Study Guide
Music: Instrumental & Vocal
Test Design and Framework
The test design below describes general assessment information. The framework that follows is a detailed outline that explains the knowledge and skills that this test measures.
Test Design
| Format | Computer-based test (CBT) |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions | 100 multiple-choice questions |
| Time* | 2 hours |
| Passing Score | 220 |
*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial
Test Framework
| Content Domain | Range of Competencies | Approximate Percentage of Test Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. | Music Theory and Composition | 0001–0003 | 23% |
| II. | Aural Analysis Skills | 0004–0006 | 23% |
| III. | Music History and Culture | 0007–0009 | 23% |
| IV. | Music Education and Performance Techniques | 0010–0013 | 31% |
Domain I–Music Theory and Composition
Competency 0001–Understand musical notation.
For example:
- Identify clefs, key signatures, and pitches.
- Demonstrate knowledge of note values, rest values, and time signatures.
- Define musical symbols and terms (e.g., tempo markings, repeat signs, articulations, dynamics, expressive terms, embellishments).
Competency 0002–Understand melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic elements.
For example:
- Identify scales, tonality, modes, and melodic intervals.
- Analyze melodic characteristics, including phrase structures, contours, and other melodic devices.
- Identify harmonic intervals, chord types, and chord inversions.
- Analyze rhythmic characteristics, including meter, patterns, tempo, and other rhythmic devices (e.g., syncopation).
- Analyze cadences, harmonic progressions, and non-chord tones.
Competency 0003–Understand musical composition, arranging, and improvising.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of various musical styles, forms, textures, and compositional techniques.
- Analyze musical examples in terms of musical styles, forms, textures, and compositional techniques.
- Apply knowledge of arranging for various instruments, voices, and ensembles.
- Demonstrate knowledge of improvisational techniques.
- Apply knowledge of common practice harmonization using appropriate voice leading and chord selection.
Domain II–Aural Analysis Skills
Competency 0004–Understand elements of music presented in recorded examples.
For example:
- Analyze melodic characteristics, including scales, modes, tonality, intervals, phrase structures, embellishments, and contour.
- Analyze harmonic characteristics, including intervals, chord types, harmonic progressions, cadences, and non-chord tones.
- Analyze the elements of rhythm, meter, and tempo.
- Analyze the elements of form and texture.
Competency 0005–Understand characteristics of Western, U.S., and world music and composers presented in recorded examples.
For example:
- Analyze characteristics of Western music and composers from the Middle Ages to the present.
- Recognize characteristics, instrumentation, genres, and styles of traditional music from a variety of cultures within the United States and around the world.
Competency 0006–Understand elements of a musical performance presented in recorded examples.
For example:
- Identify voice types and various types of choral and small vocal ensembles.
- Identify band and orchestral instruments and various types of instrumental ensembles.
- Analyze expressive elements in a musical performance, including dynamics, articulation, tempo changes, and stylistic devices.
- Recognize performance errors, including errors related to pitch, rhythm, dynamics, articulation, phrasing, intonation, ensemble precision, and balance.
Domain III–Music History and Culture
Competency 0007–Understand the history of Western music from the Middle Ages to 1750.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of styles, genres, performance practices, and other musical characteristics of music from the Middle Ages to 1750.
- Demonstrate knowledge of major composers and compositions from the Middle Ages to 1750.
- Compare music from different stylistic periods.
- Analyze ways in which music reflects cultural factors, historical developments, technological changes, and aesthetic values.
Competency 0008–Understand the history of Western music from 1750 to the present.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of styles, genres, performance practices, and other musical characteristics of music from 1750 to the present.
- Demonstrate knowledge of major composers and compositions from 1750 to the present.
- Compare music from different stylistic periods.
- Analyze ways in which music reflects cultural factors, historical developments, technological changes, and aesthetic values.
Competency 0009–Understand U.S. and world music.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of styles, genres, performance practices, and other musical characteristics of music from the United States.
- Demonstrate knowledge of major composers, musicians, and works of music from the United States.
- Identify types and characteristics of traditional music from a variety of cultures within the United States and around the world, including instruments associated with various musical traditions.
- Analyze ways in which music from the United States reflects the country's cultural factors, historical developments, technological changes, and aesthetic values and ways in which musical styles from around the world have influenced the development of music in the United States.
Domain IV–Music Education and Performance Techniques
Competency 0010–Understand the principles of music education.
For example:
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of various approaches to music instruction (e.g., imitation, Orff, Kodály).
- Demonstrate knowledge of scope and sequence in music instruction.
- Apply knowledge of techniques for playing classroom instruments (e.g., recorder, fretted instruments, keyboards, percussion).
- Demonstrate knowledge of various technologies for listening to, studying, and creating music (e.g., teaching software, computer composition, digital sound production, multimedia, sound reinforcement).
- Demonstrate knowledge of various assessment tools for evaluating music skills and performances.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for ensuring access, accommodation, adaptation, and equity in the school music program.
- Apply knowledge of interdisciplinary connections between music, the related arts (e.g., visual art, dance, media arts), and other content areas (e.g., language arts, mathematics, science, social studies).
- Demonstrate knowledge of careers in music and the profession of a music educator (e.g., teacher, performer, accompanist, composer, conductor).
Competency 0011–Understand vocal and choral performance techniques.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of various types and characteristics of vocal and choral ensembles.
- Demonstrate knowledge of vocal ranges and classifications, and stages of vocal maturation (e.g., changing voice, tessitura, range extension).
- Demonstrate knowledge of basic techniques for developing singing skills and maintaining vocal health.
- Demonstrate knowledge of stylistically appropriate performance practice (e.g., Renaissance music, vocal jazz).
- Demonstrate knowledge of accurate pronunciation and diction for singing in various languages commonly used in vocal and choral repertoire (e.g., English, French, German, Italian, Latin).
- Demonstrate knowledge of sight-singing approaches.
- Demonstrate knowledge of techniques for addressing typical problems encountered in vocal and choral performance.
- Demonstrate knowledge of age-appropriate solo repertoire in various languages for various voice types.
Competency 0012–Understand instrumental solo and ensemble performance techniques.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of types and characteristics of string, wind, percussion, and keyboard instruments.
- Demonstrate knowledge of types and characteristics of bands, orchestras, and other instrumental ensembles.
- Apply knowledge of basic techniques for playing string, wind, percussion, and keyboard instruments.
- Demonstrate knowledge of stylistically appropriate performance practice (e.g., nineteenth century, jazz, marching band).
- Demonstrate knowledge of basic procedures related to instrument maintenance and storage.
- Demonstrate knowledge of techniques for addressing typical problems encountered in playing string, wind, percussion, and keyboard instruments.
- Demonstrate knowledge of age-appropriate solo repertoire for string, wind, percussion, and keyboard instruments.
Competency 0013–Understand conducting techniques, score reading, and repertoire.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of basic techniques for conducting (e.g., beat patterns, preparatory beats, releases, cueing, hand independence).
- Demonstrate knowledge of expressive techniques for conducting (e.g., tempo changes, dynamics, fermatas).
- Demonstrate knowledge of appropriate instrumental and vocal ensemble rehearsal techniques (e.g., warm-ups, rhythm drills, technical exercises, sight-reading).
- Demonstrate the ability to interpret the language of a score, and identify potential technical challenges presented, including appropriate strategies for addressing them.
- Demonstrate knowledge of copyright laws as related to music education.
- Demonstrate knowledge of age-appropriate repertoire for various school instrumental and vocal ensembles, including general music classes.