Music Theory and Musicianship Exemption Conditions:
All music majors who wish to be exempted from taking the IAA class "Theory and Musicianship" must demonstrate equivalent theory accomplishment by meeting one of the two conditions listed below.
Students must receive a grade of 80% or above on both the ear training and written skills of the IAA Theory and Musicianship Diagnostic/Equivalency exam to be exempt from Music Theory and Musicianship.
The exam is also used as a placement tool in grouping students with similar skills into Theory and Musicianship sections. In addition, the exam serves as a means for advanced students to prove their "IAA Theory and Musicianship equivalency," and as such, may be taken at other times of the year. This exam is given before the start of semester I. Some students who demonstrate significant understanding but who do not meet the 80% requirement may be exempted from the first semester of Theory and Musicianship, at the discretion of the Music Theory faculty.
The written material on this exam is similar to the material in the book Techniques and Materials of Music from the Common Practice Period through the Twentieth Century by Thomas Benjamin, Michael Horvit and Robert Nelson (ISBN 0-534-51759-5). We would hope that a majority of our incoming students would be able to demonstrate a ready grasp of the material found in “Part I-Rudiments” from the book.
The ear training portion of the exam will include the recognition of melodic intervals (a pair of notes played one at a time), harmonic intervals (a pair of notes played at the same time), triad qualities, triad inversions, seventh-chord qualities, melodic dictation similar in difficulty to the melodies in the first sections of the book Melodia, A Course in Sight-Singing by Samuel W. Cole and Leo R. Lewis and chorale-style harmonic dictation similar to the four-part hymns found in many church hymnals.
First-year seniors who demonstrate a lack of knowledge of theory fundamentals by their performance on the IAA Theory and Musicianship Diagnostic/Equivalency exam are required to take and complete the two-semester IAA course "Music Foundations" instead of taking the Theory and Musicianship course. While this does not constitute true equivalency of knowledge, it does constitute an equivalent effort in the short duration of these seniors' stay at Interlochen, and will be credited as such.
