2013 Diagnostic Test - Department of Music - University of Calgary

FACULTY OF ARTS
Department of Music
Telephone: (403)220-5313
Fax: (403)282-6925
Email:musicgs@ucalgary.ca
2013 Diagnostic Test
All first year Master’s students in the Department of Music will write two tests in the first week of classes,
one on music History and a second on Theory and Analysis. The purpose of the test is to determine if
remedial work in either of these areas is required.
History
The entrance test for graduate students in music is intended to test a level of knowledge of music history
and literature equivalent to the core program in music history at the University of Calgary. The test
covers the central body of knowledge expected of a graduating undergraduate student and includes only
knowledge of Western classical music.
The test is in two parts:
(1) The first part consists of the playing on the CD player of several short excerpts of pieces that
exemplify the different musical traits of the various style periods of Western classical music ranging from
the Medieval period to contemporary music. For each example, it is necessary to identify the style period,
a possible composer, the genre of the excerpt, and an approximate date of composition (within about 20
years).
(2) The second part consists of a written test on historical knowledge. This will consist of several short
“identify” questions to be answered in a sentence or two, as well as one longer essay question. All the
written questions include some choice.
For entering student in graduate musicology programs, there is a supplemental test involving the
identification of excerpts of musical scores from the various periods of music history.
Note: The test is given on a pass/fail basis, and any diagnosed deficiencies need to be corrected within a
calendar year. Deficiencies are corrected by a re-test, normally given in December, April, or September of
the academic year, as may be individually required. Only one re-test may be attempted, and failure on the
re-test may result in a student being required to withdraw from the program.
Recommended Texts in Preparation for the Diagnostic Tests in Music History:
Burkholder/Grout/Palisca, A History of Western Music, W. W. Norton, 8th Edition. Note: This text comes with anthologies
and listening CDs. Any recent edition will be sufficient.
Mark Evan Bonds, A History of Music in Western Culture, Pearson Publishing, 4th Edtion. Note: This text also comes with
anthologies and listening CDs. Any recent edition will be be sufficient.
Craig Wright/Bryan Simms, Music in Western Civilization, Thomson-Pearson Publishers. Anthology available.
Douglass Seaton, Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition, McGraw Hill Publishers, 2nd edition.
Note: Any reasonably modern text will be sufficient for preparation. The test is not based upon any
particular text and only includes questions dealing with material covered in any responsible text. A good
listening knowledge of music is crucial to success on the test.
2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4 • www.ucalgary.ca

Theory and Analysis – Diagnostic Test Outline
1. Dictation: a) tonal harmonic progression, b) scales & modes, c) chord types (tonal . & early post-tonal),
d) atonal melody.
2. Realize a given short figured bass - with modulation.
3. Harmonize a given short melody, with modulation to a remote key and back.
4. Provide a formal analysis for a given movement, identifying the main keys. Include a harmonic analysis
of an indicated passage. [sonata, sonata-rondo]
5. Notate the harmonic series on C up to the 16th harmonic.
6. Identify chord types (20th century) for the given chords.
7. Pitch-class set analysis. Reduce. What is the prime form for the given collection of pitches. Identify
properties of the set.
8. Do a pitch-class set analysis of a given short atonal movement or section by Schoenberg or Webern.
9. For a given row, notate a specified inversion, retrograde, or retrograde inversion. Identify the
properties of the row – is there symmetry, is it a derived set?
10. Look at three 1-page score excerpts from different late 20th century composers and briefly discuss
key features - idiom, instrumentation, etc.
11. Look at two score excerpts. Identify the instrument and sounding pitch for the circled notes.
Translate the circled terms.
12. Briefly define terms and mention a composer associated with the term: i.e. neo-romanticism,
controlled aleatory, modes of limited transposition, planing, isorhythm, integral serialism, spectral
composition, chance composition, texture, soundmass, micropolyphony, Fibonacci series, etc.
Electroacoustic Music, Sonic Arts, Computational Media Design
13. Techniques of sound synthesis. Briefly define: additive synthesis, subtractive synthesis, sampling,
granular synthesis, physical modelling.
14. Define the following electroacoustic music and sonic arts terms and give an example of their use. If
appropriate mention a composer or researcher associated with the term: acoustic ecology,
soundscape, sound object, masking, MIDI, OSC, musique concrète, elektronische Musik, computer
music, acousmatic, mixed, interactive, telematic, ergonomic, etc.
15. Identify 4 new electronic or digital instruments invented in the last 50 years and who invented them.
Choose two and briefly describe how they are played and the impact they have had on contemporary
musical practice.
References:
Kostka/Payne. Tonal Harmony: With an Introduction to 20th Century Music, 2003.
Green, Douglas. Form in Tonal Music (Green), 1979.
Aldwell/Schachter. Harmony and Voice Leading, 2002.
Roig-Francoli, Miguel. Understanding Post-Tonal Music. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.
Griffiths, Paul. Modern Music, A Concise History. rev ed. New York: Thames & Hudson,1994.
Griffiths, Paul. Modern Music and After, 3rd ed. New York: Oxford, 2010.
Holmes, Thom. Electronic and Experimental Music. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2008