Based on the needs for viable melodic dictation strategies and thoughtful approaches to teaching prerequisite skills, the central research question guiding this qualitative study was as follows: What strategies do dictation takers describe having used on successfully completing a standard melodic dictation? Six sophomore music majors, recommended by their theory professors as consistently successful in melodic dictation, completed two cycles each of a standard dictation coupled with a follow-up reflection interview focused on strategies. Three overarching themes emerged from data analysis: (1) Participants are highly skilled at directing their attention during dictation, (2) participants prioritize tasks carefully during each listening of a dictation, and (3) participants skillfully coordinate a variety of musical and problem-solving skills to complete dictations successfully.

This study approaches to teaching melodic dictation skills of Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory were examined. Twelve high school teachers from four states were interviewed. Four themes emerged from the interview transcripts: cognitive frameworks, processing strategies, rhythm, and course design. Participants generally confirmed established understandings of aural skills pedagogy, particularly in areas of pattern instruction, connecting aural and written theory, connecting sight-singing and dictation, incorporating scale degree function, targeting melodic "bookends," focusing on the big picture, sequencing curricula, and incorporating familiar melodies. Unique to the findings of this study were participants' positive attitudes toward a standardized test and their concern for the students' psychological barriers inherent in learning aural skills. A general indifference to rhythm counting systems and a common acknowledgment of students' difficulties with rhythmic notation also was found. Recommendations for further research include a largescale survey of melodic dictation strategies taught by AP Music Theory teachers, empirical investigation of the efficacy of specific counting systems, comparison of students' reported dictation strategies and their success with dictation on the AP exam, and exploration of the influence of psychological fortitude on the dictation process.

The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of a preparatory contextual singing pattern on melodic dictation test scores. Forty-nine undergraduate music education majors took melodic dictations under three conditions. After hearing an orienting chord sequence, they (1) sang a preparatory solfége pattern in the key, meter, and tempo of the target dictations in the first condition; (2) prepared themselves silently during an equivalent time interval in the second condition; and (3) took the dictations immediately in the third condition. A repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc analysis revealed that participants scored significantly higher when they heard the dictation immediately following the chord sequence than when they sang the preparatory pattern first. Participants may have been distracted by the additional task of singing, interfering with their focus on the ensuing dictation. They reported a variety of preparatory strategies during the silent interval condition, suggesting that dictation students may benefit from learning multiple strategies and choosing what works best for them. Future research might investigate the relationship between strategies used during dictation and strategies used just prior to dictation. Implications for music educators include the need for careful decisions regarding when and how to combine musical tasks for student learning.

Based on relevant literature and recent qualitative findings, the purpose of this survey research was to identify pedagogical approaches to melodic dictation employed by Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory teachers across the United States. The researcher-designed survey questions focused on pitch and rhythm skills, instructional resources, dictation strategies, test-taking skills, and characteristics of successful dictation students. The survey was distributed online to a stratified random sample of 875 AP Music Theory teachers across the United States. Of these recipients, 398 participants from 49 states and the District of Columbia completed the survey, yielding a 45.5% return rate. Results indicated that teachers preferred pitch systems that emphasized scale degree function and rhythm systems that emphasized the meter. Participants also reported the influence of the AP exam on their dictation teaching and described their need for additional instructional time and better preparation for teaching aural skills. Suggestions for further research include similar studies of other populations, including high school teachers of other theory courses and college theory instructors.