BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Melodic and Rhythmic Dictation 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a complex rhythmic dictation in 4/4, you hear a triplet figure replacing two eighth notes. Each note of the triplet is worth:
- One-third of a beat (Correct answer)
- One-half of a beat
- One-quarter of a beat
- Two-thirds of a beat
Correct 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.
Question 2: A melodic dictation begins on scale degree 3 and ends on scale degree 1. Which contour describes this phrase?
- Descending with final resolution to tonic (Correct answer)
- Ascending with final leap to tonic
- Static with no change in register
- Arch shape returning to midpoint
Correct 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.
Question 3: You hear a melody where the same pitch is repeated several times before moving to a new pitch. This melodic device is called:
- Reiteration or repeated-note figure (Correct answer)
- Retrograde
- Diminution
- Inversion
Correct 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.
Question 4: In melodic dictation, an upper neighbor tone moves from a main note:
- Up a step and back to the main note (Correct answer)
- Up a leap and to a new pitch
- Down a step and stays
- Up a half step only in minor
Correct 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.
Question 5: A rhythmic passage uses the following pattern repeatedly: dotted eighth + sixteenth. In 4/4, how many times does this pattern fit in one measure?
- 4 times (Correct answer)
- 2 times
- 8 times
- 3 times
Correct 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.
Question 6: When transcribing a melody in a minor key, you notice scale degree 7 is NOT raised. Which scale form are you hearing?
- Natural minor (Aeolian) (Correct answer)
- Harmonic minor
- Melodic minor ascending
- Dorian mode
Correct answer: Natural minor (Aeolian)
Natural minor (Aeolian mode) uses all unaltered scale degrees, including a minor (lowered) seventh scale degree.
Question 7: In rhythmic dictation, a fermata over a note indicates:
- Hold the note longer than its written value (Correct answer)
- Play the note at double speed
- Repeat the note immediately
- Rest for the note's full duration
Correct 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.
BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Melodic and Rhythmic Dictation 4
In a complex rhythmic dictation in 4/4, you hear a triplet figure replacing two eighth notes.
Each note of the triplet is worth: