Study Guide

Field 032: Music
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

Expand All | Collapse All

Competency 0001
Understand elements of music presented in recorded examples.

This excerpt ends with which of the following cadences?

(The examinee would listen to a 20-second excerpt of a lied from the Romantic period.)

  1. deceptive
  2. half
  3. authentic
  4. plagal
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to analyze harmonic characteristics presented in a recorded example. This excerpt ends on the dominant chord (V). The type of cadence that ends on a dominant chord is called a half cadence.
Competency 0002
Understand characteristics of Western, U.S., and world music presented in recorded examples.

This excerpt is representative of which of the following styles of music from the United States?

(The examinee would listen to a 30-second excerpt of a piano rag.)

  1. bebop
  2. blues
  3. swing
  4. ragtime
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to recognize the style of a recorded example of music from the United States. Ragtime music is typically performed on the piano. Ragtime is characterized by duple meter, syncopation, four-bar phrase lengths, and a regular alternation of low bass notes on the beat with mid-range chords between beats.
Competency 0003
Understand elements of a musical performance presented in recorded examples.

Which of the following instruments is featured as the soloist in this musical example?

(The examinee would listen to a 20-second excerpt of a solo concerto from the Classical period.)

  1. oboe
  2. clarinet
  3. flute
  4. bassoon
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to identify an orchestral instrument presented in a recorded example. The example presents an excerpt from a concerto in which the oboe is the solo instrument. The oboe's conical bore and double reed contribute to its characteristically bright, penetrating timbre.
Competency 0004
Understand musical notation.

Which of the following best completes the measure shown above?





Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of note values, rest values, and time signatures. The examinee is asked to select the correct rhythmic values necessary to complete a measure of 12/8 time. The given measure contains only eight eighth-notes worth of time. The correct response includes an eighth rest and a dotted quarter note, which provide the four eighth-notes worth of time needed to complete the measure.
Competency 0005
Understand melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic elements.

Which of the following represents a natural minor scale?





Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to identify a natural minor scale. Musicians often derive this scale by starting on the sixth note of the major scale. The pattern of whole (W) and half steps (H) for the natural minor scale is: W-H-W-W-H-W-W.
Competency 0006
Understand musical composition, arrangement, and improvisation.

Which of the following musical forms typically includes an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation?

  1. minuet and trio
  2. da capo aria
  3. sonata-allegro
  4. theme and variations
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of musical forms. Developed during the Classical period, sonata-allegro form typically includes an exposition of the themes with a modulation to a related key, a development of the themes and motives, and a recapitulation that presents all of the themes in the tonic key.
Competency 0007
Understand the history of Western music from the Middle Ages to 1750.

The compositional style of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina is characterized by:

  1. syllabic vocal lines and regular phrase structures.
  2. chromatic harmonies and large melodic leaps.
  3. syncopated rhythms and repeated notes.
  4. stepwise vocal lines and polyphonic textures.
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of major composers from the Renaissance. Representative of late-sixteenth-century vocal polyphony, the musical style of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina is characterized by stepwise voice leading, carefully controlled treatment of dissonances, and imitative textures.
Competency 0008
Understand the history of Western music from 1750 to the present.

The string quartet first appeared as a musical genre during which of the following periods of Western music history?

  1. Romantic
  2. Classical
  3. Baroque
  4. Renaissance
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of genres from 1750 to the present. Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) played a significant role in the emergence of the string quartet genre at the beginning of the Classical period.
Competency 0009
Understand U.S. and world music.

Which of the following styles of Latin American music typically features the following instrumentation: two trumpets, two or three violins, one guitar, one vihuela, and one guitarrón?

  1. mariachi
  2. mambo
  3. calypso
  4. salsa
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to identify instruments associated with various musical traditions. A typical mariachi ensemble includes the instruments listed.
Competency 0010
Understand principles of music methodology.

A student who uses a wheelchair will be attending a guitar class. Which of the following adaptations would be most appropriate for this student?

  1. pairing the student with a peer who is proficient at playing the guitar and who can model appropriate fingerings during class
  2. arranging for sheet music to be copied in large print for the student to use during guitar class
  3. working with the student to find an appropriate alternate position for the guitar, such as on the student's lap or on a table
  4. providing the student with a percussion instrument to play during the guitar class
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to apply knowledge of strategies for ensuring access, accommodation, adaptation, and equity in relation to the school music program. When adapting music activities for a student with special needs, a music teacher should strive to enable the student to participate in the activities as fully as possible. In this scenario, the typical position for playing a guitar needs to be adapted for a student with physical needs.
Competency 0011
Understand vocal and choral performance techniques.

Which of the following represents the typical alto vocal range?





Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of vocal ranges. The range of pitches from the A below middle C to the C above middle C is considered to be the typical alto range.
Competency 0012
Understand instrumental performance techniques.

A beginning clarinetist is producing a small, weak tone. Which of the following techniques would best address this problem?

  1. telling the student to play using more vibrato
  2. modeling proper air support and embouchure for the student
  3. having the student play in the chalumeau and clarion registers
  4. playing a recording of a professional clarinetist for the student
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to apply knowledge of techniques for addressing typical problems encountered in playing wind instruments. Modeling is an effective strategy for teaching beginning instrumentalists. Proper air support and embouchure are essential elements for creating good tone quality on a clarinet.
Competency 0013
Understand conducting techniques, score reading, and repertoire.

Which of the following conducting patterns would typically be used to conduct a march?

  1. a fast, two-beat pattern
  2. an angular, four-beat pattern
  3. a rounded, two-beat pattern
  4. a slow, four-beat pattern
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of basic conducting patterns. Since marches are in duple meter, the pattern would need to be in two beats. Marches are often conducted at 120 beats per minute (allegro), a fast tempo. Therefore, a fast, two-beat pattern would be most appropriate.