Music Theory Exam Information
The state music theory exam is intended for students with formal music theory training. The following information defines areas that should be addressed by both students and teachers in preparation for the exam. In addition, copies of previous exams are available here.
Teachers preparing students for the state music theory exam are encouraged to regularly check the UIL state solo & ensemble webpage for any revisions and updates.
State Music Theory Exam FAQ
Q: What is the state theory exam?
A: The state music theory exam is a part of the state solo and ensemble contest.
Q: When and where is it held?
A: The state music theory exam will be given virtually by each sponsor. For more information, including dates, visit the state solo & ensemble webpage.
Q: What students are eligible to enter the theory contest?
A: Any full-time student at a UIL member high school (grades 9-12) with formal music theory training is eligible to take the exam. Any student wishing to take the exam must be registered by a school-designated sponsor following all processes on the state solo & ensemble webpage.
Guide to Preparing for the State Music Theory Exam
General Considerations
Music Theory Defined – A better name for music theory would be “comprehensive written and aural musicianship” involving the ability to translate written symbols into musical sounds and the reverse process of listening to musical sounds and transcribing them into musical symbols.
Knowledge of Skills – Theory is partly knowledge and partly skill. The knowledge must be “internalized,” i.e., become largely automatic, but it consists of elements that can be learned and understood through a purely intellectual process. The skills, however, concern perception of musical sounds by the human ear. They must be developed, step-by-step, through a process of ear training.
Standard Notational Practices – Participants will be expected to write musical notation within the bounds of accepted practice, including correctly drawn clefs, accidentals, stems.
Music Memory – A crucial skill in preparing for the theory exam is cultivating music memory, especially for melodic dictation. Memory spans can be increased through practicing progressively longer phrases.
Written Skills
Clefs – The participant will be expected to identify or write any note in bass or treble clef up to and including four ledger lines above and below the staff.
Meter – Meter signatures are often called “time signatures.” The participant will be expected to identify a meter signature as follows:
1. Whether it is duple, triple, quadruple, or quintuple meter.
2. Whether it involves a simple or compound beat.
3. The time value of any note or rest in that meter.
For participant purposes, 6/8 is duple compound meter, with two counts to the measure.
The participant will be expected to identify rhythmic notation and determine what meter signature it suggests.
Key Signatures – The participant will be expected to know all major and minor keys signatures. In addition, the participant must be able to write any key signature correctly.
Scale Construction – The participant will be expected to understand the construction of major, natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, and whole tone scales well enough to recognize or write any given scale, using accidentals instead of key signatures.
Intervals – The participant will be expected to recognize and/or write any interval of any type.
Triads – The participant will be expected to recognize and/or write any triad (major, minor, diminished, augmented) in root position or in either inversion.
Seventh Chord – The participant will be expected to recognize and/or write any of the five common seventh chord types (dominant, minor, half-diminished, diminished, or major) in root position.
Functional Harmony – The participant will be expected to perform functional (Roman numeral) analysis of diatonic four-part chorales, indicating inversions and identifying non-harmonic tones.
Music Terminology – The participant will be expected to define common expressions and tempo markings. These may include Italian, French, or German terms.
Aural Skills
Each participant will be expected to do the following:
1. Listen to a scale, and then identify it as major, natural minor, harmonic minor, or melodic minor.
2. Listen to a melodic interval (i.e., each pitch sounded separately), and then identify it according to type and size.
3. Listen to a harmonic interval (pitches sounded simultaneously), and then identify it according to type and size.
4. Listen to a triad in root position or inversion, and then identify it according to type.
5. Listen to a root position seventh chord, and then identify it according to type.
6. Listen to a musical excerpt and determine the beat type and meter type.
7. Listen to a short (4 to 8 measures) melody several times and write it out on the staff in treble or bass clef.