The Graduate Theory Diagnostic Exam will consist of four parts. These are outlined below, along with a list of concepts for study. 

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Parts I and II. Musical Form (45%) 

Score excerpts will be presented, along with a series of questions designed to demonstrate your understanding and application of musical form. 
Concepts to study:

• sonata-allegro
• rondo
• sonata-rondo
• theme and variations
• binary (simple sectional, simple continuous, simple rounded binary, rounded continuous) 
• ternary
• fugue
• passacaglia
• chaconne 

Part III. Melodic and harmonic analysis (35%) 

Score excerpt(s) will be presented, along with a series of questions designed to demonstrate your understanding of Roman numeral analysis, non-chord tones, part-writing, and polyphonic devices. 
Concepts to study;

• Roman numeral analysis
• modulation (direct, common chord, common tone, chromatic, enharmonic) passing tones (accented and unaccented)
• neighbor tones (upper, lower, double)
• appoggiatura
• suspension
• anticipation
• retardation
• escape tone
• pedal tone
• double (invertible) counterpoint
• cadences (perfect authentic, imperfect authentic, half, Phrygian, deceptive) antecedent and consequent phrases
• diminution
• augmentation
• imitation
• canon
• inversion
• double (invertible) counterpoint
• retrograde
• stretto 

Part IV. Non-tonal analysis (20%) 

Score excerpt(s) will be presented, along with a series of questions designed to demonstrate your understanding of 20th/21st-century concepts. 
Concepts to study;

• diatonic modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian) pentatonic scales (Major, minor, Hirajoshi)
• synthetic modes (Phrygian-Dorian, Lydian-Mixolydian, whole-tone, octatonic, hexatonic) planing (diatonic and chromatic)
• extended tertian chords
• split-chords
• polychords
• polytonality
• quartal and quintal harmonies
• secundal harmony
• pandiatonicism
• polymeter
• ametric rhythm
• metric modulation
• added value
• non-retrogradable rhythm
• pitch-class (pc) sets
• normal order
• prime form
• interval-class vector (ICV)
• dodecaphonic composition
• prime, inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion 

For more information, please contact Dr. Martin Kennedy at martin.kennedy@cwu.edu.