Melody and Rhythm Dictation Skills

Section A: listening skills 🎵

The first part of the listening paper is not about memorising set works. It tests two **skills**: writing down music you hear, and describing a piece you have never heard before. Both reward a calm, reliable **method**. This module gives you one.

Melody and rhythm dictation 🎼

In the dictation question (6 to 10 marks), a melody or rhythm is printed with some parts **missing**, and you **complete** it while the extract is played several times. The command word is **"Complete"**. You are always given some notes and the rhythm as **anchors**. The trick is to use them, and to split the job into two: get the **rhythm** first, then the **pitch**.

A reliable dictation method

An interactive activity.

Where to start

You are given a printed melody with some notes missing to complete while listening. What is the smartest first move?

• Use the notes and rhythm you are already given as anchors, and listen for the overall shape
• Guess random notes straight away
• Only write the very last note
• Ignore the notes you are given

Rhythm first, then pitch 🎹

Doing everything at once is where people go wrong. Split it: - **Rhythm**: how many notes are there, and are they long or short? Tap it out. - **Pitch**: which way does the tune move? A **step** goes to the very next note; a **leap** jumps further. Decide up or down, and by step or leap, for each note.

Match each musical term to its meaning

The unfamiliar piece 🎧

The second question (8 marks) gives a skeleton score of a piece that is **closely related to, but NOT one of, the eight set works**. So there is nothing to memorise. You describe what you hear using general listening skills: the **tempo**, the **dynamics**, the **instruments** (timbre), the **texture**, and whether it sounds **major or minor** (tonality).

Listening well

When describing an unfamiliar piece, select ALL THREE things you should listen for.

• The tempo, and any changes in speed
• The dynamics (how loud or quiet)
• The instruments or voices you can hear
• Which of the eight set works it is
• The composer's date of birth
• The record label of the recording

Plan a description

An interactive activity.

Listening summary

In Section A you complete a melody or _____ by filling blanks on a printed score while listening; the command word is "_____". Work out the rhythm first, then the _____, listening for steps and leaps. The unfamiliar-piece question tests general listening _____, not memorised set works.