BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Melodic and Rhythmic Dictation 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You are writing a melodic dictation and identify a tritone leap within the melody. From C, the tritone above is:
- F#/Gb (Correct answer)
- G
- Ab
- E
Correct answer: F#/Gb
A tritone (augmented fourth/diminished fifth) above C is F# or Gb, spanning six half steps.
Question 2: In a two-voice melodic dictation, both voices move in opposite directions by the same interval. This is called:
- Contrary motion (Correct answer)
- Parallel motion
- Oblique motion
- Similar motion
Correct answer: Contrary motion
Contrary motion occurs when two voices move in opposite directions simultaneously, producing strong independence between lines.
Question 3: A melodic dictation passage modulates from C major to G major. Which pitch change signals this modulation?
- F becomes F# (Correct answer)
- B becomes Bb
- E becomes Eb
- A becomes Ab
Correct answer: F becomes F#
G major has one sharp (F#), so the appearance of F# in the melody signals a shift from C major (no sharps) to G major.
Question 4: In rhythmic dictation, a double-dotted quarter note has a total duration of:
- 1.75 beats (Correct answer)
- 1.5 beats
- 2 beats
- 1.25 beats
Correct answer: 1.75 beats
A dotted quarter = 1.5 beats; the second dot adds half the value of the first dot (0.25), totaling 1.75 beats.
Question 5: You are transcribing a melody and hear a brief turn ornament on a pitch. A standard turn ornament includes how many notes?
- 4 notes (upper neighbor, main, lower neighbor, main) (Correct answer)
- 3 notes
- 5 notes
- 2 notes
Correct answer: 4 notes (upper neighbor, main, lower neighbor, main)
A standard turn consists of four notes: the upper neighbor, the main note, the lower neighbor, and the main note again.
Question 6: In a rhythmic dictation at a fast tempo, you are told the beat unit is the half note. A measure with one whole note contains how many beats?
- 2 beats (Correct answer)
- 4 beats
- 1 beat
- 3 beats
Correct answer: 2 beats
When the half note is the beat unit, a whole note equals two half notes, thus lasting two beats.
Question 7: During melodic dictation, you hear a phrase that is immediately repeated but transposed up a major second. This compositional technique is called:
- A real sequence (Correct answer)
- A tonal sequence
- An inversion
- A retrograde
Correct answer: A real sequence
A real sequence repeats a melodic pattern transposed by the exact same interval (here, a major second) each time without modal adjustment.
BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Melodic and Rhythmic Dictation 5
You are writing a melodic dictation and identify a tritone leap within the melody.
From C, the tritone above is: