The Graduate History and Literature Examination
consists of the following parts:
Aural Recognition: (10
minutes) Consists of a series of musical examples
of one minute or less duration each played once.
You will identify each example according to style
period (Baroque, Classic, etc.), genre (Mass, Cantata,
Oratorio, etc.), and composer (you must suggest a
likely composer on your own).
Score Recognition: (10
minutes) Identify written excerpts (one or two pages
each) by style period, genre, and composer giving an
explanation to justify your choices. Elements such
as instrumentation, orchestration, texture, harmony,
rhythm, form, genre, text setting, and style may form
part of your justification.
Musical Terms
and Concepts: (15 minutes) In this section you
will be given definitions for which you must supply
the appropriate term and a potential composer associated
with it. This section is organized by style period.
Musical Forms: (10
minutes) You will be presented with a list of traditional
forms from which you will provide diagrams for several
as requested. Examples could include scherzo-trio,
concerto, etc.
Name the Composer: (10
minutes) Standard compositions are grouped by fours
and you will indicate the composer for three in each
group. Examples might include The
Creation, “Jupiter” Symphony, An
die ferne Geliebte, Pierrot lunaire, Night in the Tropics,
Nixon in China, etc. Examples come predominantly
from 1600 to the present.
Write two 15-minute
essays: (30 minutes) Subjects are different
for Classical and Jazz concentrations and should be
answered according to the program to which you have
been accepted. Essays require students to consider
an issue from a variety of approaches. Examples
could include (classical concentration): the use of
pre-existent music in compositions from 1950-2000,
or the impact of Haydn and Mozart on classical forms
found in the works of Beethoven, or Beethoven’s
compositions as a gateway for 19th-century romantic
composers; (jazz concentration) a significant figure
in the field of jazz composition and performance, or
the impact of the electric guitar on the history of
jazz.
Essays are graded according to content, organization,
and written expression in English.
Suggestions for Exam
Preparation
Undergraduate students at Towson University study
Peter Burkholder’s A
History of Western Music, 8th edition (New York:
W. W. Norton, 2010) and the ancillary anthologies and
recordings that accompany it. This is a particularly
excellent series of books to review for your placement
examination. We also recommend texts by Mark Evans
Bond (A History of
Music in Western Culture, 2009) and Richard
Taruskin (Oxford
History of Western Music, 2009).
A graduate review course at Towson uses a more affordable
1991 book entitled Harper
Collins College Outline History of Western Music by
Hugh Miller.
Since many students applying to the Graduate MM program
at Towson University have not had a comprehensive history
of music survey in several years, it is highly recommended
that you review a significant textbook and the music
literature that accompanies it.
Students who have specific questions about exam preparation
are invited to contact
Dr. Carl B. Schmidt (Coordinator,
History and Literature Division) cschmidt@towson.edu
8000 York Road | Towson, MD 21252 | 410-704-2000
