Texas State University-San Marcos

Undergraduate Music Theory at Texas State

Contents of this Website:

• Outline of the Undergraduate Theory Curriculum
• Placement Tests for All Auditioning Students

Outline of the Undergraduate Theory Curriculum

Although Texas State does not offer an undergraduate degree specifically in music theory, the study of music theory is essential for all music majors and music minors. In music theory courses, students learn aspects of harmony, counterpoint, musical form, orchestration / instrumentation, music analysis, etc. All auditioning students (prospective freshmen as well as transfer students) are required to take an Aural Skills Placement Test as well as a (written) Theory Placement Test. To find out more about Placement Tests and how to prepare for it, scroll down the screen.

At Texas State's School of Music, the study of music theory is structured as follows:

Remedial Level: MU1312 (Essential Musicianship):

All incoming freshmen are required to take an Aural Skills Placement Test as well as a (written) Theory Placement Test. The Theory Placement Test allows students to place out of MU1312 (Essential Musicianship). Only students who took an AP music theory course in high school and received at least a grade of 4 do not have to take the (written) Theory Placement Test and automatically receive credit for MU1312; these students also have the option to place out of MU1211 and/or MU1210 (see below) by exam. Students who received a 5 in an AP music theory course automatically receive credit for MU1211 and/or MU1210 and have the option to place out of MU 1213 and/or MU 1212 by exam.

Level I: MU1211 (Theory I) & MU1210 (Aural Learning I):

Level II: MU1213 (Theory II) & MU1212 (Aural Learning II):

Level III: MU2261 (Theory III) & MU2260 (Aural Learning III):

Level IV: MU2263 (Theory IV) & MU2262 (Aural Learning IV):

"Upper Level" Elective Courses:

- MU4330 (Form & Analysis)

- MU4332 (Contemporary Analytical Techniques)

- MU4334 (Orchestration)

- MU4336 (Counterpoint)

- MU4344 (Jazz Theory)

Only one of the elective courses is offered each long semester.

Placement Tests for Auditioning Students

All auditioning students (freshmen AND transfer students) are required to take an Aural Skills Placement Test as well as a (written) Theory Placement Test.

AP Music Theory: Prospective Freshmen who took an AP music theory course in high school and received at least a grade of 4 do not have to take the (written) Theory Placement Test and automatically receive credit for MU1312; these students also have the option to place out of MU1211 and / or MU1210 (see below) by exam. Students who received a 5 in an AP music theory course automatically receive credit for MU1211 and / or MU1210 and have the option to place out of MU 1213 and / or MU 1212 by exam.

All Placement Tests will be given on the audition date. Each student has to complete a 5-minute aural skills test and a written theory test (which may take up to 1-hour).

1. Aural Skills Placement Test

Every student is required to take the Aural Skills Placement Test. It consists of:

• matching pitches (we play a pitch on a piano and you sing the same pitch)
• sing a major scale
• sight-sing a simple melody (we will give you the notation of a simple melody, and you sing it)
• repeat short melodies (we play or sing a melody and you sing it back to us)
• sing a well-known song
• repeat short rhythms (we will clap a rhythm and you clap it back to us)
• perform a simple rhythm at sight (we will give you the notation of a simple rhythm, and you clap it)
• identify melodic direction (we will play two notes and you tell us whether the second note was higher, lower, or the same)

This aural skills test will take approximately 5 minutes and does not require any preparation.

2a. Written Music Theory Placement Test for Freshmen

Auditioning freshmen also have to take a written Theory Placement Test. This test helps us to advise students regarding the study of written music theory. All students who receive a high score on the test can place out of our basic music theory class (called "Essential Musicianship"). The Theory Placement Test consists of:

• Pitch Notation (notate specific pitches in treble, bass, or C-clef)
• Rhythmic Notation & Meter (complete specific measures with a rest; find an appropriate meter signature; rewrite a rhythm with correct rhythmic groupings)
• Key Signatures (for all major and minor keys)
• Scales (notate any major, natural minor, harmonic minor, or melodic minor scale)
• Intervals (name or write any interval above or below a given note)
• Triads and Seventh Chords (spell major and minor triads as well as any common type of seventh chords; identify triads and seventh chords within a simple piece of music and determine their harmonic function)
• Figure Bass

2b. Written Music Theory Placement Tests for Transfer Students

Auditioning transfer students also have to take a written Theory Placement Test. This test may help us to advise students regarding the study of written music theory. A transfer student should take the test of the level of music theory that she / he completed (i.e., received a C, B, or A for) at her / his previous college. If that tests is too difficult, the student may choose to take a lower-level test. The tests are based on the contents of our (Texas State's) Aural I through IV and Theory I through IV courses, and students may be asked to do anything that is covered in these courses at Texas State, as outlined on top of this webpage. Based on the results of these tests, students will be placed in the appropriate music theory and aural skills classes.

All THEORY Placement Tests for Transfer Students will be given on all audition dates. Students who are accepted for a tape audition need to contact the Coordinator of Music Theory, Dr. N. Schuler [phone: 512-245-3395], before they send in their tape.

NOTE to students who START TAKING CLASSES AT TxState in Fall 2007: The written Music Theory Placement Test(s) for incoming freshmen and for transfer students are offered on Thursday, August 16, 2007, 10:00am in room 125. The aural placement tests for transfer students will take place in the afternoon of Thursday, August 16. All transfer students are REQUIRED to take these placement tests. Student who took AP Music Theory should also take these placement tests.

The test date for students who START TAKING CLASSES AT TxState in Spring 2008 will be announced later (at this website). Usually, it is the Thursday before classes start.

Here are some suggestions on how to prepare for the written Theory Placement Test:

1. Freshmen: Use on-line resources to study any of the above topics. Click here to view a list of on-line resources. Buy a book on essential musicianship / introductory music theory, e.g. J. T. Kolosick / A. H. Simon: Explorations. A New Approach to Music Fundamentals (2nd edition; Mountain View: Mayfield Publishing, 1998), J. Clough / J. Conley / C. Boge: Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm, and Meter (3rd edition, New York: W. W. Norton, 1999), or Th. Lynn: Introductory Musicianship (6th edition, Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 2003). The latter book (by Th. Lynn) is the one currently used in our Essential Musicianship class. However, in our Theory I through IV courses, we are using the latest edition of S. Kostka / Dorothy Payne: Tonal Harmony (Boston: McGraw Hill); all topics on the diagnostic test are also covered in chapters 1 through 4 of Tonal Harmony.
2. Transfer Students: Study / Review any college music theory textbook, such as the latest edition of S. Kostka / Dorothy Payne: Tonal Harmony (Boston: McGraw Hill).
3. Hire a tutor. Any college-trained musician should be able to help you.

Some additional suggestions for the study of music theory in general:

1. If you are not playing piano already, start taking piano lessons, regardless of the instrument you are playing. Playing the piano supports the study of music theory; in addition, you can already work towards the piano proficiency which is required of all music majors at Texas State.
2. If you are not a singer, start singing on a regular basis. You do not need to take voice lessons, but you should be able to sing in tune and match pitches. In music theory classes, you will always have to sing the music you are writing. In Aural Learning classes, you train your abilities to sing at sight, etc.
3. In Aural Learning classes, you will also train your ear, especially with writing down what you hear. You can get a headstart by using some on-line resources for aural learning or by buying eartraining software. (The eartraining book & software we are currently using in our Aural Learning classes is M. Horvit / T. Koozin / R. Nelson: Music for Ear Training. CD-ROM and Workbook. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2001.)