Advice Needed

[yellowlabforever]

Hi everyone,

I have a slight dilema here, and an opportunity that I need to decide to take or not to take by Friday.

A little about me: Hi, I'm Yellowlabforever. I am 19 years old, and I am in my freshman year in college as a music education major. I am in the school's marching band, and I play the bassoon and the tenor sax.

The problem: So I have this class, its a fundamentals class, and it is at 8:00 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last week we took a test, just to see where we were. Three of us were called up to the front of the class after class (me and two other students) and were told that we had done well enough on the test to test out of the class. On the original music theory test, all three of us were 5-7 points off of passing the test and not having to take this class, which is pretty much a review of our theory 1 class.

Now, I am taking 17 credits this semester, and I think it would drop me down to fifteen. But on the plus side, I would not be having class until 10:00 am on Tuesdays on Thursdays. If I had this class in there, I would be at the music building from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, because of all my music classes.

The other side of my problem is that I haven't taken theory before, and I'm worried about the future part of the class. I have a feeling that they aren't going to get to the more complex stuff in theory in this class, and that's why they called us up in the first place.

I am leaning towards taking the test, but I would appreciate advice from everybody who has been in a similar situation, or knows someone that had a similar situation, and their results in the longterm. Pros and cons that I did not list would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading this far, and I hope you all can help me make a decision.

 

[mster425]

I don't think I would take the class. You're just testing into the next level of theory, right? So you'll learn the advanced stuff later. I would trust the professor/school's judgement.

Also, if you're a freshman, 15 credits is not a ton, but it IS average and will ease you in to classes a little. 8 hrs is a LONG time to be in a music building. And you have marching band on top of 17 credits now??

Don't burn yourself out!

 

[DawnCt1]

Why not test out of the class, and audit the class, attending the parts that you might find interesting, based on the sylibus and the time you have available?

 

[JLTraveling]

I don't think I would take the class. You're just testing into the next level of theory, right? So you'll learn the advanced stuff later. I would trust the professor/school's judgement.

Also, if you're a freshman, 15 credits is not a ton, but it IS average and will ease you in to classes a little. 8 hrs is a LONG time to be in a music building. And you have marching band on top of 17 credits now??

Don't burn yourself out!

I agree completely. I'm not a musician, but I was a theatre major. I trusted my professors' assessments of my abilities, and they never steered me wrong. You obviously have a natural talent/grasp of the material, so go ahead and test out of the class. Trust me, 15 credits is perfect as a freshman, especially with an arts major.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Can you test out of the class and take it as an audit?

If you test out that's a good thing because it means you don't have to deal with the consequences of test scores and reports ect. But, as you recognize there is the downfall of missing material. Most schools charge a fee even if you test out so if you can work it out so that you can get the best of both world's (Test out + Audit) then it's a win - win for you

 

[lovesmurfs]

Hi everyone,

I have a slight dilema here, and an opportunity that I need to decide to take or not to take by Friday.

A little about me: Hi, I'm Yellowlabforever. I am 19 years old, and I am in my freshman year in college as a music education major. I am in the school's marching band, and I play the bassoon and the tenor sax.

The problem: So I have this class, its a fundamentals class, and it is at 8:00 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last week we took a test, just to see where we were. Three of us were called up to the front of the class after class (me and two other students) and were told that we had done well enough on the test to test out of the class. On the original music theory test, all three of us were 5-7 points off of passing the test and not having to take this class, which is pretty much a review of our theory 1 class.

Now, I am taking 17 credits this semester, and I think it would drop me down to fifteen. But on the plus side, I would not be having class until 10:00 am on Tuesdays on Thursdays. If I had this class in there, I would be at the music building from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, because of all my music classes.

The other side of my problem is that I haven't taken theory before, and I'm worried about the future part of the class. I have a feeling that they aren't going to get to the more complex stuff in theory in this class, and that's why they called us up in the first place.

I am leaning towards taking the test, but I would appreciate advice from everybody who has been in a similar situation, or knows someone that had a similar situation, and their results in the longterm. Pros and cons that I did not list would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading this far, and I hope you all can help me make a decision.

Hi. Former Music Education major here (I was all but liberal arts classes away from finishing--even did my student teaching--from Indiana University).

My freshman year, I felt very strongly that I should have passed out of the freshman level of Ear Training & Sight Singing (I had taken classes in HS and had a pretty good case of entitlement going on). I didn't pass out of them, and had the 8am class every M,W,F. Which I rarely showed up to and had bad attitude all around. Not paying attention the first year really messed me up moving forward. Hindsight's 20/20.

Since you don't have a background in theory or harmony, I'd strongly recommend that you stay with the class. It will help enforce the concepts and help you understand the theory behind your ear. As a future music teacher, you would also be helped by seeing the struggles fellow classmates might have, and learning how the professor works through their struggles and helps them succeed.

Most music ed majors took 18 hours (and 2 years of marching band was required) and most still finished in 5 years. If you don't take this one, I'd recommend taking something else to make up for it.

Best wishes.

 

[SingingMUA]

Well, when I was in college (music major - vocal performance), I found that regular Music Theory I (not Music Fundamentals) covered the basics in the first week or two of class. Which basically meant everything that will most likely be covered in a fundamentals class over the course of a semester, will get covered (albeit, very quickly) in Theory I during the first week or two.

If I were you, I'd take the test and see if I can test out of Fundamentals and into Theory I. And if you're worried about some things that you may not know, or haven't learned yet... don't. Most music departments reinforce what's going on department-wide. So, your Sight Singing class (assuming you're taking Sight Singing and Theory at the same time) will reinforce some of what you are learning in theory... your ensemble will reinforce what you are learning in Sight Singing (and theory), etc, etc.

Good luck!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Does it cost money to take the test?

You said you already tried to test out and the teacher wants you to try it again?

 

[dennis99ss]

test out. save the money. and use the free mornings to sleep off the effects of the "practice session" the night before

 

[yellowlabforever]

OP here, thanks for the responses everyone!

Just to clear a few things up
1. Marching band is one of my credits, along with symphonic wind ensemble and orchestra and concert band. (each one credit)
2. I am not testing out of theory 1, I am testing out of Music Fundamentals, which is pretty much a supplementary course/study hall to theory 1. (Which means that I am also in theory 1).
3. They are asking us to take the test again, because we did so well on the fundamentals exam and we scored 5-7 points off of what we would need to test out of the class.

 

[redlight]

My advice is not to take a heavier than average class load your first semester. You're still adjusting to college in general and how things work at your university.

 

[corndog]

A marching band with woodwinds? Ha!

 

[lovesmurfs]

A marching band with woodwinds? Ha!

Sat in the back of the brass bus, eh?

I think allowing woodwinds to play in the marching band is required by the EEOC.

 

[minkydog]

I would take the test. If it's just a fundamentals class you aren't going to miss much.

 

[PenguinWaiters]

OP here, thanks for the responses everyone!

Just to clear a few things up
1. Marching band is one of my credits, along with symphonic wind ensemble and orchestra and concert band. (each one credit)
2. I am not testing out of theory 1, I am testing out of Music Fundamentals, which is pretty much a supplementary course/study hall to theory 1. (Which means that I am also in theory 1).
3. They are asking us to take the test again, because we did so well on the fundamentals exam and we scored 5-7 points off of what we would need to test out of the class.

I am an academic advisor (I'm a generalist so I don't advise specifically in Music although I have a background in that area.)

I think you should take the test again as suggested.

If you DO pass, then I think you should talk with both the instructor and your advisor (or an advisor in Music if you don't have one already) about your concerns. They are in the best position to be able to tell you what will or will not be covered in the Fundamentals class in the level of detail that you need and can in fact look specifically at any areas of weakness you show in the exam and tell you how important or not important those are to your success in the Theory class. Placing out of Fundamentals is not unusual at my school but was very unusual at the school I went to so it really all depends on the school - no one here can tell you for sure what would be covered and/or missed.

I see that a few people mentioned auditing. If you want to pursue that you should find out the requirements and pros/cons of doing that at YOUR school. Again, different schools handle this different ways. The first thing many people don't realize is that you have to PAY to audit a class - I have never seen it be free. In some cases, you have to pay FULL tuition for that class (including any overload fees) and you typically do not receive any credit for the class. You also typically don't have to turn in work or take exams. Some schools will only allow certain classes to be audited or have restrictions on auditing classes in your major. Again though, this varies school to school and you should find out the policies and procedures at your school.

Good luck!