Proficiency Exams

All music majors are required to pass and/or must be promoted to the next level of the following proficiency exams before being eligible for graduation:

• diagnostic fundamentals
• sight singing
• music literature
• music theory
• 100 level performance
• 200 level performance
• 300 level performance (promotion required with the option to enroll). In order to be eligible for the 300 level performance proficiency exam students must have successfully passed all core proficiency exams.

Core Proficiency Exams (fundamentals, theory, sight singing, literature)
These examinations are assessments exams designed to ensure the student’s ability to synthesize information. Completion/passing of all proficiency exams is required prior to beginning student teaching.

Fundamentals Proficiency Exam
This exam is required for formal acceptance into the major and is typically taken at the completion of MU 101 – Music Theory. This exam covers the following areas and requires a knowledge/mastery of the following:

• pitch nomenclature
• rhythmic notation
• simple and compound meter
• rhythmic notation
• identification of melodic/harmonic intervals (simple and compound)
• all qualities (major, minor, augmented, and diminished) triads in root position
• major scales
• all three forms of the minor scales

Music Theory Proficiency Exam
This exam is typically taken after the completion of MU 101 – Theory 1; MU 104 – Theory 2; and MU 201 – Theory 3. This exam covers the following areas and requires a knowledge/mastery of the following:

• four part harmonic part writing (common practice period)
• the incorporation of non-harmonic tones and cadence types
• use of inversions, and realization of figured bass
• all quality/types of higher tertian structures, secondary dominant principled chords and chromatic harmonies

The allotted time for completion of the music theory exam is one and one-half hours.

Sight Singing Proficiency

This exam is typically taken at the completion of MU 202 – Sight Singing 3. This exam covers the following areas and requires a knowledge/mastery of the following:

• a melodic example using movable “DO” soffegio syllables, including the ability to modulate to a closely related key
• a rhythmic example (void of pitch) using rhythmic syllables

The student will be allowed a total of 1 minute and 30 seconds to prepare both the melodic and rhythmic examples. During that time, the student may use the piano to assist/prepare for their performance. The student may play:

• the major/minor scale they plan to sing the example (this may be in a key other than the actual example)
• the tonic, sub-dominant, and dominant chord/triad
• the student is encouraged to practice aloud during that allotted time
• the student is not to play any part of the melody

The student will inform the present faculty of what portion (melodic/rhythmic) of the exam they will perform first prior to beginning.

Music Literature Proficiency
This exam is typically taken after the completion of MU 125 – Music in Society; MU 203 – Music History 1; and MU 206 – Music History 2. This exam covers the following areas and requires a knowledge/mastery of the following:

• dates of the various periods of Western music history, representative composers, and literature
• knowledge of the cultural or political impact upon music during each of its historic periods
• American music, i.e., popular and jazz
• world music (non-European), i.e., Indian, Native American, Japanese, African

The format of this exam is usually multiple choice, matching, fill in the blank, along with written explanations/discussion-type questions. This exam doe not include identification of recorded examples of music. The allotted time for completion of the music literature exam is one and one-half hours.

Performance Proficiency Levels 100 – 300
The performance proficiency exams are juried by the full faculty and are typically given prior to the final exam period each semester. Students, with the assistance of their assigned performance area faculty, must provide completed repertoire forms of all previously studied music. Promotion to the next level is granted with a majority of support from the faculty and must have full support from the area faculty.

For more details on the assessment process and procedures, refer to the music student handbook.