The T152 validation/exemption exam is 90 minutes long. It assumes all the concepts covered in T151, and extends them further to include chromatic harmony. Central topics include tonicization (the use of secondary or applied chords), modulation, modal mixture ("borrowed" chords), Neapolitan harmony, and augmented sixth chords. In addition, T152 covers topics such as phrase construction (cadence types, period construction), small forms (e.g., binary form), and harmonic sequences. On the exam, students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of these concepts through (a) fluent four-part writing, which might include harmonizing a melody or realizing a bass (figured or unfigured); and (b) the analysis of short musical excerpts. A central component of this analytical enterprise is harmonic or "Roman numeral" analysis.
T152 covers approximately chapters 15–24 of the textbook The Complete Musician, 3rd edition, by Steven Laitz, or Chapters 9–14 of Graduate Review of Tonal Theory by Steven G. Laitz and Christopher Bartlette. Students preparing to take the exam may find it useful to review relevant chapters from either textbook. (Laitz's terminology, especially with respect to sequences, can be idiosyncratic; the exam does not insist on adherence to the terms or notations of any particular text.)