Study Guide

Field 201: Instrumental/General Music 
Sample Listening and Selected-Response Questions

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General Test Directions

This test consists of three sections: 1) a listening section in which you will listen to audio passages and answer selected-response questions, 2) a selected-response section in which you will respond to questions presented on the screen, and 3) a constructed-response assignment. The directions for each section appear immediately before that section.

Each question in the first two sections of this test is a selected-response question with four answer choices. Read each question carefully and choose the  start uppercase ONE end uppercase  best answer. You should answer all questions. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will  start uppercase NOT end uppercase  be penalized for guessing.

The third section of this test consists of one constructed-response assignment. You will be asked to provide a written response to the assignment.

You may  start uppercase NOT end uppercase  use any type of calculator or reference materials during the testing session.

Listening Section

Test Directions for Listening Questions

This section of the test contains selected-response questions that involve listening to a recorded passage. Passages will vary in length. Some passages may consist of a single chord or phrase. However, unless otherwise indicated, each passage will be played twice with a five second pause in between.

The audio will begin automatically once you advance to the next screen. There will be 20 seconds of silence before the audio passage begins to play. During these 20 seconds, you should familiarize yourself with the test question.

Once the audio begins, you will not be able to pause, stop, or replay it. Therefore, listen carefully.  start bold You will not be able to go back and review your answers to questions in this section of the test. end bold  Once you move to the next question, you will not be able to go back to previous questions in this section. Therefore, be sure to select your answer carefully before you move to the next question.

Competency 0001 
Analyze the elements of music presented in a recorded example.

1. Which of the following chord progressions occurs in this musical example?

(Example: Performer plays song with a uppercase roman numeral 1 dash uppercase roman numeral 4 dash lowercase roman numeral 2 dash uppercase roman numeral 5 progression. [Note to the examinee: A description of the example will  start italics not end italics  appear in the actual test. The description is presented here only as an aid for preparing for the test.])

  1.  uppercase roman numeral 1 dash uppercase roman numeral 4 dash lowercase roman numeral 2 dash uppercase roman numeral 5 
  2.  uppercase roman numeral 1 dash lowercase roman numeral 6 dash uppercase roman numeral 4 dash uppercase roman numeral 1 
  3.  uppercase roman numeral 1 dash uppercase roman numeral 5 dash uppercase roman numeral 1 dash lowercase roman numeral 6 
  4.  uppercase roman numeral 1 dash lowercase roman numeral 2 dash uppercase roman numeral 5 dash uppercase roman numeral 1 

Correct Response: A. During the first playing of the harmonic progression uppercase roman numeral 1 dash uppercase roman numeral 4 dash lowercase roman numeral 2 dash uppercase roman numeral 5in the example, candidates should hear the major quality of the second chord. Then, during the second playing, candidates should hear the minor quality of the third chord.

Competency 0003 
Understand the historical or cultural context of a work in a recorded example.

2. This excerpt is an example of music from which of the following geographic regions?

(Excerpt: West African music. [Note to the examinee: A description of the excerpt will  start italics not end italics  appear in the actual test. This description is presented here only as an aid for preparing for the test.])

  1. Asia
  2. Middle East
  3. West Africa
  4. eastern Europe

correct response: c. although west african music is diverse, common important stylistic features include the use of percussion instruments, complex meters and rhythms, and ostinato.

Sample Selected-Response Questions

Competency 0004 
Demonstrate knowledge of string and keyboard instruments.

3. Which of the following chord progressions is most appropriate for a keyboardist to play when harmonizing a melody using functional harmony?

  1.   lowercase Roman numeral 1 with Arabic superscript 6 dash lowercase Roman numeral 2 with Arabic superscript 6 dash lowercase Roman numeral 3 dash uppercase Roman numeral 4 dash uppercase Roman numeral 1. 
  2.  uppercase Roman numeral 1 dash lowercase Roman numeral 3 dash uppercase Roman numeral 5 dash uppercase Roman numeral 4 dash uppercase Roman numeral 1. 
  3.  uppercase Roman numeral 1 dash lowercase Roman numeral 6 dash uppercase Roman numeral 4 dash uppercase Roman numeral 5 dash uppercase Roman numeral 1. 
  4.  uppercase Roman numeral 1 dash uppercase Roman numeral 5 dash lowercase Roman numeral 2 dash lowercase Roman numeral 6 dash uppercase Roman numeral 1. 

correct response: C. Functional harmony requires the roots of chords to descend by a fifth. This interval can be subdivided into two descending thirds open parens uppercase Roman numeral 1 dash lowercase Roman numeral 6 dash uppercase Roman numeral 4 close parens. Functional harmony also features chordal root movement up by step open parens uppercase Roman numeral 4 dash uppercase Roman numeral 5 close parens. The correct response concludes with the most essential element of functional harmony, an authentic cadence in which a dominant chord open parens uppercase Roman numeral 5 close parens resolves down a perfect fifth to tonic open parens uppercase Roman numeral 1 close parens.

Competency 0005 
Demonstrate knowledge of wind and percussion instruments.

4. Which of the following instruments is the best timbral substitute for a marimba?

  1. glockenspiel
  2. celesta
  3. vibraphone
  4. xylophone

Correct Response: D. Like the xylophone, the marimba is a pitched mallet percussion instrument with wooden bars. The xylophone and marimba share similar timbres, or tone colors, and thus are the most appropriate substitutions for each other.

Competency 0007 
Apply knowledge of techniques of conducting and score reading.

5. Which of the following beat patterns, from the conductor's perspective, is the most appropriate to use when conducting a piece in compound triple meter?

  1. down, left, right
  2. down, left, up
  3. down, right, up
  4. down, right, left

correct response: C. When conducting a piece in triple meter, the conductor should indicate three beats. Whether simple or compound, a standard beat pattern for triple meter is as follows: the conductor indicates a downbeat, rebounds upward and travels to the right for beat two, and, for beat three, moves up and to the left in the shape of a backward letter J, which places the ictus of beat three up above the ictus of the downbeat.

Competency 0009 
Analyze musical notation.

6. Which of the following terms is most similar to the term meno mosso?

  1. molto accelerando
  2. poco stringendo
  3. subito ritardando
  4. tempo primo

correct response: C. The musical term meno mosso means "less quickly" and the musical term "subito ritardando" means "suddenly slowing down." Both terms indicate that a musician should play at a slower tempo.

Competency 0011 
Understand the elements of harmony.

7.  start bold Use the graphic below to answer the question that follows. end bold 


musical score

The graphic is a musical score for baritone voice notated in bass clef and grand staff. The piece has one flat in the key signature, is in four-four meter, and is twelve measures long plus an eighth note pickup. In the first ten measures the left hand plays a shuffle rhythm while the right hand punctuates with chords in measures one, five, seven, nine, and ten. The chord punctuations in F major are tonic, subdominant, tonic, dominant, and subdominant. The piece ends on tonic.

Which of the following terms best describes the harmonic progressions of the piece?

  1. Pachelbel sequence
  2. atonal serialism
  3. 12-bar blues
  4. church modes

correct response: C. The harmonies in this piece are as follows. Measures 1-4: uppercase Roman numeral 1; mm. 5-6: uppercase Roman numeral 4; mm. 7-8: uppercase Roman numeral 1; m. 9: uppercase Roman numeral 5; m. 10: uppercase Roman numeral 4; m. 11: uppercase Roman numeral 5; m. 12: uppercase Roman numeral 1. This chord progression is characteristic of the 12-bar blues progression.

Competency 0012 
Apply knowledge of musical composition and arrangement.

8. In a piece for a first-year concert band, the clarinet part should not go above which of the following written notes?

  1. C one ledger line below the staff
  2. E on the first line of the staff
  3. G on the second line of the staff
  4. B-flat on the third line of the staff

correct response: D. The clarinet has four registers. From lowest to highest they are the chalumeau, throat, clarion, and altissimo. Pitches above third-line B-flat are in the clarion register, which requires clarinetists to cover all holes and press keys at the end of the instrument with pinkies. First-year clarinetists would find these pitches difficult to play due to small hand size, inability to sufficiently cover all holes, and the increased breath support required to vibrate a column of air the entire length of the clarinet.

Competency 0013 
Demonstrate knowledge of Western music history from the Middle Ages through the Classical period.

9. Which of the following statements exemplifies a stylistic practice most closely associated with Baroque music?

  1. Rhythms typically do not fit into regular meters, and bar lines are seldom used.
  2. Melodies are typically complex and highly ornamented.
  3. Instrumental pieces are generally scored for large symphony orchestras.
  4. Harmony is frequently chromatic or polytonal.

correct response: b. One musical characteristic associated with the Baroque period open parens circa 1600 to circa 17 50 close parens is elaborate melodic embellishment. Baroque melodies are often richly ornamented with various non-chord tones such as trills, mordents, turns, and appoggiaturas.

10. Which of the following pairs of elements best characterizes ragtime music?

  1. triple meter and sustained chords
  2. blue notes and multiple contrasting melodies
  3. irregular accents and complex harmonies
  4. march tempo and syncopated melodies

Correct Response: D. Ragtime is a musical style that emerged in the United States in the 18 90s and flourished during the early twentieth century. Ragtime compositions combine European American elements, including steady duple meter derived from marches and polkas, with African American elements, including frequent syncopation and rhythmic figures borrowed from banjo music.