Study Guide: Upper Division Exam in Music History
The music history and writing portion of the exam will test basic music history knowledge and writing skills. Keep in mind that the test is designed to study the basic and important music history knowledge and writing skills necessary for you to be successful in upper division music courses and in the profession of music education or performance. This section of the Upper Division Exams will address the following:
- A general knowledge section in multiple choice format concerning major composers, time periods, characteristics, forma and genres. Carefully review the musical terms listed in this guide, and you should do fine.
- An essay portion, in which you will be given several topics, of which you choose one to write on. The essay is expected to be 1 to 2 pages in length, using complete sentences, paragraphs, proper grammar and good organization. Sample essay questions and tips on preparing are provided in this guide.
- Listening, in which five “mystery” examples will be played during the exam. You will be asked to identify the likely style period, possible composer and justify your responses by listing the musical and style period characteristics heard in the examples. Tips on preparing for the listening portion of the exam are provided in this guide.
Study Guide Contents
- Suggested Study Texts
- Online Resources
- Terms and Concepts by Style Periods/Genre
- Essay Portion
- Listening Portion
- For More Help
Suggested Study Texts
There are several history texts that may be of benefit in preparation for the diagnostic examinations. Accompanying anthologies and CDs to each of these texts are also important tools for study:
- Grout, Donald. A History of Western Music, 6th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001
- Rosenstiel, Leonie, general editor. Schirmer History of Music. New York: Schirmer Books, 1982
- Wold, Martin, Miller, and Cykler. An Outline History of Western Music, 7th ed. Dubuque: William C. Brown, 1990
- Garofalo, Reebee. Rockin’Out: Popular Music in the USA. Boston: Allyn&Bacon, 1997. (we have two copies of this in the library). There are additional books on jazz and world music at Mitchell Memorial Library.
- The Rough Guides to World Music and Jazz (available in the reference section of the Library) http://www.roughguides.com/music/ ML102.W67 W67 2000
- The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music (available on CD-ROM in the reference section of the Library) ML100 .G16 1998
- Music Appreciation Books can be a useful source for reviewing for this type of comprehensive exam. They can serve as an outline, keeping you on track with what the most important people and concepts are. Kamien, Yudkin and Wright are all good sources. Keep in mind that these only serve as a supplement to your studying and are not detailed enough to serve as your only source for study.
- The Grove Dictionary of Music On-Line. On the MSU Library Homepage, click on Indexes/Databases and go to Grove Music. This is an excellent resource for all musicians.
Online Resources
The following sources may be helpful as you prepare for the test. Keep in mind that these only serve as a supplement to your studying and are not detailed enough to serve as your only source for study.
- Grout A History of Western Music On-Line Resources: This site includes outlines, on-line quizzes and listening guides to accompany the text
- Maestro School of Music: Music History Outline: This is an outline of the standard history of Western art music
- Music and Culture in the 20th Century An Outline : This is an outline of 20th century music and culture
- World Music Instrument Gallery: Photos and information on instruments from around the world
- Jewish Music: An Outline
- Beethoven Bibliography Database
- Gregorian Chant Homepage
- Composer-Bach
- Ten mistakes commonly made by writers
Terms and Concepts to Review
Reviewing important figures, works, and terminology may also aid in studying for the music history portion of the Upper Division Exam. Use the following vocabulary lists as a guide:
Middle Ages
| Liber Usualis | tropes | Divine Offices | hexachord |
| Mass Proper and Ordinary | Ars nova | Musica enchiriadis | Leonin/Perotin |
| bar form/strophic form | organum | Dies lrae | solmization |
| School of Notre Dame | Motet | ballata | musica ficta |
| Landin/Machaut: Mass of Notre Dame | isorhythm | conductus | discant clausula |
| Canonical Hours or Offices | Vespers/Magnificat | Trecento | chace/caccia |
| modes (authentic, plagal) | Troubadours/Trouvères | Vernacular | Mannerism |
| formes fixes (ballade/rondeau/virelai) | |||
Renaissance
| Burgundian school | feudalism | Franco-Flemisch School | |
| The Council of Trent | Marenzio/Gesualdo | the Roman School | |
| paraphrase technique | Parisian chanson | musica ficta | word painting |
| Missa prolationum | points of imitation | madrigal | anthem |
| pavane/galliard | William Byrd | Mannerism | Josquin |
| mensuration canon | "L'Homme arme" | chorale | Dufay |
| cantus firmus Mass | fauxbourdon | Ockeghem | parody |
| cadence structures | frottola/madrigal | chanson | Mass |
| Old Hall Manuscript | cantus firmus | Palestrina | cyclic |
Baroque
| The Musical Offering | Brandenburg Concertos | French overture | da capo aria |
| trio sonata/sonata da chiesa | Art of Fugue | concertino | ritornello |
| St. Matthew Passion | tutti/ripieno | Clavier-Übung | cadenza |
| Giovanni Gabrieli Monteverdi | A. Corelli | Concerto grosso | fugue |
| ricercare/fantasia/canzona | Le nuove musiche | monody | concertato |
| The “Affections” or Passions | sacred concerto | basso ostinato | prattica |
| French Baroque opera | cori spezzatti | ground bass | recitative |
| passacaglia/chaconne | Heinrich Schütz | orchestral suite | monody |
| B minor Mass | dramma per musica | Opera seria | cantata |
| Well-Tempered CIavier | secco prima | chorale prelude | oratorio |
| cantata Mass/Missa solemnis | dance forms (e.g., minuet, gavotte) | passion settings | L’Orfeo |
| Sonata da camera | accompagnato | terraced dynamics | stretto |
| stile antico/stile moderno | prelude/toccata | prattica/seconda | libretto |
| Italian Baroque opera | polychoral motet | basso continuo | aria/arioso |
Classical
| Beethovenís Symphonies Nos. 1, 3 (Eroica), 5, 6 (Pastoral), 7, 9 | opera buffa | empfindsamer Stil | intermezzo |
| The “Mannheim School” | parlando | The Creation | string quartet |
| the Lord Nelson Mass | sonata form | Orfeo ed Euridice | opera finale |
| Mozart's "Haydn" quartets | rondo | Lorenzo da Ponte | rondo form |
| London Symphonies | singspiel | song (lieder) cycle | cavatina |
| galant style / style galante | symphony | minuet/scherzo | “Reform” Opera |
| double exposition form | Rococo | opera-comique | alberti bass |
Romantic (Nineteenth Century)
| F. Liszt | mazurka | Symphonie Fantastique | F. Schubert |
| La Traviata | Carmen | The New World Symphony | R. Schumann |
| Das Rheingold | Otello | The Unfinished Symphony | R. Wagner |
| The Ring Cycle | nationalism | “The Mighty Handful” | R. Strauss |
| music-drama | etude | Hungarian Rhapsody | symphonic poem (tone poem) |
| Leitmotive | idée fixe | Gesamtkunstwerk | Ein Deutsches Requiem |
| bel canto | Verismo | Gretschen am Spinnrade | Die Schöne Müllerin |
| Italian opera | cabaletta | character piece | Song without Words |
| grand opera | rubato | orchestral lieder | program vs. absolute music |
Twentieth Century
| The Unanswered Question | Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk | Charles Ives | |
| Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta | Einstein on the Beach | Mathis der Maler | |
| dodecaphonic | twelve-tone | The Three-Penny Opera | The Classical Symphony |
| total serialism | formalism | Appalachian Spring | Peter Grimes |
| pointillism | Les Six | Pierrot Lunaire | Carmina Burana |
| primitivism | Wozzeck | The Rite of Spring | L’histoire du soldat |
| minimalism | Mikrokosmos | Sprechstimme | musique concrète |
| expressionism | La Mer | microtonality | Gebrauchsmusik |
| neoclassicism | atonality | Klangfarbenmelodie | aleatory music |
| impressionism | serialism | bitonality/polytonality | chance music |
Jazz and Popular Music
| Swing | Louis Armstrong | Big bands | Gospel |
| Bebop | Duke Ellington | Fusion | African American Spirituals |
| Blues | New Orleans Jazz | Miles Davis | Rastafarian culture |
| Ragtime | Benny Goodman | John Coltrane | Mo Town (Detroit) |
| Cool jazz | William “Count” Basie | Bluegrass | Bessie Smith |
| Musical theater | Dizzy Gillespie | Western Swing | Funk |
| Broadway | Rhythm and Blues (R&B) | Hip Hop | Soul |
| Sugar Hill records | Billie Holiday | Honky Tonk | Otis Redding |
| Sun Studio | Elvis Presley | The Beatles | Ray Charles |
| B. B. King | Jimi Hendrix | Aretha Franklin | Nirvana |
World Music
| Raga (India) | Koto (Japan) | Chinese theater | Hindustani |
| Shona Mbira (Africa) | Javanese gamelan | Kora (Africa-Mande) | Carnatic (Karnatak) |
| Peruvian panpipes | Ravi Shankar | Sub-Saharan African Percussion | Buddhism |
| Brazilian Choro | Oud (Arabia, North Africa) | Gagaku: The Imperial Court Music of Japan | Klezmer (Jewish) |
| Sitar (India) | Santur, Setar (Iran, Persia) | Korean Kayagum Music: Sanjo | Mestizo |
| Tabla (India) | Qin (China) | Shakuhachi Flute (Japan) | Habanera |
Essay Portion
You will be asked to write 1 to 2 pages on one of the topics provided at the examination. You will be tested not only on your knowledge of history, but also your ability to communicate effectively using complete sentences, paragraphs, proper grammar and good organization. Be prepared to compare two things, write about a major genre as it changed over time, or to describe the characteristics of one particular time period. Questions will be similar (but not identical) to the following:
- What were Franz Liszt’s contributions to piano performance in the Romantic Period?
- Compare and contrast the musical styles of Mozart and Beethoven.
- Compare and contrast the characteristics of music written during the Classical Period with those written during the Romantic period.
- How did opera change from its beginning in the Baroque period through to today?
To prepare, make sure you are aware of the similarities and differences between style periods. Choose the most important genres (Motet, Mass, Opera, Oratorio, Cantata, Symphony, String Quartet, Lied, Musical, Chance music, 12-tone composition, and different types of jazz) and make a list of the characteristics and major composers of each. During what time periods are these genres important? How are they different and the same?
What are some general changes that have occurred over the history of music? How has the size and make-up of ensembles changed? How has harmony changed? How has the role of the composer and performer changed over time? What genres have continued to be popular, and which ones were short-lived? How are later composers influenced by those that came before them?
Listening
Review major genres and important composers from every time period for Western art music, as well as different types of jazz and world music, using the Terms and Concepts section above as a guide. Be able to name a few composers from each time period in Western art music, keeping in mind the styles and genres they wrote in. The CDs and scores of the Norton Anthology are an ideal source. Our library has many CDs and LPs available for you to check out, including sources for jazz, popular and world music.
For More Help
Feel free to contact me or stop by my office if you have any questions about the material or format of the test. Also feel free to double-check the text books you are studying from with me. I may be able to recommend additional ones, and may have materials I can lend you.
Dr. Elaine Peterson
Music History and Double Reeds
(662) 325-2863 (studio)
epeterson@colled.msstate.edu
Last revised on 15 March 2005. For comments about this Guide, please send email to Elaine Peterson
