06.02.03 Placement Examinations, Listening Exam, and Remedial Courses (MM)
All entering graduate students are required to take placement examinations in music theory and music history before registering for any course. For more information about these exams, please see section 05.03 (Placement Examinations and Remediation).
MM Listening Exam
The Listening Exam is required for Master of Music degree students in the following majors: Performance and Literature (PRL), Piano Accompanying & Chamber Music (ACM), Early Music (EMH), Conducting (CNC and CNO), and Opera Stage Directing (OPS).
Students must take the Listening Exam upon entry to their degree program. If the student does not pass the exam, s/he must either re-take it the following year during the orientation period, or the student may enroll in MHS 435 Concert Repertoire: Museum or Living Art? (and pass it with a grade of B- or better) in lieu of taking the exam a second time. Students who pass the Listening Test may still choose to take MHS 435 as an elective course.
Students must fulfill this degree requirement either by examination or by passing the MHS 435 course with a grade of B- or better in order participate in the commencement ceremony.
The MM Listening Test evaluates the student’s ability to identify by ear specific works taken from a published list of works which represent a broad spectrum of historical periods and performance media. It also tests the student’s ability to identify works not on the published list, by style-period rather than by title, with some brief description of the characteristics of the work that suggest the period choices. The exam consists of 25 excerpts, 20 of which involve identification of specific works from the published list and 5 of which cover style-identification. The basic list of works is published annually and serves as the source for the Listening Test administered during orientation week. Copies of the list are available in the bins outside the Graduate Office, Room ESM 103 or on-line at http://learn.rochester.edu.
