BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Melodic and Rhythmic Dictation 4

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:

Accepted Answer

One-third of a beat

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Descending with final resolution to tonic

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

Reiteration or repeated-note figure

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

Up a step and back to the main note

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

4 times

Answer

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.

BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Practice Test