An important component of the Conservatory’s core curriculum is the five-term course sequence in Music Theory, Aural Skills, and Sight Singing.  This sequence is required of all students who intend to major in music, whether as part of the B.Mus. degree program in the Conservatory or the B.A. program in the College.  Students normally begin the sequence in the fall term of their first year at Lawrence and complete it by the end of winter term of their second year.  Timely completion of the theory sequence is important not only because music theory courses are prerequisite to other required courses in music degree programs but also because the skills you develop there apply directly to your activities as a performer, composer, or future music educator.

The core music theory curriculum is an integrated approach to harmony, counterpoint, form, analysis, ear training, and sight singing. While the curriculum is geared toward developing your skillful use of musical materials, our larger goal is to guide you toward a deeper understanding of musical structure and process—of how music is organized, and why.  In order to achieve this goal, we expect incoming students to have attained a thorough and practiced command of theory fundamentals and a level of aural discrimination adequate for entrance into the required five-term sequence.  To that end, we encourage you to assess your preparation for the study of music at the college level and to begin filling in any gaps you might discover in the areas enumerated below.

Written fundamentals

• Fluency in reading pitches in both treble and bass clefs
• Fluency in rhythmic notation, including note values, ties, rests, meter signatures
• Quick and accurate recall of the spelling and notation of:
            • all major and minor scales (including the three forms of minor)
            • all major and minor key signatures
            • all intervals of an octave or less
            • all major, minor, diminished, and augmented triads, and their harmonic
              function in major and minor keys
• Knowledge of inversion of intervals and triads

Aural skills

• Ability to recognize by ear:
            • intervals of an octave or less (by name and in notation)
            • major, minor, and diminished triads in root position and inversion (by
              name and in notation)
• Ability to sing at sight (without accompaniment):
            • a brief melody written in either treble or bass clef
            • intervals and arpeggiated triads (both by name and from notation)
• Ability to notate short melodic fragments (both pitches and rhythms)

There are several ways to address unfamiliarity with any of this material.  A music educator in your area (your choir director, band or orchestra conductor, or private instructor) may be able to help you.  Furthermore, many of these skills can be addressed through piano study, so if you’re not a pianist you might consider taking some piano lessons during the summer, time permitting.  Finally, we recommend you obtain the following materials and use them as the basis of your summer study.  Those so indicated will also be required texts in the core theory curriculum:

Written Fundamentals

• Edward Aldwell and Carl Schachter, Harmony and Voice Leading, third edition. (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 2003). Required harmony text; we recommend chapters 1-5 for summer study.  Conkey’s Bookstore (see below) will be selling the book bundled with an accompanying set of CDs, which provide recordings of the musical examples that are notated in the text. The two-volume workbook is not required.

• John Clough, Joyce Conley, and Claire Boge, Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm, and Meter, third edition. (New York: Norton, 1999).  Recommended text for theory fundamentals.

Aural Skills

• Robert Ottman and Nancy Rogers, Music for Sight Singing, seventh edition. (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 2007). Required sight singing text.

• Anne C. Hall, Studying Rhythm, third edition. (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 2005). Required sight singing text.

• Leo Kraft, A New Approach to Ear Training (New York: Norton, 1999). Recommended text for self-study melodic and harmonic dictation.

• MacGAMUT 6 Ear Training Software. Recommended software for ear training and theory fundamentals; cross-platform for Mac and Windows.

The following anthology is also a required text in the theory curriculum; we list it here not because we expect you to use it for your summer study but only in case you’d like to purchase in advance all your required theory textbooks.

• Charles Burkhart with William Rothstein, Anthology for Musical Analysis, sixth edition (postmodern update) (Thompson/Schirmer, 2008). Required music theory text.

The textbooks can be ordered from a variety of online booksellers.

MacGAMUT software can be purchased directly from the publisher ($40 plus $3.00 shipping):  MacGAMUT Music Software Inc., 1170 Old Henderson Road, Suite 100, Columbus, OH 43220-3623 (www.macgamut.com or toll free at 800-305-8731). 

In addition, links to downloadable worksheets for theory fundamentals (with answer sheets) are available on Professor Biringer’s webpage:  www.lawrence.edu/fast/biringeg

The Music Theory Placement Exam is required of all incoming music majors (including both first-year and transfer students) and will be used to place you into one of five sections of first-year Theory and Analysis or into our Music Fundamentals, Theory, and Analysis course.  The Placement Exam consists of two parts: an online portion that you must complete by September 1, and a brief dictation test that will be administered in Harper Hall on Wednesday, September 9 at 9:00 a.m.  You must complete each part of the exam in order to receive placement and register for theory courses. 

The online portion of the Placement Exam will be available between July 15 and September 1 via a link from this webpage.  It will test your knowledge of theory fundamentals (notation of pitch and rhythm, meter signatures, key signatures, intervals, scales, triads, and seventh chords) and assess your ability to match sounds (intervals, melodic patterns, chord qualities, harmonic progressions, and rhythmic patterns) with musical notation.  The online portion will be self-contained in that it will include all necessary instructions and system requirements.  Once you begin it, you will have a limited period of time in which to complete it.  In the unlikely event of technical incompatibilities or if you are physically unable to take the online exam, please notify Professor Ito promptly (contact information below) and he will help you make other arrangements.  

Depending on your score on the online portion of the exam, you might also be required to complete a brief sight-singing audition following the Placement Exam.  You will be notified prior to Welcome Week if you need to complete a sight-singing audition. 

CLICK HERE TO ENTER
THE MUSIC THEORY PLACEMENT EXAM SITE

Login to the placement exam site with your Lawrence network ID and password. If you have problems logging in, please contact the IT Helpdesk at (920) 832-6570.

Click Yes when asked if you wish to enroll in the course.

Lawrence’s Advanced Placement Exam in Music Theory is required of all transfer students and is offered to other incoming students who have had substantial prior training in theory and aural skills.  The AP Exam will be administered in two parts: a written portion that you must complete by September 1 and a dictation exam that will be administered in Harper Hall immediately following the Music Theory Placement Exam on September 9.  The AP Exam will be downloadable from a link on this webpage beginning July 15, and you must return it to us via ground mail by September 1.  Complete instructions for taking the exam and for returning it to us will be posted by July 15. 

Students who have taken the College Board AP-Music Theory Exam or IB-Music exams frequently ask whether they also need to take Lawrence’s AP Music Theory exam if they seek advanced placement.  The answer is Yes.  We encourage you to read the university’s policies on advanced placement exams especially as they pertain to the awarding of college credit based on a minimum score on these exams.  Please be advised, however, that although the theory department takes these scores into consideration, a high score on a standardized AP exam does not alone guarantee advanced placement in Lawrence’s theory curriculum.

The core Music Theory curriculum at Lawrence is thorough, rigorous, and for most students fast-paced. Your conscientious preparation this summer will significantly enhance your success in this important part of the conservatory’s core curriculum.  Please feel free to contact Professors Biringer or Ito should you have any questions regarding the theory curriculum or the placement exams.  We look forward to meeting you in the fall.

John Paul Ito, Assistant Professor of Music
(920) 832-6824
john.paul.ito@lawrence.edu