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Preparing for the Musicology/Aural skills examination
Strategies for the melodic dictation
Practice by listening to a diverse range of music
Listening to a diversity of styles and instrumentation will help you in the preparation for this question. Try not to restrict your practice to piano examples, explore all instrumental and vocal excerpts. Past papers will give you an idea of the range and degree of difficulty of the melodic dictations.
Above all, realise that only regular training will improve your aural skills.
Try and memorise the melody
A helpful technique is to try and memorise the melody by the end of the first two or three playings as well as starting to write. This will enable you to hear the melody in between playings so that you can utilise the time effectively by singing (silently) intervals and patterns. Write in the notes you are sure of as you listen.
Establish the tonic and dominant
This is important as you can mentally refer to these notes throughout the playing of the excerpt and in your own (silent) singing through of the melody between playings.
Notating the rhythm
Is the rhythm given, or do you have to notate this as well? If the rhythm is not given, map it out quickly above the melody line during the first playing. Identify repetition of rhythmic patterns, unusual note groupings (e.g. triplets, syncopated patterns) and check the number of beats in each bar.
Recognising chromatic notes
Is the excerpt wholly diatonic or does it include chromatic notes? Is there a modulation to a related key? If you hear a note that sounds "different", sing the interval between the previous note and the note you are having trouble with.
Looking for melodic patterns and shapes
Is there a sequence or pattern or definite shape in the melody? Where does the pattern or sequence start? Does it move by tone, semitone, or by a leap of a wider interval?
Is there a definite shape in the melody? Identify the contour. If it is repeated, does the contour remain the same?
On what note does it start and end? Is it the tonic, dominant, or another note?
Making use of given notes
The notes preceding the excerpt will give you a tonality guide. Sing the interval (again, silently) to determine what it is
Are guide notes given as a start or finish to the excerpt? You may be given a starting or ending note for reference.
The accompaniment may provide some guide notes, so listen carefully to it as well. Perhaps your mentally embedded tonic note or chord appears in the accompaniment;
Other instrumental or vocal parts may be given. If so, how can they help?
If the accompaniment is given, you should be able to do a quick chordal check to ensure that you are not incorrect
Finally, rely on your developed and practised aural skills. These, like your score reading abilities, can be built up only through regular practice and will allow you to approach the examination with confidence in your knowledge and abilities.
Select The concepts of music pages for information on applying the concepts to musical examples.
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