate students also take the Tonal Theory and Ear-Training exams for proficiency purposes at the same time as undergraduate students. Though the Advanced Tonal Harmony Exam and Post-Tonal Theory Exam are optional, each may be needed as a prerequisite for some 5xxx- and 8xxx-level Theory courses. So consider carefully which courses you intend to use in building your graduate degree program and make sure that you certify the prerequisite fulfillment where necessary either through enrollment in MUS 4571 and/or 4573, or by passing the corresponding placement exam(s), offered both during Welcome Week and at the start of the Spring semester. If you have any questions about the placement exam, please contact one of the theory professors or music advisors listed at the end of this section. 

FAQs for Undergraduate and Graduate Students

How do I demonstrate proficiency in Theory and Ear-Training/Sight-Singing?

Proficiency is demonstrated by successfully passing the Theory and Ear-Training Placement exams. Graduate students who do not pass significant portions of the written Tonal Theory and/or Ear-Training exam may be placed into Theory review coursework MUS3508 (Theory) or MUS3518 (Ear-Training. A passing score on the entrance exams or completion of MUS3508/3518 with a C- or higher (if required) is a prerequisite for all upper level theory courses. 

When should I take the Theory and Ear-Training Placement Exams?

These exams are offered during the Fall Welcome Week and again on the first Tuesday evening of the Spring semester. Eligible students should take the Tonal Theory and Ear-Training exams at the beginning of their first semester of enrollment.

When will Theory and Ear-Training exam results be available?

Results will be available the next day. (Please refer to your Welcome Week schedule or contact the School of Music for further information.) You should plan on receiving a form that indicates your scores and, if required, which theory courses you will need to enroll in. You will also be able to talk with one of the music advisors to find out more about what your results mean for your degree progress.

May I retake the Theory and Ear-Training exams if I do poorly?

No. Each student should review carefully all previous theory and ear-training materials and prepare thoroughly for the exams. Exam results will help to determine how long it will take to complete the coursework for a degree. Some suggestions for preparation are offered below. Although it may be frustrating, do not feel badly if you do not do as well as you hope or expect on the exam, since they are quite rigorous.

What to Expect & How to Study for the Theory and Ear-Training Exams

Tonal Written Theory (45 minutes)

Diatonic and chromatic facets of the tonal language (including applied (secondary) dominants) will be covered. You should prepare especially for the following: scales; key signatures; intervals; triads and seventh chords; transposition; basic rhythm and meter; cadences; suspensions; sequences; Roman-numeral and figured-bass analysis; and score reading.

Tonal Written Theory (45 minutes) 

Diatonic and chromatic facets of the tonal language (including applied (secondary) dominants) will be covered. You should prepare especially for the following: scales; key signatures; intervals; triads and seventh chords; transposition; basic rhythm and meter; cadences; suspensions; sequences; Roman-numeral and figured-bass analysis; and score reading.

Tonal Ear-Training (60 minutes) 

Diatonic and chromatic facets of the tonal language (including applied (secondary) dominants) will be covered. You should prepare especially for the following: intervals, chord quality (triads and seventh chords); Roman-numeral and figured-bass analysis; melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic dictation; identification of mode, meter, texture, cadence, and phrase structure in real music contexts.

Advanced Tonal Harmony (50 minutes) 

The test begins with ear training, both melodic and harmonic. For the latter, responses will be in the form of Roman numerals and figured bass.

Chordal creation and analysis on paper will focus especially on chromatic harmony: diminished seventh chords, ninth chords, applied dominant chords, the Neapolitan (flat II) chord, and the French, Italian, and German augmented sixth chords. It will be expected that students can identify and create a normative resolution (for example, a French augmented sixth into the dominant) for each chord, with good voice leading.

The final test component focuses on an excerpt from a musical composition, for which students will be asked to apply analytical labels corresponding to form (from a list of options that will be provided) and to provide a harmonic analysis of a segment from that excerpt.

Both the test construction and the grading key take into account that multiple analytical protocols coexist within the field (for example, all caps versus caps-and-smalls Roman numerals). We suggest that you review the methodology you are already familiar with, and allow the grader to evaluate your responses from the perspective of that protocol. It would be fine to review from the harmony and form materials you used in your prior coursework, rather than investing in the Burstein and Straus Concise Introduction to Tonal Harmony text used in the Minnesota course.

Post-Tonal Theory (50 minutes) 

Review chs. 1–5 of the 3rd or 4th editions of Joseph Straus's Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory (preferred) or Open Music Theory, version 2 (sections VIII and IX, and "Neo-Riemannian Triadic Progressions" in section V). We expect you'll be able to understand and (re)produce the following: intervals (of all types), interval vectors, transposition, inversion, pitch-class sets, normal form, prime form, set classes, transpositional and inversional symmetry, supersets and subsets, referential collections (diatonic modes and non-diatonic scales), triadic post-tonality, and basic 12-tone analysis.

Suggested Study Materials for Theory and Ear-Training Exams:

Artusi: artusimusic.com (free and paid materials)

Musictheory.net (free Theory and ET practice)

Teoria.com (free Theory and ET practice)

Open Music Theory, a free, open-source textbook for Theory study

Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom, a free, open-source textbook for theory study

For undergraduate students planning on enrolling in the theory core (1501/1511, 1502/1512, 3501/3511), you may consider purchasing textbooks in advance to use as study material. They can be purchased through the bookstore or other online retailers and are used for all three courses. We use the following texts in these courses:

• • A New Approach to Sight Singing, 6th ed. Berkowitz et. al

  • Concise Introduction to Tonal Harmony, 2nd ed. Burstein and Straus

The following theory textbooks are not used in our curriculum, but can be useful as study material. All are available in the UMN music library (follow link for holding information).

• • The Complete Musician, Stephen Laitz

  • Harmony in Context, Miguel Roig-Francolí

  • Harmony and Voice Leading, Edward Aldwell and Carl Schachter

  • Tonal Harmony, Stefan Kostka and Dorothy Payne

  • Classical Form, William Caplin (*ebook available via UMN Library)

  • Listen and Sing, David Damschroder

    • Instructor's manual; Textbook; CDs

  • Horvit, Koozin, and Nelson - Music for Ear Training (2009): print text & CD-ROM

Who can help advise me on the Theory and Ear-Training? 

Dr. Matt Bribitzer-Stull, 390 Northrop (612-624-6340) <mpbs@umn.edu>

Dr. David Damschroder, 120 Ferguson (612-624-8043) <damsc001@umn.edu>

Dr. Sumanth Gopinath, 114 Ferguson Hall (612-624-1829) <sumanth@umn.edu>

Dr. Alyssa Barna, 124 Ferguson Hall (612-624-9049) <barna@umn.edu>