This examination tests general knowledge and skills in the area of aural skills. The actual exam must be completed within 30 minutes and will be graded with PASS or FAIL. For this practice exam, you may play each example as many times as you wish. In the actual exam each passage will only be played five times. Click the “Play Example” button to hear the audio. Download and print the sample answer sheet to mark your answers. After you have completed each example, click the “Reveal Answer” button to check your work.
General Study Suggestions
- Benjamin/Horvit/Nelson Music for Sight Singing, 6th Edition
- Horvit/Koozin/Nelson Music for Ear Training, 4th Edition (Includes online resources for self-study)
- Ottman, Robert W. Music for Sight Singing, 9th edition. Pearson Prentice Hall
- Lars, Edlund. Modus Novus: Studies in Reading Atonal Melodies. Nordiska musikfhorlaget, 1964
Melodic Dictation
Notate as precisely as possible the rhythm and pitch of the melody played. Before the example begins, you will hear a I-IV-V-I progression to establish the key. The starting pitch has been given.
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Harmonic Dictation
A progression of chords in 4-part style will be played. Notate the soprano line and the bass line, and give a complete Roman-Numeral analysis, including chord quality, inversion, and labeling of non-harmonic tones, if any. Before the example begins, you will hear an arpeggiation of the first chord. The starting soprano and bass notes have been given.
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Contemporary Compositional Techniques
Choosing from the lettered options below, identify which contemporary compositional technique best describes the listening excerpt. (In the actual exam, each excerpt will be played once.)
Example #1 |
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Example #2 |
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Example #3 |
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Example #4 |
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a. Mixolydian mode
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