The Music Stem / Music theory practice tests / TExES Music 177
Exam practice
Timed practice for TExES Music 177, set out in the board's own sections. Every answer comes with an explanation.
TExES Music EC–12 (177) is a licensure test for music teachers, owned by the Texas Education Agency.
This practice test covers listening, theory, history, classroom performance and music education, for Texas music teachers.
The listening questions use our own piano recordings. They cover intervals, chords, cadences, meter, texture, finding errors against a printed score and judging a piano performance. Each error question plays a single melody. Performance questions judge tempo, balance, dynamics and articulation on the piano. Recognizing a style, period, instrument or voice by ear is not included. Intonation, blend, tone and diction are not included either.
Exam mode runs a clock of 4 hours 45 minutes for the whole practice test.
The full practice test holds 93 questions.
Study mode has no clock. It checks each answer as you go.
In the 1940s, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie led a small-combo jazz style with fast tempos, complex chord changes and virtuosic solos. Which style was it?
The answer is A, Bebop.
Bebop moved jazz from the dance hall toward the listening room, with extended harmonies and angular lines. Minton's Playhouse in Harlem was a key meeting place for its players.
A flute section plays sharp in a loud, high passage. Which adjustment lowers the pitch?
The answer is A, Aim the air slightly lower by relaxing the jaw and lips.
Flutes go sharp when they play loudly. Directing the air lower, which covers more of the hole, brings the pitch down. Pushing the headjoint in shortens the tube, so the pitch climbs. Faster air raises it further. Rolling out uncovers the hole and also raises the pitch.
Teachers score the same recorded auditions with one rubric, and their scores for a student often differ widely. Which property of the assessment is weak?
The answer is D, Inter-rater reliability.
Reliability is the consistency of scores. When raters disagree, clearer descriptors, anchor recordings and joint scoring practice improve agreement.
Exam mode gives 4 hours 45 minutes for the whole practice test. It holds 93 questions. Study mode has no clock.
It follows the board's order: Listening, Theory and Composition, History and Culture, Music Classroom Performance and Music Education.
Yes. Each answer comes with an explanation of why it is correct.
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