Music History Placement Exam

The music history placement exam is designed to assess your general knowledge of
Western music history from the medieval period up to the present day. The exam
will be administered online through Microsoft Forms. Here are some details about
how the test will work:

• You can begin the exam at any time during the examination window, but
once you begin you are expected finish in 90 minutes or less (the form is time-
stamped, so don’t open it until you are ready to take it).
• Do not cheat! That means do not work with others or look up answers. This
exam is ultimately intended to help you by determining your personal
strengths and weaknesses in music history.

The exam consists of 3 parts:

1. Listening Identification (10 questions)

2. Multiple Choice (20 questions)
3. Fill in the blank (5 questions)

In the listening identification section, you will be presented short audio clips of 10
different pieces, for which you will have to identify:

• the name of the piece

• the composer
• the era it is from

The pieces will be taken from the following (click the links to hear the
recording):

• Hildegard of Bingen: Alleluia, O virga mediatrix

• Notre Dame School: Gaude Maria virgo
• Guillaume de Machaut: Ma fin est mon commencement
• Josquin: Ave Maria Virgo serena
• Palestrina: Gloria from the Pope Marcellus Mass
• Purcell: ‘Dido’s Lament’ from Dido and Aeneas
• Vivaldi: The Four Seasons – “La Primavera” (first movement)
• Handel: ‘Rejoice Greatly’ from Messiah
• J.S. Bach: Cantata 140, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
• Haydn: Symphony No.94, ‘Surprise’
 • Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
• Beethoven: Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op. 67
• Franz Schubert: Erlkönig
• Chopin: Polonaise in A Major, Op. 40, No. 1 (“Military”)
• Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, IV
• Puccini: “Un bel dì vedremo“ from Madame Butterfly
• Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
• African American Spiritual: Swing Low Sweet Chariot
• Schoenberg: Pierrot lunaire, Part III, No. 18
• Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring, Part I (excerpt)
• Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag
• Holiday: Billie’s Blues
• Strayhorn/Ellington: Take the A Train
• Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
• Cage: Sonata V, from Sonatas and Interludes
• Revueltas: Noche de Jaranas from La Noche de los Mayas
• Reich: Electric Coutnerpoint, III
• Glass: Symphony No. 4 (‘Heroes’), Mvt. I
• Adams: Doctor Atomic, “At the sight of this”

You can also review the full listening list using this YouTube Playlist.

The second section, which is multiple choice, will focus on terms, concepts, and
individuals. Here is a sample of the kinds of subject matter you might encounter:
• Absolute music • Minimalism
• Ars nova • Monophony/monophonic
• Atonality • Opera Buffa
• Basso continuo • Opera Seria
• Bel canto • Organum
• Cantus firmus • Polyrhythm
• Chanson • Polyphony/polyphonic
• Character piece • Process music
• Claudio Monteverdi • Program music
• Counterpoint • Ragtime
• Exposition • Recitative
• Expressionism • Ritornello
• Fugue • Rubato
• Gamelan • Singspiel
• Impressionism • Song cycle
• Incidental • Strophic
• Leitmotif • Swing/Big Band
• Lied/Lieder • Tone poem
• Melisma • Verismo

Finally, section three will include a few questions where you have to fill in the blank
(____________).