Music
Graduate Music History Review
Introduction
The Graduate Music History Diagnostic Exam will have four parts, consisting of multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and one essay question. These are outlined below, along with resources for study.
Part 1: Historical Knowledge
(Format: multiple-choice; 25 questions, 25 points total)
This section consists of 25 multiple-choice questions assessing your knowledge of significant composers, concepts, terminology, and repertoire covered in the typical undergraduate music history sequence.
Concepts to study: See resource list below.
Part 2: Listening ID
(Format: multiple-choice, 10 examples, 20 points total)
In this section, excerpts of ten recorded music examples will be played (30–60 seconds). Evaluate the listening examples and determine for each a likely composer, genre, and time period from a list of options.
Examples to study: See resource list below.
Part 3: Score ID
(Format: multiple-choice and short answer, 5 examples, 25 points)
Four score excerpts will be presented. For every score example, choose a likely composer, genre, and time period from a list of options. Next, give a rationale in short answer form by providing three good reasons for your choices.
Examples to study: See resource list below.
Part 4: Essay
(1 prompt, 30 points)
You will be provided with three essay prompts. Choose one and answer in essay form (3–5 paragraphs). Essay prompts will ask you to synthesize large groups of information on a particular genre, style, music concept, or time period, and discuss its development over time. In addition to content, this part assesses your ability to write in a clear, concise, evidence-driven manner. Example questions:
• Discuss at least three main developments in opera from its beginnings through Richard Wagner. Cite specific composers and pieces as evidence in your response.
• Discuss at least three main developments in the symphony from Franz Joseph Haydn through Johannes Brahms. Cite specific composers and pieces as evidence in your response.
• Discuss at least three main developments in modernist music from Richard Strauss through John Cage.
• Discuss at least three main ways that African American music traditions influenced 20th-century music, including areas such as classical, jazz, and popular styles.
Example Concepts to Study for Essays (not exhaustive):
Genres:
opera
symphony
chamber music
solo piano music
Styles/Time Periods:
Classicism (18th century)
Romanticism
Modernism
Post-1945
Concepts:
sonata-allegro form
harmony and counterpoint
Resource List
For historical concepts, consult music history textbooks such as:
J. Peter Burkholder, Donald J. Grout, and Claude Palisca, A History of Western Music, 10th Ed. (New York: Norton, 2019).
David Poultney, Studying Music History: Learning, Reasoning, and Writing About Music History and Literature, 2nd Ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall,1996).
Douglass Seaton, Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition, 4th Ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016).
Richard Taruskin and Christopher Gibbs, The Oxford History of Western Music, College Edition, 2nd Ed. (New York, Oxford University Press, 2018).
For listening examples, consult recorded anthologies such as:
The Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music 8th Ed. (New York: Norton, 2019)
Oxford Recorded Anthology of Western Music (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013)
For score examples, consult score anthologies such as:
The Norton Anthology of Western Music, 3 vols., 8th Ed. (New York: Norton, 2014)
Oxford Anthology of Western Music, 3 vols. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013)
CWU News
$4 million federal grant aimed at helping with school psychologist shortage
February 25, 2026 by Marketing and Communications
CWU Disability Services aims to provide equitable access to education
February 23, 2026 by Rune Torgersen