Preparing for Success in Music Theory
Welcome to the music theory website at Iowa State University. The music theory courses at ISU provide an excellent foundation for you to become a better musician through becoming skilled at interpreting and understanding music as well as writing and arranging music.
We want you to thrive in music at ISU in all aspects—performance, academics, and service. To succeed in performance and academics, it is essential to be fluent in the fundamentals of music prior to entering the degree program as a new student or a transfer student. Several resources that can help you in preparation can be found here. If you attend June orientation in person, you will have the opportunity to take a short preliminary diagnostic exam, which will help you to determine what you need to prepare ahead of theory classes in the fall. You will receive quick feedback so that you can know what areas you did well and upon which areas you need to improve. If you do not succeed in a particular area of the exam or are unavailable to take it during orientation, the exam will also be administered at 11:30am on Sunday, August 25. If further help is required, we will arrange for you to take a six-week theory preparation course alongside your regular theory class. This short course is specifically designed to ensure that you have a successful start in the curriculum for music majors. For more information about Music Theory at ISU, please contact either Dr. Julie Sturm at jksturm@iastate.edu or Dr. Kris Bryden at kabryden@iastate.edu.
The following are fundamental skills needed for beginning the core theory classes for music majors. These include links to tutorials to learn about these skills and to practice building these skills.
Rhythm
The ability to:
- Notate and identify the basic duration symbols for notes and rests, from a 64th note up to a dotted whole note.
- Correctly use basic rhythmic symbols, such as dots, ties, and beams.
- Correctly relate different note values to each other. (For example, a half note is equivalent to two quarters...) See links above.
- Explain the difference between simple and compound time.
- Correctly state the number of beats in the measure and the value of the beat for any standard time signature.
- Time Signatures
- Correctly identify the time signature that best corresponds to a given measure of a series of note durations.
Pitch
The ability to notate and identify:
- Pitches in bass, treble, alto and tenor clefs.
- Key signatures in bass, treble, alto and tenor clefs.
- Practice Reading notes in various clefs
- Major scales and the three forms of minor scales starting on any given pitch.
- Practice Identifying Scales Choose major and the natural, harmonic, and melodic forms of the minor scale.
- Intervals and their inversions up to the size of a perfect 12th.
- Practice Identifying Intervals
- All root position triad qualities (major, minor, diminished, and augmented)
- Practice Identifying Triads
Diagnostic Exams
Date, Times, and Location: If you attend June orientation in person, you will have the opportunity to take a short preliminary diagnostic exam. If you do not succeed in a particular area of the exam or are unavailable to take it during orientation, the exam will also be administered on Sunday, August 25th in Estes 125 from 11:30 am-1:00 pm in Simon Estes Music Hall.
Sample Fundamental Diagnostic Exams
Sample_Fundamental_Diagnostic_Test_1.pdf
Sample_Fundamental_Diagnostic_Test_2.pdf
Sample_Answers_Diagnostic_Test_1.pdf
Sample_Answers_Diagnostic_Test_2.pdf
Advanced Placement Exam
The Advanced Placement exam is required of all transfer students and students with an AP theory score of 4 or 5. This placement exam evaluates knowledge and skill of four-part writing, voice-leading principles and techniques, Roman numeral analysis, figured bass realization, cadences and non-chord tones. Following the exam, a recommendation will be made about where to best begin in the theory sequence at ISU.
Click here to access an example exam with problems similar to those found on the Advanced Placement Exam.
Click here to access answers to the Advanced Placement example exam.
Learning Resources
Books
We would recommend either of the following books to help you prepare for the placement exam:
- Paul O. Harder and Greg A Steinke: Basic Materials of Music Theory: A Programmed Course, 11th edition, published by Pearson Prentice Hall. (Entire book.)
- John Clough, Joyce Conley, and Claire Boge: Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm and Meter: A programmed course in Elementary Music Theory, 3rd edition, published by W.W. Norton. (Chapters 1-29 only.)
Internet Resources
Several internet resources are available to help with exam preparation. These recourses can be found here.
Typically Asked Questions
Do I have to take the exam?
All incoming music major and minors must take the Fundamentals Diagnostic exam. All transfer students and students with high school AP credit in Music Theory must take our Advanced Placement exam.
What if I don't know any music theory yet?
You have plenty of time to get prepared. Ask for help from a music teacher, whether it be your band director, orchestra director, choir director, or a private teacher. Be sure to also check out the learning resources given above.
What if I already know basic music theory?
Great! You are well prepared to succeed as a musician; however, you must still take the Fundamentals Exam.
Does Iowa State University grant credit for the Advanced Placement (AP) exam in music theory?
Iowa State University grants credit for a score of 4 or 5 for the high school AP test and students are typically placed in our second-semester theory course, MUS234. However, these students will still be required to take our written Advanced Placement exam and to demonstrate their sight singing skills.
If you have any further questions, please contact Dr. Kris Bryden at kabryden@iastate.edu or Dr. Julie Sturm at jksturm@iastate.edu.