A recorded melody climbs entirely by whole steps, six notes to the octave. Which scale is heard?Wikipedia, "Whole-tone scale". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0001
A recorded phrase ends with a dominant chord that resolves to the tonic chord. Which cadence is heard?Wikipedia, "Cadence". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0001
A recorded waltz has one strong beat followed by two weaker beats in every measure. Which meter is heard?Wikipedia, "Waltz". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0001
A recording features a large ensemble of metallophones, gongs and hand drums from Java or Bali. Which ensemble is heard?Wikipedia, "Gamelan". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0002
A recording features a solo singer with the lowest female voice type. Which voice is heard?Wikipedia, "Contralto". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0003
A recording features four players: two violins, a viola and a cello. Which ensemble is heard?Wikipedia, "String quartet". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0003
A recording has unaccompanied voices singing a single Latin melody in free rhythm, with no harmony. Which style is heard?Wikipedia, "Gregorian chant". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0002
Show all 48 questions (41 more)
Domain I: Aural analysis skills, continued
In a recorded passage the music grows louder little by little. Which term names this?Wikipedia, "Dynamics (music)". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0003
On a recording of a keyboard piece, one voice states a short subject alone, and other voices then enter with it in turn. Which form is heard?Wikipedia, "Fugue". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0002
On a recording, a solo singer with a guitar uses a twelve-bar chord pattern, bent "blue" notes and call and response between voice and guitar. Which genre is heard?Wikipedia, "Blues". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0002
On a recording, one voice sings a clear melody while a guitar strums chords beneath it. Which texture is heard?Wikipedia, "Homophony". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0001
Domain II: Music theory and composition 11
A B♭ clarinet plays a written C. Which concert pitch sounds?Wikipedia, "Transposing instrument". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0006
A dotted half note lasts as long as how many quarter notes?Wikipedia, "Dotted note". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0004
A triad is written with its third as the lowest note. Which position is it in?Wikipedia, "Inversion (music)". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0005
How many sharps are in the key signature of E major?Wikipedia, "E major". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0004
In four-part writing of the common practice period, which motion between two voices is traditionally avoided?Wikipedia, "Consecutive fifths". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0006
On a staff with a treble clef, which pitch does the second line from the bottom show?Wikipedia, "Clef". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0004
Which form keeps returning to its opening theme between contrasting sections, as in A B A C A?Wikipedia, "Rondo". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0006
Which interval lies between C and the G above it?Wikipedia, "Perfect fifth". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0005
Which key is the relative minor of C major?Wikipedia, "Relative key". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0005
Which notes form a C major triad?Wikipedia, "Major chord". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0005
Which of these tempo markings is the slowest?Wikipedia, "Tempo". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0004
Domain III: Music history and culture 11
The mbira, whose metal tines are plucked with the thumbs, is traditional to the Shona people of which country?Wikipedia, "Mbira". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0009
The music of Debussy and Ravel, which focuses on mood and atmosphere, is most often linked with which movement?Wikipedia, "Impressionism in music". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0008
The twelve-tone technique is usually credited to which Austrian composer, who developed his version of it in the early 1920s?Wikipedia, "Twelve-tone technique". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0008
Which American composer wrote Appalachian Spring and Fanfare for the Common Man?Wikipedia, "Aaron Copland". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0009
Which Baroque composer wrote the Brandenburg Concertos and the Mass in B minor?Wikipedia, "Johann Sebastian Bach". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0007
Which Classical composer is called the "Father of the Symphony" and the "Father of the String Quartet"?Wikipedia, "Joseph Haydn". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0008
Which composer's ninth and last symphony ends with a choral setting of the "Ode to Joy"?Wikipedia, "Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0008
Which composer, called the "King of Ragtime", wrote the "Maple Leaf Rag"?Wikipedia, "Scott Joplin". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0009
Which genre, a drama set to music and staged with singers, began in Italy as the 16th century ended?Wikipedia, "Opera". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0007
Which Italian composer of the Renaissance wrote the Missa Papae Marcelli, the Pope Marcellus Mass?Wikipedia, "Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0007
Which secular vocal genre of the Renaissance set poetry for several voices, most often without instruments?Wikipedia, "Madrigal". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0007
Domain IV: Music methodology and performance 15
A director wants to photocopy part of a published choral piece. Which of these is one of the four factors that section 107 of the copyright law lists for judging fair use?U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Law of the United States, 17 U.S.C. 107. Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0013
A standard mixed choir is divided into which four voice parts?Wikipedia, "SATB". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0011
A teacher wants to arrange a piece written by a living composer. In general, how long does U.S. copyright in a work created today last?U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Law of the United States, 17 U.S.C. 302(a). Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0013
Besides changing the lips, how does a trombone player change pitch?Wikipedia, "Trombone". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0012
During puberty the pitch of a boy's voice usually falls by about how much?Wikipedia, "Voice change". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0011
In conducting, what is a bar's first beat called?Wikipedia, "Conducting". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0013
In movable-do solfège, which syllable is sung on the tonic of a major key?Wikipedia, "Solfège". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0011
What does a MIDI cable carry between an electronic keyboard and a computer?Wikipedia, "MIDI". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0010
Which approach teaches rhythm, structure and musical expression through movement of the whole body?Wikipedia, "Dalcroze eurhythmics". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0010
Which approach to music teaching uses movable-do solfège with hand signs and builds on a nation's own folk music?Wikipedia, "Kodály method". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0010
Which instrument has four strings tuned in fifths to G, D, A and E?Wikipedia, "Violin". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0012
Which muscle does most of the work of drawing breath in before a sung phrase?Wikipedia, "Thoracic diaphragm". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0011
Which of these woodwinds is a double-reed instrument?Wikipedia, "Oboe". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0012
Which percussion instrument can be retuned to definite pitches during a piece, usually with a foot pedal?Wikipedia, "Timpani". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0012
Which pitched instruments are most closely tied to Orff Schulwerk classes?Wikipedia, "Orff Schulwerk". Written to OAE Music (032) framework, competency 0010
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the assessment framework for Ohio Assessments for Educators field 032, Music, read 2026-10-12 on the program's site (https://www.oh.nesinc.com/CONTENT/STUDYGUIDE/OH_SG_OBJ_032.htm; test page https://www.oh.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/OH032_TestPage.html): 150 multiple-choice questions in 180 minutes, passing score 220, with a headset; Aural Analysis Skills (competencies 0001 to 0003, 23%), Music Theory and Composition (0004 to 0006, 23%), Music History and Culture (0007 to 0009, 23%) and Music Methodology and Performance (0010 to 0013, 31%). The bank holds 11, 11, 11 and 15 questions for the four domains, three or four for each of the 13 competencies. The real Domain I is answered from recordings; here each example is described in words. Every fact was read on 2026-10-12 in the public page the question names: the named Wikipedia article, or Title 17 of the United States Code on the U.S. Copyright Office's site. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This free OAE Music practice test has 48 questions of our own, three or four for each of the 13 competencies of assessment 032. The page is unofficial, and neither the Ohio State Board of Education nor Evaluation Systems, Pearson is affiliated with it.
Read the full guide
OAE Music study guide: the four domains
Four domains make up the framework at oh.nesinc.com, read October 12, 2026: Aural Analysis Skills 23%, Music Theory and Composition 23%, Music History and Culture 23%, and Music Methodology and Performance 31%. The 48 questions here split 11, 11, 11 and 15.
Three hours on the clock
Three hours are allowed for the 150 multiple-choice questions of Music (032), and a 15-minute tutorial comes first. Exam mode runs 48 questions against a 58-minute clock, which is the same rate.
Which Ohio license needs Music (032)
Music (032) is the content test for the Multi-Age (PK–12) Music license. The program's table pairs it with the Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Multi-Age (PK–12), test 004.
The real aural analysis questions play recorded examples through a headset. Here each example is described in words, so listen to real recordings as well.
Questions and answers
Is this OAE Music practice test free?
Yes, and it asks for no account. The 48 questions are our own work from the published framework, and every explanation points to a Wikipedia article or, for copyright, to the section of Title 17. The real assessment's questions are not used.
How many questions are there on the OAE Music exam?
The test page gives 150 multiple-choice questions. It adds that questions under evaluation for later administrations may be mixed in and leave the score untouched.
What do you need to pass the OAE Music test?
You need 220. Ohio reports the total on a 100 to 300 scale built from the multiple-choice questions you answer correctly, with the minimum fixed by the State Board of Education.
Does the OAE Music test have listening questions?
Yes. The first domain, Aural Analysis Skills, is 23% of the score, and its competencies are answered from recorded examples. The test page says a headset is used in the assessment.
Where is the OAE Music test given?
The test page for Music (032) lists a computer-based test at centers throughout Ohio and nationwide, by appointment year round. Unlike some OAE tests, it has no online proctoring section.