help i have to write a close musical analysis on an unspecified topic with an unspecified word count for my transfer application portfolio to the music theory program at my school where do i start who can i talk to i'm dying
First! Figure out what the topic is (and what the piece is)! Talk to the head of the music department, or potentially the primary music theory teacher. Someone really should have told you or made available to you the requirements for this essay. They are the people who will review your application, usually, so talking to them will get you the requirements straight from the horse’s mouth.
As for word-count, usually “unspecified” there stands for “until you feel like you’ve covered everything, or hit 3-8 pages because that’s all that we’re going to read.” It may end up being specified when you talk to the person who can help you out, though.
Finally, breathe. This isn’t supposed to prove that you already know everything about theory - you haven’t taken the program that’s supposed to teach you yet, after all. It’s just supposed to show that you understand some basic music stuff and can apply it to a piece of music in some kind of way.
You’ve got this.
