During spring/summer 2020, students will be taking the theory placement exam online through an online course repository called Connect4Education. The placement test is free to NC State students.
- The exam contains 100 multiple-choice questions
- It is timed at 80 minutes.
- You must receive 75% or better to pass. You will learn immediately how you scored.
- You must complete the test in one session; you cannot save and return. Unanswered questions will be counted wrong.
- The test can only be taken once.
In order to take the test, contact Dr. Tom Koch (tom_koch@ncsu.edu) for an access code that you will register online at https://register.c4edu.org/ and create login credentials. When you are ready to take the test, you will access your account at https://c4elink.org to take the Placement Exam. Registration is now open and the exam is accessible now until the first day of class in August.
When creating your account at https://register.c4edu.org/, select the following options from the drop-down menus:
- School (North Carolina State University)
- Instructor (Tom Koch)
- Semester (Fall 2020)
- Course (MUS-103-001 Theory and Musicianship I)
There is no sample test available, but you can review the material at http://openmusictheory.com/contents.html and http://www.musictheory.net to prepare.
Topics include (there are no listening questions):
- Keyboard note names
- Octave designation (C4 is middle C)
- Note-reading in treble/bass clef
- Rhythmic notation and counting
- Simple and compound meter
- Time signatures
- Intervals (simple, compound, inversion)
- Major and minor scales and key signatures
- Relative and parallel keys
- Triadic qualities
For more information, contact Dr. Tom Koch at tom_koch@ncsu.edu
Advancement:
A grade of C or better in each theory and aural skills course permits a student to advance to the next level.
AP Music Theory Credit:
Students who have taken the AP Music Theory Test are awarded credit based on the following scores:
-AP Music Theory Exam Score: 3, 4 or 5 = 3 hours for MUS 120
-AP Music Theory Aural Sub-score: 4 or 5 = 1 hour for MUS 104
-AP Music Theory Non-aural Sub-score: 4 or 5 = 3 hours for MUS 103