PLACEMENT ASSESSMENTS

MUSIC DIVISION

August 31-
September 2, 2015

Students must be present for all days of testing

in preparation for registration, which is held
September 2-4.

Placement Assessments are REQUIRED

for all new Music students.
(*Artist Diploma students, see below)

Placement Assessments will be administered on August 31, September 1 and September 2 to new
students in all programs in Music. All new students MUST take these assessments. The assessments
are intended to reveal your accomplishments and potential in the various facets of study so that
you will be placed in the proper classes. Some undergraduate students may receive advanced
standing credit; graduate students may be required to take undergraduate classes to remedy
deficiencies.
NOTE: No transfer credit is given for music classes. Credit is by placement assessment only.

Students who require disability-related testing accommodations must contact the Office
of Academic Support and Disability Services at (212) 799-5000, ext. 213 or via email at
oass@juilliard.edu at least 4 weeks before Orientation to make arrangements.

*Students in the Artist Diploma programs are not required to take placement assessments.
However, if you wish to take classes in History, Theory, Ear Training or Piano, you must take those
assessments.

WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO PREPARE AND REVIEW SO THAT YOU MAY DEMONSTRATE THE
FULL EXTENT OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE.
 To assist in your preparation, please read the following information carefully.

EAR TRAINING
To be taken by all Music majors

Among the materials covered in Ear Training I:

 Identify and sing intervals through the perfect octave

 Intone and conduct rhythms at sight
 Sing and conduct melodies at sight in treble and bass clefs
 Basic one-voice melodic dictations in treble and bass clefs
 Identify rudimentary chord progressions
 Identify and sing intervals m2 through P8 in an atonal context
 Thorough mastery of all major and minor key signatures

Among the materials covered in Ear Training II:

 Sing triads and dominant 7th chords in all inversions up and down from a given note
 Identify chord progressions using triads, dominant 7ths, Italian and Neapolitan 6ths
 Intone and conduct rhythms with rapid changes of meter and subdivision
 From open score of Bach chorales using soprano, alto and tenor clefs: voice and orchestral
instruments sing one line and play on the piano a second line; keyboard instruments sing one
line and play 2 other lines
 Basic two-voice melodic dictations in soprano, alto, and tenor clefs
 Acquire proficiency in fixed "do" solfege

Among the materials covered in Ear Training III & IV:

 Study of mezzo and baritone clefs
 Identify and Sing 7th chords in all positions
 Transposition using seven clefs
 Advanced three-voice melodic dictations in soprano, alto, and tenor clefs

For voice majors: continuation of Ear Training II materials with concentration on rhythm, atonal
singing, and basic harmonic and melodic dictations with modulation
 UNDERGRADUATE MUSIC HISTORY

To be taken by all undergraduate Music majors: no preparation needed.

GRADUATE MUSIC HISTORY

To be taken by all graduate Music students (except those in the Jazz Program) and optional for
transfer undergraduates who have studied Music History at the college level and wish to receive
transfer credit.

This diagnostic assessment covers the history of Western music from the Middle Ages to the present
day. Included are questions dealing with musical styles, forms and genres, terminology, and
historical issues relating to music. The assessment is in multiple-choice format. The accompanying
syllabus for the graduate-review music history survey course is included as a guide for study.

Suggested Text for Study (this textbook will be used for the course next year):

Hanning, Barbara Russano. Concise History of Western Music. 5th edition. (This is based on the 9th
edition of A History of Western Music by J. Peter Burkholder, Donald Grout, and Claude Palisca.)
 SECONDARY PIANO

To be taken by all non-keyboard majors except Guitar and Jazz

If you have had no formal training in piano, you will be asked some basic reading questions.
If you have had some formal piano training, please prepare two short works in contrasting
styles of your own choosing. Memorization is not necessary. You will also be asked to
demonstrate your proficiency in the following areas:

 Scales and Arpeggios

 Functional Chord Progressions
 Sight-reading

KEYBOARD SKILLS

To be taken by all keyboard majors, except Jazz Piano

Includes the following:

 Thorough knowledge of all major and minor scales and key signatures;
 Major, minor, diminished and augmented triads and inversions;
 All seventh chords and inversions.
 Practical knowledge of soprano, alto and tenor clefs
 Sight-reading a string quartet by Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven
 Reduction at the piano of a symphonic score by either Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert or
Schumann
 Realization at the piano of a continuo part (figured bass)
 Transposition of a Lied up and down by minor and major seconds and thirds
 Students will be asked to sight-read piano music from a wide variety of styles, including
Baroque contrapuntal works, Classical sonatas, 19th Century works, and non-tonal music.

Suggested Texts for Study:

Morris, R.O., Preparatory Exercises in Score Reading

Morris, R.O., Figured Harmony at the Keyboard, Book I

Bach, J.S., 69 Chorales with Figured Bass

Brings, Allen, and Charles Burkhart, A New Approach to Keyboard Harmony

 UNDERGRADUATE MUSIC THEORY AND
ANALYSIS To be taken by all
undergraduates

Includes the following: (Writing and Analysis):

THEORY RUDIMENTS (Note: all students are expected to be fluent with theory rudiments
in order to place into the regular theory track. See below for information about how to
learn this material independently over the summer. Students who do not pass the
rudiments portion of the placement test will be assigned to a remedial theory course.)

 Basic Notation (including fluency in at least treble and bass clefs)

 Key Signatures, Scales, and Modes
 Intervals
 Triads and Seventh Chords (all qualities and inversions)

TONAL HARMONY

 Diatonic Harmony and Voice Leading (including four-part writing and figured bass realization)
 Cadences (PAC, IAC, HC, Deceptive, Plagal)
 Modulation and Tonicization (secondary dominants and leading-tone chords)
 Chromatic Harmony (including Neapolitan and augmented-sixths)
 Sonata Form (analysis of a movement by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven)

COUNTERPOINT

 Species Counterpoint in Two Voices, 16th Century Style

 Invention in Two Voices, 18th Century Style (analysis of an invention by J. S. Bach)
 Fugue

Suggested Resources and Texts for Study:

Theory Rudiments:

Upon matriculating at Juilliard, students are expected to possess fluent knowledge of theory rudiments
(key signatures, scales, intervals, chord qualities, etc.). If you do not have background in these topics,
you are strongly encouraged to learn them over the summer with eTheory, an online course available
through Eastman School of Music that will prepare you for the fall placement test and for your college-
level theory studies.

To register for eTheory, click here and enter your name and email address. The course proceeds at
your own pace and requires approximately 4–6 weeks to complete. Have questions about eTheory?
Email ecourse@esm.rochester.edu or visit the eTheory FAQ site.
We also recommend the free website MusicTheory.net for extra practice with theory fundamentals.

Tonal Harmony:

Laitz, Steven G., The Complete Musician (3rd Edition)

Kostka, Stefan and Dorothy Payne, Tonal Harmony (5th Edition)

Counterpoint:

Jeppesen, Knud. Counterpoint: The Polyphonic Vocal Style of the 16th Century (includes species
counterpoint)

Kennan, Kent. Counterpoint (covers invention and fugue in 18th century style)

Salzer, Felix and Carl Schachter. Counterpoint in Composition (includes species counterpoint)
 GRADUATE THEORY

To be taken by all graduate students except Jazz

Includes the following:

 Theory Fundamentals (scales, intervals, chord qualities, etc.)

 Diatonic Harmony and Voice Leading (including four-part writing and figured bass realization)
 Cadences (PAC, IAC, HC, Deceptive, Plagal)
 Modulation and Tonicization (secondary dominants and leading-tone chords)
 Harmonic Sequences
 Chromatic Harmony (including Neapolitan and augmented-sixths)
 Sonata Form (analysis of a movement by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven)

Suggested Text for Study:

Laitz, Steven G. and Christopher Bartlette. Graduate Review of Tonal Theory

Or any undergraduate harmony textbook, such as those by Aldwell/Schachter or Kostka)

DICTION

To be taken by all graduate Voice majors

Transfer undergraduates may take the assessments if they have previously studied
diction.

Students are tested on their proficiency in the International Phonetic Alphabets and will be
expected to sing in English, French, German and Italian.

JAZZ STUDIES

Undergraduate Jazz majors will take the Ear Training, Music Theory, and Music History
assessments as previously listed and the Piano exam described below. Master of Music Jazz
majors will take the Ear Training exam described above and the Piano and Composition and
Arranging assessments listed below.

Piano Skills for Non-Pianists

Demonstrate your piano skills to the best of your ability including: scales, chords, jazz and classical pieces.

Composition and Arranging

The placement exam will include:
1) transposing a melody for the instruments of the jazz band
2) two styles of contrapuntal writing (quasi-Baroque and blues) based around provided melodic material
3) harmony/voicing techniques - add chords to a given melody and voice each note of the melody for
saxes using standard techniques
4) chorale-style voicing for brass and saxes
Students may also submit a portfolio of compositions and/or arrangements for small or large jazz groups
for further consideration.

Elements of Music
Includes the following:
Scales, Intervals, Chords; Figured Bass; Harmonic Analysis; Score Analysis; Theoretical Discussion