BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Aural Skills and Sight-Singing Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During a melodic dictation, you hear two notes played in succession. The first note is established as the tonic, 'Do.' The second note is a descending leap that has a distinctly sad or melancholic quality, often associated with the opening of the song 'The Entertainer.' What interval has most likely been played?
- Major Sixth
- Minor Sixth (Correct answer)
- Perfect Fifth
- Minor Seventh
Correct answer: Minor Sixth
A descending Minor Sixth (from Do down to Me) has a poignant, melancholic quality. It is a wide leap that is often more dissonant-sounding than a Perfect Fifth but more stable than a Minor Seventh. A Major Sixth is generally brighter, and a Perfect Fifth sounds very stable and consonant.
Question 2: You hear a four-note chord played harmonically (all notes at once). It sounds bright and stable, but with an added color that feels slightly unresolved and 'jazzy.' You identify the root, a major third, and a perfect fifth, plus one additional note. Which chord quality best fits this description?
- Minor Seventh
- Diminished Seventh
- Major Seventh (Correct answer)
- Dominant Seventh
Correct answer: Major Seventh
A Major Seventh chord is built with a major triad (root, major third, perfect fifth) and a major seventh above the root. This combination creates a sound that is fundamentally bright and stable due to the major triad, but the major seventh adds a colorful, often described as 'wistful' or 'jazzy,' tension.
Question 3: A student is sight-singing a passage in Eâ™ major. They encounter a measure with the notes G-Aâ™-Bâ™-C. The student correctly sings the pitches for G, Aâ™, and Bâ™ but then sings Dâ™ instead of C. Which of the following best describes the student's error?
- Misreading the key signature
- Confusing the contour of the melody
- An error in rhythmic interpretation
- Assuming a common melodic pattern incorrectly (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Assuming a common melodic pattern incorrectly
The student has likely sung 'Fa-So-La-Ti' (Aâ™-Bâ™-C-Dâ™) after establishing the G as 'Do' of a new pattern, or more likely, they sang 'Mi-Fa-So-La' (G-Aâ™-Bâ™-C) but then reverted to a familiar pattern like the end of a scale ('Ti-Do'). Singing Dâ™ instead of C suggests they anticipated a different, more common resolution or melodic shape rather than reading the specific notes provided. This is an error of assuming a pattern, not a misunderstanding of the key signature (Aâ™ was sung correctly) or rhythm.
Question 4: Which system of solfege assigns the syllable 'Do' to the tonic of the current key, meaning that 'Do' would be C in C major, but G in G major?
- Fixed-Do
- Chromatic Solfege
- Scale Degrees (Numbers)
- Moveable-Do (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Moveable-Do
In the Moveable-Do system, the solfege syllables are assigned to scale degrees relative to the tonic of the key. 'Do' is always the tonic (scale degree 1), 'Re' is the supertonic (scale degree 2), and so on. This contrasts with Fixed-Do, where 'Do' is always the pitch C, regardless of the key.
Question 5: In a rhythmic dictation exercise in 4/4 time, you hear a pattern on beat three that sounds like 'long-short'. The 'long' portion takes up the first three-quarters of the beat, and the 'short' portion takes up the final quarter. Which notation correctly represents this rhythm?
- A dotted eighth note followed by a sixteenth note (Correct answer)
- Two eighth notes
- An eighth note followed by two sixteenth notes
- A sixteenth note followed by a dotted eighth note
Correct answer: A dotted eighth note followed by a sixteenth note
A beat in 4/4 time is a quarter note, which can be subdivided into four sixteenth notes. A dotted eighth note is equivalent to three sixteenth notes, and a single sixteenth note is the remaining quarter of the beat. This creates the characteristic 3:1 'long-short' rhythmic feel within a single beat.
Question 6: You are asked to aurally identify the contour of a five-note melody. The melody begins on a low pitch, moves up stepwise for two notes, leaps to a higher pitch, and then descends by step to the final note. Which of the following descriptions best fits this melodic shape?
- Inverted Arch
- Ascending Line
- Arch with a concluding descent (Correct answer)
- Wave
Correct answer: Arch with a concluding descent
The melody follows a clear ascending motion (step, step, leap) which forms an arch, but the final motion is a descent. Therefore, 'Arch with a concluding descent' is the most precise description. A simple ascending line would not come down, an inverted arch would go down then up, and a wave would have multiple ups and downs.
BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Aural Skills and Sight-Singing Questions and Answers
During a melodic dictation, you hear two notes played in succession.
The first note is established as the tonic, 'Do.' The second note is a descending leap that has a distinctly sad or melancholic quality, often associated with the opening of the song 'The Entertainer.' What interval has most likely been played?