NYSTCE Music case studies
NYSTCE Music · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Music (test code 165) is one of the Content Specialty Tests (CSTs) in the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations (NYSTCE) program, the testing system New York uses for educator certification. Candidates who need a music certification area take it; the source confirms the test exists and is listed among the CSTs but does not describe who is required to take it, so check your specific certification pathway on the NYSTCE site. The NYSTCE Music case studies are 5 cases and about 4,470 words.
1The Chord Symbols Are All Correct: Revising a Student's SATB Setting
A tenth-grade student submits an eight-measure SATB setting in G major for the theory class's end-of-unit performance. The soprano line was given; the student harmonized it at roughly two chords per bar.
906 words, about 5 min2A Kpanlogo Unit Built on a Questionable Arrangement
A seventh-grade general music teacher has four sections of 26 students and meets each class twice a week for 45 minutes. A six-week unit on West African drumming is scheduled.
927 words, about 5 min3The Throb in the E-flat Chord: Tuning Systems Meets a Piano at 442
A high school string orchestra of 34 players (12 first violins, 10 second violins, 6 violas, 4 cellos, 2 basses) is preparing a slow, chorale-like movement for a joint concert with the wind ensemble in the auditorium. In the final eight bars the director hears a slow, regular throb in a sustained E-flat major chord.
899 words, about 4 min4Fifty-Six Minutes a Week: Beginning Band, Standards-Based Grading, and an October Tuba
A first-year teacher is assigned the beginning band at a middle school: 41 students - 14 clarinets, 9 trumpets, 6 flutes, 5 alto saxophones, 4 trombones, and 3 percussionists. The class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays for 32 minutes, of which about 4 minutes go to setup and dismissal.
832 words, about 4 min5Grade 2 Swing, Six Soloists, and Forty Minutes
A middle school jazz band of 16 players - five saxophones (two alto, two tenor, one baritone), four trumpets, three trombones, and piano, bass, and drums - is preparing a grade-2 swing chart at quarter note = 152 for a February festival. The drummer plays straight eighth notes on the hi-hat, the bassist plays only the root of each chord as a whole note, and the saxes articulate their written figures with a heavy accent on every downbeat.
906 words, about 5 min