Posted February 2002; latest update 19 February 2007.
The exam is designed to test knowledge and skills in undergraduate counterpoint, equivalent to University of Texas-Austin courses MUS 325L (16th century counterpoint) and MUS 325M (18th century counterpoint). The syllabus for 325L, fall 2006, is available at 325L course page. The syllabus for 325M, spring 2006, is available at 325M syllabus.
To help you prepare for this examination, here are the questions:
I. [The text of Question I is too specific to reproduce here. The best preparation for this question is a review of the rules of strict counterpoint in two voices or a review of the basic rules for two-voice counterpoint as presented in textbooks that do not use the species approach. The textbook used in 325L is Robert Gauldin, A Practical Approach to Sixteenth-Century Counterpoint (Waveland Press). ISBN: 0881338524 (paper). The home page for this course, fall 2006, has several links to summaries of rules: 325L course page.]
II. Complete the following polyphonic phrase for three voices. The voices are cantus (top), altus, and tenor. Write in the manner of the later 16th century (Palestrina, Lassus) and be sure to include text for all parts (the complete text for the phrase is "Benedictus qui venit.") A page of manuscipt paper is included at the end of the exam if you want to make sketches before writing out your solution below.
III. Below are four fugue subjects. Some require tonal answers, others require real answers. Write out a correct answer for each subject. (You do not need to supply a counterpoint to the answer.)
IV. Here is the beginning of a brief three-voice keyboard fugue (these were called "versets" in the 18th century). Complete it according to instructions [NB: The verset consists of a formal exposition and a final cadence].
Most students who fail the 16th century section do well enough on the composition (Q.2) but have not reviewed the basic rules for dissonance treatment (Q. 1). Most students who fail the 18th century section do well enough on the composition (Q.4) but have not reviewed the rules for tonal and real answers (Q. 3).
Here are some suggestions for writing tonal and real answers. First, answers are simply transpositions to the dominant, that is, a fifth up or fourth down. One of the most common errors is to transpose to the subdominant (fourth up, fifth down). Second, real answers are simple, literal transpositions. Use them for subjects that begin with stepwise motion (Bach, WTC I, Fugue #1 in C). Third, tonal answers are altered transpositions used for subjects that include leaps (usually involving scale degrees ^1, ^5, or both) (Bach, WTC I, Fugue #2 in C minor). Always write out a complete, literal transposition first, then make the alterations. Procedure: (a) write out a complete literal transposition to the dominant first; (b) check your transposition by looking at a random note in the middle of the answer (is it a fifth higher or fourth lower than the corresponding note in the subject?); (c) look at the head (first 3-4 notes) of the subject and locate scale degrees ^1 and ^5; (d) in the answer, ^1 will automatically become ^5 because of the transposition, but you should change the subject's ^5 to ^1 in the answer. If someone has told you to calculate the answer in terms of key changes, forget it -- that's both clumsy and wrong.