MUSIC MEMORY

Last Updated: 8/10/03

• ENTRIES.     As many as THREE students from EACH GRADE LEVEL (grades 3, 4, 5, and  6) may be entered in the Music Memory District Contest from each school.  Designated adults representing each school will select contestants to represent the campus at the District Meet based on their abilities in Music Memory studies, as well as other factors, which are decided upon by the individual school.

• NATURE OF THE CONTEST.  The PSIA Music Memory Contest consists of two parts: Part 1:  Contestants learn to recognize the composer and title of 16 pieces of music by listening to recordings of the music selections.  Each year, 16 different pieces of music are included in the study.  The last four pieces are different for grades 3/4 than they are for grades 5/6.
Part 2:   Contestants learn about the composer and the musical work through their study of the Arts Education IDEAS publication, PSIA Music Memory Student Handbook. Contestants take a 20 item multiple choice and true/false test over information found under the titles,“About the Composer” and “About the Music.”

• WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CONTEST.     The contest director will announce the time and place that contestants and one adult should report for verification of the scoring of tests. Contestants are then given answer sheets for Part 1 and Part 2, on which they are to write their grade levels and their contestant ID numbers in the spaces provided.   The contest director will tell contestants their ID numbers, usually during roll call.  (If you are an alternate taking the place of a registered contestant who is absent, be sure to let the contest director know as you enter the room to save time in roll call.)

Part 1:  The contest director will begin the contest by playing approximately 20 seconds of one of the 16 pieces of music from this year’s selections.  As contestants hear the music, they should begin writing the name of the composer and the title of the major work/selection in the spaces provided on the answer sheet.  Approximately 20 seconds of wait time will be provided between pieces.  After the 16 pieces of music are played for the regular portion of the contest, 4 additional 15-to-20 second pieces taken from the music selections will be played as tiebreakers, to be graded only in the case of a tie in scoring the contest.
Part 2:
 The contest director will distribute the 20 item objective test to each contestant.  When the start signal is given, contestants will have 10 minutes to write their CAPITAL LETTER answers in the spaces provided on their answer sheets.

• SCORING.     Add 5 points for each correct answer:  (1) composer’s name, (2) name of the major work/selection.  (For works that consist of a major work and a selection title, the major work = 3 points and the selection = 2 points), (3) objective items about the composer, and (4) objective items about the musical work.  Subtract 2 points for each wrong answer.  No points are added or deducted for skipped or unanswered test items.  REMEMBER, items that have been left blank on the test constitute no deductions.  Remember also that there are no deductions for spelling and punctuation errors.  Graders should each use a different color pen or pencil to mark papers and place their initials at the bottom of the test answer sheet to indicate that they have graded the paper.  Music Memory Answer Sheets are found in the PSIA Academic Handbook.

• VERIFICATION PERIOD.     No pens or pencils should be in contestants hands while tests and answer sheets with keys are reviewed.  Contestants and ONE adult representing the school have 15 minutes to check the computation of scores and ask questions about items counted incorrect.  If the contest was held before March 31, tests must be turned back in to the contest director.  Contestants will be disqualified from the contest should the paper be taken from the room prior to this date.  After verification has been completed, awards will be issued. (At State, medals will be awarded through 6th place.)

• PREPARATION FOR CONTEST.     Read and follow all instructions provided in the “Information Pertaining to All Contests” section of the PSIA Academic Handbook.  Observe and practice with students all rules and procedures delineated in the “Instructions to the Contestant” and in the “Checklist for Contest Directors” and the”“Checklist for Graders.”  Preparation for the Music Memory Contest should include instruction using the Arts Education IDEAS PSIA Music Memory Student Handbook, available through PSIA on the Study Materials Order Form.  Providing student access to the Music Memory CDs, which include an introduction to each of the music selections’ composer and title.  The teacher CD included in the PSIA packet includes several practice tests over the listening portion of this contest (Part 1).  Additional materials are available through

Arts Education IDEAS.  Ph:  203 229-0411
Web:  www.aeIDEAS.com

Further study of individual composers may be found at a variety of websites and in multiple printed resources.  The 30-item objective multiple choice, true/false test will include only information found in the Arts Education IDEAS PSIA Music Memory Student Handbook printed material.

• PERSONNEL NEEDED FOR CONTEST.
1.  Contest Director.   May be a knowledgeable coach of contestants in the contest.
2.  Assistant Director.  A knowledgeable coach from a different school other than director’s.
3.  Graders.  Director and assistant director may also serve as graders.  To expedite the grading process, provide at least two graders for every 15 papers.

2003-2004 Music Memory
Contest List

Grades 5/6
  1)  Lohengrin: Act III, Prelude by Wagner
  2)  Requiem: “Confutatis” by Mozart
  3)  Concerto for Recorder and Strings in C Major:         3rd Movement by Telemann1
  4)  Sonata #8 in c minor, Op. 13 (Pathetique):  3rd Movement, Allegro by Beethoven
  5)  “A chantar m’er de so qu’en no volria”  by Beatriz de Dia
  6)  “National Emblem March” by Bagley
  7)  “Finlandia, Op. 26 #7” by Sibelius2
  8)  Messiah: “Hallelujah Chorus” by Handel
  9)  “Etude in d# minor, Op. 8 #12” by Scriabin
10)  Turandot: “Nessun Dorma” by Puccini
11)  Clarinet Concerto in A Major:  Adagio by Mozart3
12)  Brandenburg Concerto #1 in F Major: 1st Movement, Allegro by Bach
13)  Symphony #1 (Afro-American): 3rd Movement, Animato by Still
14)  Capriccio Español, Op. 34: V. “Fandango Asturiano” by Rimsky-Korsakov
15)  Symphony in B flat: 1st Movement by Hindemith4
16)  “St. Louis Blues” by Handy

Grades 3-4
1)  Concerto grosso in D Major, Op. 6 #7:   2nd Movement by Corelli
2)  Nutcracker: “Russian Dance” by Tchaikovsky
3)  Appalachian Spring: “Variations on Simple Gifts” by Copland
4)  The Music Man:“Seventy-Six Trombones”  by Willson

Have a wonderful year of sharing some of the greatest music in the world with your students. It is an experience that will lead to life-long benefits!

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Staff Support
Patricia Walters, Ed.D., Executive Director
Phone: (817) 416-9504  Or 888 972-7742
Fax: (817) 416-9576
E-mail: psia@flash.net