Test Information Guide
Overview and Test Objectives
Field 16: Music
Test Overview
| Format | Computer-based test (CBT); 100 multiple-choice questions, 2 open-response items |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions |
|
| Time | 4 hours (does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial) |
| Passing Score | 240 |
The Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) are designed to measure a candidate's knowledge of the subject matter contained in the test objectives for each field. The MTEL are aligned with the Massachusetts educator licensure regulations and, as applicable, with the standards in the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks.
The test objectives specify the content to be covered on the test and are organized by major content subareas. The chart below shows the approximate percentage of the total test score derived from each of the subareas.
The test assesses a candidate's proficiency and depth of understanding of the subject at the level required for a baccalaureate major according to Massachusetts standards. Candidates are typically nearing completion of or have completed their undergraduate work when they take the test.
Sub area I 33%, Sub area II 33%, Sub area III 14%, and Sub area IV 20%.
Test Objectives
| Subareas | Range of Objectives | Approximate Test Weighting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple-Choice | |||
| I | Music Theory and Analysis | 01–11 | 33% |
| II | Music History, Literature, and Culture | 12–24 | 33% |
| III | Music Education | 25–29 | 14% |
| 80% | |||
| Open-Response* | |||
| IV | Integration of Knowledge and Understanding | 30 | 20% |
*The open-response items may relate to topics covered in any of the subareas.
Subarea I–Music Theory and Analysis
Objective 0001: Understand the components of a score.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of music notation (e.g., clefs, names of notes, key signatures, rhythms).
- Understand common musical symbols and embellishment symbols (e.g., repeat signs, bowing, fermata, tremolo).
- Recognize and understand the elements of a score (e.g., voice parts, instrumentation, transpositions).
- Understand expressive terms and symbols (e.g., dolce, marcato), dynamic markings (e.g., crescendo, subito piano), and tempo markings (e.g., allegro, andante).
- Understand articulation symbols (e.g., legato, staccato, accents).
Objective 0002: Understand the elements of melody.
For example:
- Recognize melodic intervals.
- Recognize the types and characteristics of scales and modes (e.g., pentatonic, modal, major, minor, chromatic, whole-tone, octatonic).
- Understand melodic embellishments and devices (e.g., trill, turn, repetition, sequence).
- Understand melodic structures and characteristics (e.g., phrases, conjunct and disjunct motion, focal point).
Objective 0003: Understand the elements of harmony.
For example:
- Recognize harmonic intervals and inversions.
- Analyze chord types, chord inversions, and harmonic progressions (e.g., Roman numeral analysis, chord identification).
- Recognize and understand types of cadences (e.g., authentic, half, deceptive, plagal).
- Demonstrate knowledge of "common practice" period voice-leading (e.g., avoidance of parallel fifths and octaves, resolution of dissonance).
- Recognize and understand types of nonharmonic tones (e.g., passing tones, neighboring tones, suspensions).
Objective 0004: Understand the elements of rhythm, meter, and tempo.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of note and rest values.
- Understand rhythmic devices (e.g., diminution, augmentation, syncopation).
- Recognize and understand time signatures.
- Understand the characteristics of meter (e.g., compound, simple, duple, triple).
- Recognize and understand tempo markings (e.g., largo, andante, vivace, accelerando, ritardando).
Objective 0005: Understand musical composition, arranging, and improvising.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of forms, musical styles, textures, and compositional techniques.
- Understand and apply knowledge of techniques for arranging music for a variety of instruments and voices.
- Understand and apply knowledge of techniques for musical improvisation (e.g., instrumental and vocal improvisation, basic keyboard accompaniments, improvisation on classroom instruments).
Objective 0006: Analyze elements of a score in a musical recording.
For example:
- Identify different voice parts and ensembles.
- Identify different instrument parts and ensembles.
- Recognize and analyze elements of expression and dynamics (e.g., dolce, crescendo, sforzando).
- Recognize and analyze elements of articulation and embellishments (e.g., legato, staccato, glissando, pizzicato).
Objective 0007: Analyze the elements of melody in a musical recording.
For example:
- Identify types of melodic intervals, scales, and modes (e.g., pentatonic, modal, major, minor, chromatic, whole-tone).
- Identify and understand melodic embellishments and devices (e.g., trill, turn, repetition, sequence).
- Recognize melodic structures and understand their characteristics (e.g., phrases, conjunct and disjunct motion, focal point).
Objective 0008: Analyze the elements of harmony in a musical recording.
For example:
- Identify harmonic intervals, chords, harmonic progressions, and cadences (e.g., authentic, half, deceptive, plagal).
- Recognize and understand modulations and nonharmonic tones (e.g., passing tones, neighboring tones, suspensions).
Objective 0009: Analyze elements of rhythm, meter, and tempo in a musical recording.
For example:
- Recognize and understand rhythmic patterns and devices (e.g., diminution, augmentation, syncopation).
- Identify meter, meter changes, tempo, and tempo changes.
Objective 0010: Analyze elements of compositional forms and techniques in a musical recording.
For example:
- Identify types of compositional forms (e.g., binary, ternary, strophic, variations, twelve-bar blues).
- Identify and understand contrapuntal techniques and devices (e.g., fugue, imitation, subject, countersubject).
- Identify types of textures (e.g., polyphonic, heterophonic, homophonic).
- Recognize and understand other textural elements (e.g., doublings, melody and countermelody, ostinato).
Objective 0011: Identify performance errors in a recording of a musical score.
For example:
- Analyze pitch or rhythmic errors in a vocal or instrumental performance.
- Recognize deviations from suggested markings of dynamics, phrasing, articulation, and tempo.
Subarea II–Music History, Literature, and Culture
Objective 0012: Demonstrate knowledge of Western (European) music from the Middle Ages through 1750.
For example:
- Identify characteristics of musical styles (e.g., modal, monophony, polyphony, basso continuo).
- Understand important genres (e.g., Gregorian chant, madrigal, fugue, concerto grosso).
- Understand the music of major composers (e.g., Hildegard von Bingen, Palestrina, J. S. Bach).
Objective 0013: Demonstrate knowledge of Western (European) music from 1750 through 1900.
For example:
- Identify characteristics of musical styles (e.g., Alberti bass, periodic phrase structure, chromaticism, coloristic use of orchestra).
- Understand important genres (e.g., sonata, symphony, lieder, opera).
- Understand the music of major composers (e.g., Mozart, Clara Schumann, Dvořák).
Objective 0014: Demonstrate knowledge of Western (European) music from 1900 through the present.
For example:
- Identify characteristics of musical styles (e.g., impressionism, minimalism, aleatoric music, serialism).
- Understand important genres (e.g., ballet, opera, chamber ensembles).
- Understand the music of major composers (e.g., Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartók).
Objective 0015: Demonstrate knowledge of music from the United States from 1650 through 1900.
For example:
- Identify characteristics and origins of musical styles (e.g., folk, ragtime, wind band).
- Understand important genres (e.g., spiritual, blues, march, ballad, opera).
- Understand the music of major composers (e.g., Billings, Joplin, Gottschalk, Sousa).
Objective 0016: Demonstrate knowledge of music from the United States from 1900 through the present.
For example:
- Identify characteristics and origins of musical styles in the United States (e.g., jazz, Broadway, gospel, Classical).
- Understand important genres in music of the United States (e.g., musical, symphony, rhythm and blues, rap).
- Understand the music of major composers in the United States (e.g., Ives, Ellington, Rodgers, Bernstein).
Objective 0017: Demonstrate knowledge of music from various world cultures.
For example:
- Identify characteristics and origins of musical styles (e.g., reggae, raga, mariachi, gagaku).
- Identify instruments of various world cultures (e.g., djembe, didgeridoo, sitar, pan pipes).
Objective 0018: Recognize characteristics of Western (European) music from the Middle Ages through 1750 in a musical recording.
For example:
- Identify important musical styles (e.g., modal, monophony, polyphony, basso continuo).
- Identify important genres of music (e.g., Gregorian chant, madrigal, mass, fugue, concerto grosso).
- Identify the music of major composers (e.g., Palestrina, Handel).
Objective 0019: Recognize characteristics of Western (European) music from 1750 through 1900 in a musical recording.
For example:
- Identify important musical styles (e.g., Alberti bass, periodic phrase structure, chromaticism, coloristic use of orchestra).
- Identify important genres of music (e.g., sonata, symphony, lieder, opera).
- Identify the music of major composers (e.g., Haydn, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky).
Objective 0020: Recognize characteristics of Western (European) music from 1900 through the present in a musical recording.
For example:
- Identify important musical styles (e.g., impressionism, minimalism, aleatoric music).
- Identify important genres of music (e.g., ballet, opera, chamber ensembles).
- Identify the music of major composers (e.g., Debussy, Stravinsky, Berg, Ravel).
Objective 0021: Recognize characteristics of music from the United States from 1650 through 1900 in a musical recording.
For example:
- Identify important styles in the music of this period (e.g., folk, ragtime, wind band).
- Identify important genres of music in this period (e.g., spiritual, march, hymn).
- Identify the music of major composers in this period (e.g., Foster, MacDowell, Beach).
Objective 0022: Recognize characteristics of music from the United States from 1900 through the present in a musical recording.
For example:
- Identify important styles in the music of the United States (e.g., jazz, Broadway, Classical).
- Identify important genres of music in the United States (e.g., standards, symphony, rhythm and blues).
- Identify the music of major composers and performers in the United States (e.g., Gershwin, Davis, Still, Zwilich).
Objective 0023: Recognize characteristics of music from various world cultures in a musical recording.
For example:
- Identify characteristics and origins of musical styles (e.g., reggae, raga, mariachi, gagaku).
- Identify instruments of various world cultures (e.g., djembe, didgeridoo, sitar, pan pipes).
Objective 0024: Demonstrate knowledge of music criticism and aesthetics.
For example:
- Demonstrate the ability to critique and evaluate musical performances, compositions, and arrangements, using appropriate criteria and vocabulary.
Subarea III–Music Education
Objective 0025: Understand choral and instrumental literature.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of appropriate criteria for choosing a repertoire (e.g., appropriate levels of difficulty, skill development, range).
- Understand the types and characteristics of school vocal and instrumental ensembles (e.g., chorus, orchestra, band, chamber, jazz).
- Demonstrate knowledge of stylistically appropriate performance practices.
- Understand the legal aspects of music (e.g., copyright laws).
Objective 0026: Understand techniques of conducting.
For example:
- Recognize common beat patterns.
- Identify and understand common expressive techniques.
- Identify and understand common cuing techniques.
Objective 0027: Understand basic vocal and instrumental techniques.
For example:
- Recognize and understand basic terminology (e.g., embouchure, vibrato, tessitura, pizzicato).
- Understand and apply fundamental concepts (e.g., breath support, vocal physiology, harmonics).
Objective 0028: Understand the musical development of children and adolescents.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the relationship between music instruction and developmentally appropriate emotional, psychomotor, and social activities (e.g., vocal and aural health practices, materials for general music classes and ensembles).
- Understand appropriate audience etiquette in different settings.
Objective 0029: Identify and understand methodologies in music education.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the commonalities and differences in special approaches to music education (e.g., Orff Schulwerk, Kodály, Dalcroze, Gordon, Comprehensive Musicianship).
- Understand connections between music and other disciplines.
Subarea IV–Integration of Knowledge and Understanding
Objective 0030: Prepare an organized, developed analysis on a topic related to one or more of the following: music theory and analysis; music history, literature, and culture; music education.
(Refer to objectives 0001 through 0029 and associated descriptive statements.)