Dictation

How to approach a dictation

- A 4-bar melody will be played 3 times
-Have a short-hand way of marking down rhythm
-During first listening aim to get the time signature and the rhythm jotted down in shorthand above the stave
-During second listening write in short-hand the melody underneath the stave, noting
where there are steps, skips, and leaps, and write down on the stave straight away
afterward
-You will be given the tonic triad before the melody plays; make sure you keep track of
doh and soh and mark where the melody comes back to these points
-The best way to practise dictation is to practise sight-singing

Transposition and intervals:

You will be asked to transpose a melody up or down a given interval and write the tune in
a new key (Major keys transpose to major keys, minor keys transpose to minor keys)
-

When transposing up, use the major or minor scale of the tonic note of the key
you are starting from to make sure you are moving it up accurately to the new
key. (Eg. Up a minor 7th from the key of C major, start on the tonic note C, and
figure out which is the 7th note in the C minor scale, natural minor not harmonic
or melodic)
The only interval that is an exception to this is the 2nd, as the major 2nd occurs in
both the major and minor scale; you must memorise the number of semitones:
Major 2nd: 2 semitones, minor 2nd: 1 semitone, augmented 2nd: 3 semitones,
diminished 2nd: 0 semitones.
Remember that the perfect 4th 5th and 8ve occur in both the major and minor
scales
An augmented interval is a semitone wider than a major or perfect interval
A diminished interval is a semitone smaller than a minor or perfect interval
When transposing down, as you need to figure out intervals from the scale of the
lowest note, use inversions to calculate the key you are moving to, then recheck
your conclusion by going up the scale of the new key and check that you land on
the original key.
Inversions:
Major 6th minor 3rd
Major 3rd minor 6th
Major 7th minor 2nd
Major 2nd minor 7th
Perfect 4th perfect 5th
Augmented 4th diminished 5th (inverts to itself, doesnt actually
need to be inverted as it splits the octave in half)

-Example of how to invert down: In the key of G major, to move the melody down a
minor 6th, invert this and go up a major 3rd from G, you get B. Start the melody in B
major, in a lower register on the stave. To recheck this, start from the note B and go up
6 in the scale of B natural minor and you will reach G.