Aural Skills and Dictation Flashcards

You hear a progression I–V–vi. The move from V to vi is called a:

Answer: Deceptive cadence

A deceptive cadence occurs when V resolves to vi (or another chord) instead of the expected I, 'deceiving' the listener.

In melodic dictation, a melody uses only whole tones (every adjacent pitch is a whole step apart). This suggests the melody is drawn from a:

Answer: Whole-tone scale

The whole-tone scale consists entirely of whole-step intervals, producing the distinctive, floating sound associated with Impressionist composers.

Scale degree 7 in a harmonic minor scale differs from natural minor because it is:

Answer: Raised a half step

Harmonic minor raises scale degree 7 by a half step compared to natural minor, creating a leading tone that pulls toward tonic.

In dictation, you must identify whether a meter is simple or compound. The clearest single cue is:

Answer: Whether the beat divides into two or three equal parts

The defining difference between simple and compound meter is binary (÷2) versus ternary (÷3) beat subdivision.

A passage you are transcribing modulates from C major to G major. The pivot chord most likely functions as IV in C major and __ in G major:

Answer: I

The chord F–A–C is IV in C major and bVII in G major — but the more common pivot uses chords shared cleanly; here C–E–G is I in C and IV in G.

When singing back a dictated interval of a minor sixth above middle C, you would sing:

Answer: A-flat above middle C

A minor sixth above C spans 8 semitones, landing on Ab (A-flat), not A natural which would be a major sixth.

In a rhythmic dictation exercise in 4/4, you hear: quarter, eighth, eighth, half. The number of beats accounted for in that measure is:

Answer: 4

Quarter (1) + eighth (0.5) + eighth (0.5) + half (2) = 4 beats, exactly filling one measure of 4/4.