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IB Music SL practice questions

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Question 1Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A listening excerpt opens with a solo flute stating a melody, then the strings repeat the same melody more loudly. Which term best describes the strings' entry?

  1. Inversion
  2. Imitation at the unison Correct answer.
  3. Sequence
  4. Augmentation

Explanation

When a second part restates the same melodic material at the same pitch level, the relationship is imitation at the unison. The change in dynamics and timbre does not alter the intervallic identity of the restatement, so the term still applies.

Question 2Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

In a 4/4 excerpt the chord changes on beats 1 and 3 while the melody uses continuous quavers. Which element is the harmonic rhythm?

  1. The number of voices in the texture
  2. The speed of the fastest melody note
  3. The loudness of the accompaniment
  4. The rate at which chords change Correct answer.

Explanation

Harmonic rhythm describes how frequently the harmony changes, here every two beats. It is independent of melodic note speed and of dynamic level, which is why the quaver motion does not define it.

Question 3Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A cadence moves from chord V to chord vi at the end of a phrase. Which cadence type is this?

  1. Plagal cadence
  2. Imperfect cadence
  3. Perfect cadence
  4. Interrupted cadence Correct answer.

Explanation

A V to vi progression is an interrupted cadence, also called a deceptive cadence, because the expected tonic resolution is replaced by a minor chord. It creates a sense of surprise or continuation rather than closure.

Question 4Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A bass line descends by step while the upper parts move in the opposite direction. Which term describes this contrapuntal relationship?

  1. Oblique motion
  2. Parallel motion
  3. Contrary motion Correct answer.
  4. Similar motion

Explanation

Contrary motion occurs when two parts move in opposite directions, one rising while the other falls. It is often used to keep voices independent and to avoid the hollow sound of parallel perfect intervals.

Question 5Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

Which pair of instruments belongs to the woodwind family in a standard symphony orchestra?

  1. Viola and cello
  2. Horn and tuba
  3. Trumpet and trombone
  4. Cor anglais and bass clarinet Correct answer.

Explanation

The cor anglais and bass clarinet are both woodwind instruments, sounded by a reed and historically made of wood. They extend the oboe and clarinet families respectively with lower registers.

Question 6Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A passage is written in 6/8 and is performed so that each bar feels like two broad beats. Which metre grouping does the listener perceive?

  1. Simple duple
  2. Compound triple
  3. Compound duple Correct answer.
  4. Simple triple

Explanation

In 6/8 the six quavers group into two beats of three quavers each, which is compound duple time. The beat itself subdivides into three, which is the defining feature of compound metre.

Question 7Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A melody moves mainly by small intervals of a second and third with few leaps. Which term best describes this melodic movement?

  1. Disjunct
  2. Angular
  3. Chromatic
  4. Conjunct Correct answer.

Explanation

Conjunct motion proceeds mainly by step, giving a smooth and lyrical melodic line. Leaps of a fourth or more would make the line disjunct instead.

Question 8Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A recording fades from a full orchestra to a single sustained violin note. Which element of expression is being manipulated most directly?

  1. Dynamics and texture Correct answer.
  2. Tempo and metre
  3. Harmony and key
  4. Form and structure

Explanation

The change from full orchestra to one sustained note alters both loudness and the density of the texture. Tempo, harmony and large-scale form are not necessarily affected by this thinning of forces.

Question 9Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A listening excerpt presents a theme, then a contrasting middle section, then a return of the theme. Which form does this outline describe?

  1. Rondo
  2. Binary
  3. Ternary Correct answer.
  4. Strophic

Explanation

A statement, contrast and return pattern is ternary form, conventionally labelled ABA. The return of the opening material after contrast is what distinguishes it from binary form.

Question 10Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A chord built on the second degree of a major key contains the notes D, F and A in C major. Which label and quality apply?

  1. IV, major
  2. V, major
  3. ii, diminished
  4. ii, minor Correct answer.

Explanation

In C major the second degree is D, and the diatonic triad built there is D minor, containing D, F and A. It is labelled ii in Roman numerals and functions commonly as a preparation for the dominant.

Question 11Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

During a listening excerpt the bass sustains a C while the upper parts move through C major and F major chords. Which term describes this sustained bass note?

  1. Pedal point Correct answer.
  2. Alberti bass
  3. Walking bass
  4. Ground bass

Explanation

A pedal point is a held note, usually in the bass, over which the harmony changes above it. It creates tension and is common at the end of organ works and in many symphonic passages.

Question 12Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A melody in a minor key uses the raised seventh degree in its final cadence. Which scale form is implied?

  1. Natural minor
  2. Harmonic minor Correct answer.
  3. Dorian mode
  4. Whole-tone scale

Explanation

Raising the seventh degree of a minor scale creates the leading note needed for a strong dominant-to-tonic cadence. This alteration defines the harmonic minor form.

Question 13Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

An excerpt features a solo oboe playing a decorated version of a theme already heard in the strings. Which compositional technique is being used?

  1. Diminution
  2. Retrograde
  3. Ornamented variation Correct answer.
  4. Augmentation

Explanation

Adding ornaments and decorative figures to an existing theme produces an ornamented variation. The underlying melody remains recognisable, which distinguishes it from transformations that alter pitch or duration.

Question 14Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A passage marked 'sforzando' on a single chord within a quiet phrase indicates which performance instruction?

  1. A gradual increase in speed
  2. A sudden strong accent Correct answer.
  3. A sustained and even tone
  4. A gradual decrease in volume

Explanation

Sforzando means a sudden, forceful accent on a note or chord, often within an otherwise soft dynamic. It is a dynamic and articulative marking rather than a tempo instruction.

Question 15Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

Two instruments play the same melody but one begins a bar later than the other. Which texture results?

  1. Heterophony
  2. Monophony
  3. Canonic imitation Correct answer.
  4. Homophonic chordal writing

Explanation

When the same melodic line is stated by successive voices at a time interval, the result is canonic imitation. The overlapping entries create polyphony while preserving a single melodic identity.

Question 16Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A listening excerpt alternates a recurring refrain in the strings with contrasting episodes for wind. Which structural principle is most clearly heard?

  1. Sonata-allegro
  2. Ritornello Correct answer.
  3. Through-composed
  4. Theme and variations

Explanation

A recurring tutti refrain separated by contrasting episodes is the ritornello principle, central to Baroque concerto form. The alternation of returning material and new material is its defining feature.

Question 17Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A chord progression in a major key moves I, vi, IV, V. Which Roman numeral describes the third chord?

  1. ii
  2. vi
  3. IV Correct answer.
  4. V

Explanation

In a major key the fourth degree carries a major triad, so the chord on the fourth degree is labelled IV. It commonly precedes the dominant and helps prepare the cadence.

Question 18Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A performer shortens the final note of a phrase so that a brief silence precedes the next phrase. Which term best describes the resulting effect?

  1. Tremolo
  2. Articulation with a breath pause Correct answer.
  3. Rubato
  4. Syncopation

Explanation

Shortening the final note creates detached articulation and a breathing space between phrases. The pause shapes the phrasing without changing the underlying tempo or metre.

Question 19Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

In a prescribed work, a solo clarinet introduces a motif that is later passed to the horns and then to the violins. Which aspect of the work's construction does this passage illustrate?

  1. Motivic development through orchestration Correct answer.
  2. Modulation to the subdominant
  3. Cadential extension
  4. Stretto in a fugue

Explanation

Handing a motif between instruments while retaining its identity shows motivic development carried by orchestration. The motif's shape stays constant while its colour and register change.

Question 20Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A cadence in a minor key ends with V to i and the tonic note in the highest voice. Which cadence is this?

  1. Plagal cadence
  2. Half cadence
  3. Perfect cadence Correct answer.
  4. Interrupted cadence

Explanation

A dominant-to-tonic progression with both chords in root position and the tonic in the top voice is a perfect cadence, whether in a major or minor key. The leading note in the dominant chord supplies the strong resolution.

Question 21Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A listener hears a passage where the melody and accompaniment share the same rhythm and move together in chords. Which texture is heard?

  1. Monophonic
  2. Homophonic Correct answer.
  3. Heterophonic
  4. Polyphonic

Explanation

Homophony features a melody supported by chords, and when all parts move in the same rhythm it is specifically homorhythmic. The single melodic line distinguishes it from polyphony, where independent lines compete.

Question 22Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A theme in 3/4 is restated in 6/8 with each beat divided into three. Which rhythmic transformation has occurred?

  1. Shift to a pentatonic scale
  2. Augmentation of note values
  3. Diminution of note values
  4. Change of metre with subdivision alteration Correct answer.

Explanation

Moving from 3/4 to 6/8 changes the grouping of beats and the internal subdivision from duple to triple. The theme's duration may be unchanged while its rhythmic feel is transformed.

Question 23Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

In a prescribed work, a passage moves from the tonic to the dominant and then to the relative minor before returning. Which harmonic process is being described?

  1. Tonal modulation through related keys Correct answer.
  2. Chromatic mediant shift
  3. Pedal-point prolongation
  4. Modal mixture with borrowed chords

Explanation

Moving to the dominant and then to the relative minor involves modulation to closely related keys before the tonic returns. These relationships are standard in sonata and binary structures and shape the work's tonal plan.

Question 24Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A passage uses a nine-note scale that divides the octave into equal steps and lacks a clear tonic. Which scale is being used?

  1. Pentatonic scale
  2. Chromatic scale
  3. Whole-tone scale Correct answer.
  4. Major scale

Explanation

The whole-tone scale has six distinct pitches per octave built entirely from whole steps, producing an ambiguous tonality. Its equal divisions remove the strong leading-note pull of diatonic scales.

Question 25Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A composer writes a fugue subject, then answers it a fifth higher while the first voice continues with a countersubject. Which term identifies the second voice's entry?

  1. Answer Correct answer.
  2. Coda
  3. Exposition
  4. Episode

Explanation

In fugal writing the second entry of the subject, usually at the dominant, is called the answer. The continuing material in the first voice against it is the countersubject.

Question 26Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A listener hears a passage in which a single unaccompanied melody is followed by the same melody with chordal accompaniment. Which term describes the texture of the first passage?

  1. Heterophonic
  2. Homophonic
  3. Polyphonic
  4. Monophonic Correct answer.

Explanation

A single melodic line with no accompaniment is monophonic texture. Once chords support the melody, the texture becomes homophonic, so the first passage must be identified as monophonic.

Question 27Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A listening excerpt is built on a scale containing the notes C, D, E, F, G, A and B with no sharps or flats. Which scale is being used?

  1. C chromatic
  2. C minor
  3. C whole-tone
  4. C major Correct answer.

Explanation

The natural notes from C to C form the C major scale, which has no sharps or flats. A minor scale would require a lowered third (E-flat), and chromatic or whole-tone scales use different interval patterns.

Question 28Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

An excerpt begins with a full statement of a theme, continues with a passage built on new melodic material, and then returns to the opening theme. Which form does this outline?

  1. Ternary Correct answer.
  2. Strophic
  3. Binary
  4. Rondo

Explanation

A statement, a contrasting section and a return of the opening material produce an A-B-A design, which is ternary form. Binary lacks the return, rondo requires repeated refrains, and strophic form repeats a single section with new text.

Question 29Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A passage is marked to be played with a smooth, connected style between successive notes. Which performance direction does this describe?

  1. Marcato
  2. Staccato
  3. Sforzando
  4. Legato Correct answer.

Explanation

Legato instructs the performer to connect notes smoothly with no noticeable break. Staccato and marcato require separation or accent, and sforzando is a sudden strong accent on a single note or chord.

Question 30Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A chord in a major key contains the notes B, D and F. Which Roman numeral and quality describe it?

  1. V major
  2. vii major
  3. vii diminished Correct answer.
  4. ii minor

Explanation

In C major the notes B, D and F form a chord on the leading note, the seventh degree. The intervals of a minor third and diminished fifth make it a diminished triad, written vii diminished.

Question 31Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

During an excerpt a bass note is held while the chords above it change. Which term describes this sustained bass note?

  1. Ground bass
  2. Pedal point Correct answer.
  3. Ostinato
  4. Drone

Explanation

A pedal point is a sustained note, usually in the bass, held while harmony changes above it. A ground bass is a repeated melodic bass pattern rather than a single sustained note.

Question 32Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

An excerpt features a solo flute playing a decorated version of a melody that the strings had presented earlier. Which compositional technique is being used?

  1. Sequence
  2. Augmentation
  3. Variation Correct answer.
  4. Inversion

Explanation

Decorating an existing melody with added ornaments and faster notes is variation technique. Sequence, inversion and augmentation alter the melody in other specific ways that are not described here.

Question 33Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A passage alternates a recurring refrain with contrasting episodes. Which structural principle is being used?

  1. Sonata form
  2. Rondo Correct answer.
  3. Ternary
  4. Through-composed

Explanation

A recurring refrain separated by contrasting episodes is the defining feature of rondo form. Through-composed and sonata forms do not rely on a repeated refrain in this way.

Question 34Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A cadence moves from the dominant chord to the tonic chord with the tonic note in the highest voice. Which cadence is this?

  1. Interrupted cadence
  2. Perfect authentic cadence Correct answer.
  3. Plagal cadence
  4. Imperfect authentic cadence

Explanation

A dominant-to-tonic motion with the tonic in the top voice is a perfect authentic cadence. An imperfect authentic cadence has the third or fifth of the tonic chord in the top voice instead.

Question 35Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A melody moves mostly by adjacent scale steps and returns to its starting pitch through a series of rising and falling steps. Which shape best describes this melody?

  1. Chromatic and static
  2. Sequential and descending
  3. Disjunct and angular
  4. Conjunct and arch-shaped Correct answer.

Explanation

Movement by step is conjunct, and a profile that rises and then falls back to the starting pitch forms an arch. Disjunct and angular would involve many leaps, which the description excludes.

Question 36Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

In a prescribed work, a motif first heard in the cellos is later played by the trumpets at the same pitch level. Which term describes this transfer?

  1. Orchestration
  2. Imitation
  3. Development
  4. Doubling Correct answer.

Explanation

When two instruments play the same material at the same pitch, the parts are doubled, and the transfer between them is a change of colour through doubling. Imitation would require one part to enter after the other with the same material.

Question 37Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A four-bar phrase is followed by a four-bar phrase whose ending is altered to close the section. Which term describes the second phrase?

  1. Antecedent
  2. Codetta
  3. Consequent Correct answer.
  4. Episode

Explanation

In a period, the first phrase is the antecedent and the answering phrase that completes the musical thought is the consequent. A codetta extends a section, and an episode is a passage between statements of a main theme.

Question 38Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A passage in a minor key uses the raised sixth and seventh degrees ascending, but the natural seventh descending. Which scale form is this?

  1. Natural minor
  2. Melodic minor Correct answer.
  3. Whole-tone
  4. Harmonic minor

Explanation

The melodic minor scale raises the sixth and seventh degrees ascending and lowers them again descending. The harmonic minor raises only the seventh in both directions.

Question 39Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

An excerpt moves from the tonic to the dominant and then to the relative minor before returning to the tonic. Which harmonic feature is illustrated?

  1. Modulation to related keys Correct answer.
  2. Chromatic mediant relations
  3. Pedal harmony
  4. Modal mixture

Explanation

Moving to the dominant and to the relative minor involves keys closely related to the tonic, which is modulation to related keys. Modal mixture would borrow chords from the parallel mode instead.

Question 40Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A theme written in 3/4 is restated in 6/8 so that each original beat is divided into three. Which rhythmic transformation has occurred?

  1. Syncopation
  2. Augmentation Correct answer.
  3. Diminution
  4. Hemiola

Explanation

Stretching each beat into three equal parts lengthens the note values relative to the beat, producing augmentation of the theme's rhythm. Diminution would shorten the values.

Question 41Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A performer holds back the tempo slightly before a phrase ending and then resumes the original speed. Which term best describes this expressive device?

  1. Fermata
  2. Accelerando
  3. Rubato Correct answer.
  4. Ritardando

Explanation

Rubato is a flexible, expressive shaping of tempo in which time is taken and then given back. A ritardando is a written gradual slowing that is not necessarily reversed.

Question 42Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A solo horn introduces a short motif that is then taken up by the clarinet and afterwards by the violins. Which device is being used?

  1. Pedal
  2. Imitation Correct answer.
  3. Ostinato
  4. Sequence

Explanation

When a motif is passed from one part to another in turn, the later entries imitate the first, which is imitation. An ostinato would repeat the motif in the same part.

Question 43Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

An excerpt uses a nine-note scale dividing the octave into equal steps and gives no sense of a tonic. Which scale is being used?

  1. Pentatonic
  2. Octatonic
  3. Chromatic
  4. Whole-tone Correct answer.

Explanation

A whole-tone scale divides the octave into six equal whole steps, and because every step is identical no pitch functions as a tonic. An octatonic scale alternates whole and half steps.

Question 44Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

An excerpt presents a melody in the violins while the cellos play a contrasting melody of equal importance at the same time. Which texture is heard?

  1. Homophonic
  2. Monophonic
  3. Antiphonal
  4. Polyphonic Correct answer.

Explanation

Two independent melodies of equal importance sounding together create polyphonic texture. Homophonic texture would subordinate the accompaniment to a single melody.

Question 45Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A composer writes a subject in one voice, answers it a fifth higher in a second voice while the first continues with a countersubject. Which form is being written?

  1. Fugue Correct answer.
  2. Rondo
  3. Sonata
  4. Chorale prelude

Explanation

A subject answered at the fifth while the first voice continues with a countersubject is the opening of a fugue. Sonata and rondo forms are organised around themes and key areas rather than subject and answer entries.

Question 46Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A passage in 4/4 places accents consistently on the second and fourth beats while the bass keeps the strong beats. Which rhythmic feature is created?

  1. Augmentation
  2. Polyrhythm
  3. Hemiola
  4. Syncopation Correct answer.

Explanation

Accenting weak beats against a steady strong-beat bass produces syncopation. A hemiola would regroup the metre into conflicting triple groupings rather than simply shifting accents.

Question 47Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A movement presents a theme, then a series of sections that each alter its melody, harmony or rhythm while keeping its identity recognisable. Which form is this?

  1. Fugue
  2. Ternary
  3. Sonata form
  4. Theme and variations Correct answer.

Explanation

A theme followed by sections that transform it while preserving its identity is a theme and variations. Sonata form and fugue organise material by key areas or subject entries rather than successive transformations of one theme.

Question 48Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

An excerpt shifts from a bright major tonic to its parallel minor with the same tonic note. Which harmonic change has occurred?

  1. Modal mixture Correct answer.
  2. Enharmonic change
  3. Transposition
  4. Modulation to the dominant

Explanation

Moving from a major key to the minor key on the same tonic is modal mixture, or change of mode. Modulation to the dominant would change the tonic to the fifth degree.

Question 49Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A passage uses a repeated two-chord alternation of i and V in a minor key beneath a melody that never settles on the tonic. Which effect is produced?

  1. A perfect cadence
  2. Unresolved tonal tension Correct answer.
  3. A modulation to the relative major
  4. A plagal cadence

Explanation

Constant alternation between tonic and dominant without a melodic arrival on the tonic leaves the harmony unresolved, creating tonal tension. A perfect cadence would require the melody to settle on the tonic.

Question 50Listening and aural analysis (prescribed works and unfamiliar music)

A melody built on a five-note scale without semitones is heard over a drone, and the melody avoids the fourth and seventh degrees. Which scale is being used?

  1. Major pentatonic Correct answer.
  2. Natural minor
  3. Whole-tone
  4. Blues scale

Explanation

A five-note scale omitting the fourth and seventh degrees of the major scale is the major pentatonic, and it contains no semitones. The natural minor and blues scales include semitones and more than five notes.