BOSTON UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS—SCHOOL OF MUSIC

DOCTORAL QUALIFYING EXAM IN MUSIC THEORY

The exam consists of four parts divided into two sessions, and takes place in the practice rooms

located in the practice room area in the basement of the CFA building. You will be in an

individual room with a piano. The only things allowed in the room with you are something to

write with, something to eat and/or drink, and a non-digital timepiece. Please monitor your time

carefully. You will have one hour and forty-five minutes to complete each section of the exam

and you must eventually pass all four sections. There is no limit to the number of times you can

take the exam, although taking it more than twice will delay receiving your degree. N.B.: for

Composition majors only—there is a fifth part consisting of a four-voice fugue to be composed

on a given subject at a separate time.

PART ONE—CHORALE HARMONIZATION (8:30 AM – 10:15AM)

A chorale melody will be provided for which you will create a stylistically appropriate

harmonization, including the employment of proper cadential formulae and chord grammar. You

will also be expected to supply a Roman numeral analysis with all non-harmonic tones marked.

Please note that while secondary dominant and vii°7 chords are quite frequently employed,

advanced chromatic structures such as the Neapolitan chord, augmented 6th chords, and bVI

chords are not used in the chorale style. Conventions such as the employment of the vii°6 rather

than the passing V6/4 or V4/3 to harmonize scale degree 2, and the use of the fully-diminished

vii°7 chord in both major and minor keys should be followed. Many texts cover aspects of the

chorale style. Salzer and Schachter’s Counterpoint in Composition (Columbia University Press)

is a good source, particularly for delineating the contrapuntal nature of the style. Thoroughly

familiarizing oneself with the actual chorales of J.S. Bach is essential. Many editions are readily

available, including the1941 Riemenschneider edition (G. Schirmer).

PART TWO—TONAL ANALYSIS (10:15 AM – 12:00 noon)

A short work or excerpt from Common-Practice period of music will be provided. Directed

questions will cover aspects such as the music’s form, phrase structure, and harmony. A Roman

numeral analysis of various passages will be required. Other considerations might include areas

of long-range voice leading, harmonic planning and motivic development. Placing the work in

historical context, and identifying a likely composer might also be required. Works could be

drawn from solo piano, chamber music, vocal,0 or orchestral repertoires. Instrumental

transposition might be necessary here and/or in the post-tonal analysis section. Douglass M.

Green’s Form in Tonal Music (Holt, Rinehart and Winston) and Stefan Kostka and Dorothy

Payne’s Tonal Harmony (McGraw Hill) are two of many useful books which address these

topics.

LUNCH (12:00 noon – 1:00 PM)

PART THREE—POST-TONAL ANALYSIS (1:00 PM – 2:45 PM)

Works in this section might fall into broad categories such as “free atonality,” “centricity” or

“scale-based” music, or “serial” (including twelve-tone) music. Joseph Straus’s Introduction to

Post-Tonal Theory (Prentice Hall) is an excellent source for reviewing the main approaches to

post-tonal music, and includes many examples from which to study. As in the tonal analysis

section, questions will be directed and specific, also possibly including placing the work in

historical context and identifying a likely composer. For serial pieces, a row might or might not

be supplied, depending on the particular work. As in all analysis, identifying the salient features

of the work is essential. Many useful examples of both tonal and post-tonal music can be found

in anthologies such as the Burkhart Anthology for Musical Analysis (Schirmer/Thompson) and

the Turek Analytical Anthology of Music (McGraw-Hill).

PART FOUR—SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (2:45 PM – 4:30 PM)

This part of the exam will test practical skills. Some topics include chord progression and

figured-bass realizations, and chord identification and resolutions. Questions might include

subjects such as chromatic harmonic structures, artificial scales, types of dissonances, etc. Chord

progression realizations will include Roman numerals (with no bass given), and may modulate.

Figured bass realizations will include a bass line with Arabic numerals for which you will

provide Roman numerals. Chord identifications/resolutions consist of a series of standard chords

which need to be identified in the appropriate key, and resolved in the standard manner. There

will be a transposition question. Samuel Adler’s The Study of Orchestration (W.W. Norton)

thoroughly covers instrumental ranges and transpositions, and contains useful appendices of

common terms and abbreviations.