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The Weeding Process For Music Majors

Cremaine Booker Prof. Gardener English 1010 18 March 2009 The Weeding Process for Music Majors The Theory Process has a pre-process music theory placement test. This is a test that all music majors must take prior to becoming a part of the music department. This test is a measurement of the student’s knowledge of music theory. The student usually takes this test on his/her audition day. After taking the placement test, students will be placed into either Music Theory I or Fundamentals of Music. After the student has been placed into a class, the process starts. This process will begin in Music Theory I. In this class, music majors will start with the basic aspects of music such as, Rhythm, Intonation, Intervals, and Chord Tonality. After the basics have been covered the class progress to music analysis. During this period the student will analyze small pieces of music by Bach using the Roman Music Analysis system and study the Pythagorean tuning system. Also during this period, the student will learn the European solfeggio system called “Fixed-Do Solfege”. Using this system, the student will learn all the major and harmonic minor scales. At the conclusion of this class, the student is to then take two final exams, a solfege exam and a written exam. When the student passes these two exams they are allowed to move to the next stage. In the next stage of the process, the student enters Music Theory II. This is course provides a more in depth analysis of music. In this class, the student will continue with the solfege system by learning the melodic minor scales and all of the modal scales. The student also continues with the Roman analysis systemby analyzing longer pieces of music. In the middle of this course, the student will encounter a mid-term exam. The mid-term is the analysis of a Chorale by Bach. The student must analyze this chorale, translate the German text word-for-word and idiomatically. For the final part of the mid-term, the student has to write a...