Melodic and Rhythmic Dictation Flashcards
7 cards from real BM or BMus Bachelor of Music practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Melodic and Rhythmic Dictation flashcards as text
In a complex rhythmic dictation in 4/4, you hear a triplet figure replacing two eighth notes. Each note of the triplet is worth:
Answer: One-third of a beat
An eighth-note triplet divides one beat (a quarter note) into three equal parts, so each triplet note equals 1/3 of a beat.
A melodic dictation begins on scale degree 3 and ends on scale degree 1. Which contour describes this phrase?
Answer: Descending with final resolution to tonic
Starting above the tonic (scale degree 3) and concluding on scale degree 1 represents a descending contour that resolves to the tonic.
You hear a melody where the same pitch is repeated several times before moving to a new pitch. This melodic device is called:
Answer: Reiteration or repeated-note figure
Repeated-note figures (reiterations) emphasize a single pitch before the melody continues, a common device for rhythmic or textual accent.
In melodic dictation, an upper neighbor tone moves from a main note:
Answer: Up a step and back to the main note
An upper neighbor tone decorates a main pitch by moving one step above it and returning, creating ornamentation without changing harmonic focus.
A rhythmic passage uses the following pattern repeatedly: dotted eighth + sixteenth. In 4/4, how many times does this pattern fit in one measure?
Answer: 4 times
A dotted eighth (3/4 of a beat) plus a sixteenth (1/4 of a beat) equals one beat; four such pairs fill a 4/4 measure.
When transcribing a melody in a minor key, you notice scale degree 7 is NOT raised. Which scale form are you hearing?
Answer: Natural minor (Aeolian)
Natural minor (Aeolian mode) uses all unaltered scale degrees, including a minor (lowered) seventh scale degree.
In rhythmic dictation, a fermata over a note indicates:
Answer: Hold the note longer than its written value
A fermata (pause symbol) indicates the performer should sustain the note beyond its notated value, at the performer's or conductor's discretion.