Rutgers – Music 133 (& 134)

Sometimes an assignment needs more explanation. Follow along step-by-step!

Dictation HW 2
For each audio clip you are asked 3 questions. I am paraphrasing here…
1. What pitch class is the first pitch?
2. What pitch class is the second pitch?
3. What is the relationship between these two pitch as they are performed in the audio clip?

Step 1: Play the audio clip and concentrate on the first pitch. Sing it to yourself and get it in your ear. From the top of the pianos down, hit keys in steps (adjacent keys) until you find a key that matches this pitch. Don’t over think this. When you play through the piano pitches you will hit a pitch that locks in with the first pitch of the audio clip. In fact as you get closer you will find yourself “homing in” on the right pitch. Identify this pitch class on the piano (ex: c, d, e) and put your answer in the first blank.

Step 2: Repeat step 1 but concentrate on pitch 2 of the audio clip. Put your answer in the second blank.

Step 3: Listen to the audio clip again.
If the second pitch is higher than the first then the pitches are ascending.
If the second pitch is lower than the first then the pitches are descending.

If the second pitch is very close to the first then the pitches might be a step apart. Pitches a step apart will be adjacent letters (ex: A&B, D&E, A&B etc.)

If the second pitch is not so close to the first then the distance between pitches is a leap. Pitch that are a leap apart will be any non-adjacent letters.

Lastly, if both pitches 1 & 2 are the same letter (Ex: D&D, C&C) the you have an octave

Give this a try and make sure you look at ET lesson 1 & Lesson 2 (especially the part about octaves and pitch vs. pitch class.)