Final Audit Prepared Material -- Tips for Success

  • Prepare with scrupulous accuracy, including metronome and drone practice.
  • Practice Brahms a few times with rhythm only. Then practice saying the solfege without pitch. Lastly, add the pitches, taking especial care over the modulation.
  • Struggling with the chromaticisms? Treat them as stepping stones to the real “goal” of the phrase – the diatonic pitches that come after the chromaticisms. The chromatic note is a decoration and doesn’t disrupt the overall diatonic harmony.
  • The Berg example is atonal, but could be interpreted as having a kind of non-functional diatonicism. Find familiar intervallic patterns to latch onto. These will help you negotiate some of the tricky passages.