Department of Music
University of California, Berkeley

Harmony Advanced Placement Exam

3 p.m. the Friday before classes start each semester, 125 Morrison Hall. For exact date see the Music Department Academic Calendar.

Three semesters of Harmony are required for the Music major (49C, 60, and 61). Students with previous training in harmony may place out of one or more of these classes by taking the Harmony Placement Exam at 3:00 on the Friday before classes begin. This exam is required only for students who want advanced placement. Students who choose to take the exam are asked to demonstrate proficiency in the four-part chorale harmonization of given melodies and bass lines.

• To place out of 49C (Harmony I), students are required to harmonize one melody and one bass line with diatonic triads and seventh chords.
• To place out of 60 (Harmony II), students are required to harmonize one melody and one bass line employing basic chromaticism (i.e., secondary [applied] chords and modulation), in addition to completing the 49C part of the exam.
• To place out of 61 (Harmony III), students are required to harmonize one melody and one bass line employing the advanced chromatic materials and techniques of 19th Century harmony, in addition to completing the first two parts of the exam.

Harmony textbooks such as Aldwell & Schachter's "Harmony and Voice Leading" and Robert Gauldin's "Harmonic Practice in Tonal Music" are recommended for students seeking to prepare for the exam.

updated 6/22/2004