BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Music Theory 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the term for a chord progression where the bass moves in descending thirds?
- Sequence by fifths
- Fauxbourdon
- Lament bass
- Descending thirds sequence (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Descending thirds sequence
A descending thirds sequence (also called a mediant sequence) moves the bass through consecutive thirds downward.
Question 2: In 12-tone (serial) technique, what is a 'retrograde inversion'?
- The row played backwards only
- The row played upside-down only
- The row played backwards and upside-down (Correct answer)
- The row transposed up a semitone
Correct answer: The row played backwards and upside-down
Retrograde inversion combines both operations: the intervals of the row are inverted (flipped) and then the result is played in reverse order.
Question 3: Which term describes two or more melodically independent voices sounding simultaneously?
- Homophony
- Monophony
- Polyphony (Correct answer)
- Heterophony
Correct answer: Polyphony
Polyphony refers to musical texture in which two or more independent melodic lines are performed simultaneously.
Question 4: What is the function of a 'bridge' section in a standard 32-bar AABA song form?
- It repeats the main theme in a new key
- It provides contrast before the final A section returns (Correct answer)
- It introduces the main theme for the first time
- It serves as a coda ending the piece
Correct answer: It provides contrast before the final A section returns
The B section (bridge) contrasts with the A sections harmonically and melodically before the final A section recaps the main theme.
Question 5: Which of the following best defines 'hemiola'?
- A sudden shift to a distant key
- A rhythmic pattern that implies a 3:2 ratio against the prevailing meter (Correct answer)
- A chord containing an added 9th
- A melody that spans more than an octave
Correct answer: A rhythmic pattern that implies a 3:2 ratio against the prevailing meter
Hemiola is a rhythmic device where three beats are grouped in a way that implies two beats (or vice versa), creating a 3:2 cross-rhythm.
Question 6: What does an 'augmented sixth' chord (e.g., Italian, French, German) typically resolve to?
- The tonic chord (I)
- The subdominant chord (IV)
- The dominant chord (V) (Correct answer)
- The supertonic chord (ii)
Correct answer: The dominant chord (V)
Augmented sixth chords resolve outward by half step to the dominant (V), with the augmented sixth interval expanding to an octave.
Question 7: In species counterpoint, which species allows only note-against-note writing?
- First species (Correct answer)
- Second species
- Third species
- Fourth species
Correct answer: First species
First species counterpoint places one note in the added voice against each note of the cantus firmus (note-against-note).
BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Music Theory 5
What is the term for a chord progression where the bass moves in descending thirds?