S5 Music Practice Paper: Intervals And Key Signatures, Rhythm And Notation, Melody Writing And Cadences, Chord Structure, Instruments, Listening Analysis (with Answers)

S5 Music Practice Paper: Intervals and Key Signatures, Rhythm and Notation, Melody Writing and Cadences, Chord Structure, Instruments, Listening Analysis (with answers)

2026-11-15

HKDSE Music

S5 Music practice paper: intervals, keys, rhythm, harmony, instruments, listening analysis; 6 questions, 24 parts, 100 marks, 60 minutes, full answers.

Paper details　S5 Music practice paper with full answers: 100 marks, 60 minutes.

Note Names, Intervals and Key Signatures

Study the following information about pitch and key signatures, then answer the questions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
1	How many semitones are there from C4 to A4? State the name of the interval.	Answer: C4 to A4 spans 9 semitones, which is a major sixth.
2	How many sharps are there in the key signature of A major? Name all of them.	Answer: A major has 3 sharps, namely F sharp, C sharp and G sharp.
3	In equal temperament, what is the frequency ratio between two adjacent semitones? Give the answer to four decimal places.	Answer: the ratio is 2 to the power of one twelfth, approximately 1.0595.
4	How many different notes are there in a major scale and in a pentatonic scale?	Answer: a major scale has 7 notes and a pentatonic scale has 5 notes.

Rhythm, Time and Notation

A piece is in 4/4 time at 120 beats per minute and lasts 24 bars. Answer the questions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
5	How many beats are there in each bar of 4/4 time, and how many crotchets does that equal?	Answer: 4 beats per bar, equal to 4 crotchets.
6	How many seconds does one bar take to perform?	Answer: one beat = 60 / 120 = 0.5 seconds; one bar = 4 x 0.5 = 2.0 seconds.
7	How long does the whole piece take in seconds, and in minutes? Give the answer to one decimal place.	Answer: the piece lasts 24 x 2.0 = 48.0 seconds, that is 0.8 minutes.
8	What is the duration of a dotted crotchet in beats?	Answer: a dotted crotchet lasts 1 + 0.5 = 1.5 beats, that is a crotchet plus a quaver.

Melody Writing and Cadences

The following passage is in C major. Its progression is I-V-vi-IV and it is made of two four-bar phrases.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
9	Name the four chords of I-V-vi-IV in C major.	Answer: I = C major, V = G major, vi = A minor, IV = F major.
10	In C major, which two chords form a perfect cadence?	Answer: a perfect cadence is V (G major) moving to I (C major), the dominant resolving to the tonic.
11	On which scale degree does a phrase end in an imperfect cadence?	Answer: an imperfect cadence ends on the chord of the fifth degree, the dominant, which leaves the phrase open.
12	How many bars are there in this period? If the two phrases are of equal length, how many bars is each phrase?	Answer: the period has 8 bars, with 4 bars in each phrase (4 + 4).

Chord Structure and Figured Bass

Analyse the structure of the following chords and answer the questions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
13	What type of triad is C-E-G? State the intervals between adjacent notes.	Answer: C-E-G is a major triad, built from a major third (4 semitones) plus a minor third (3 semitones), 7 semitones in all.
14	What type of triad is A-C-E?	Answer: A-C-E is a minor triad: a minor third (A-C) below and a major third (C-E) above, with A as the root.
15	What type of seventh chord is G-B-D-F, and how many notes does it contain?	Answer: G-B-D-F is a dominant seventh chord with 4 notes; root to seventh spans a minor seventh (10 semitones).
16	In G major, how does the bass move in the progression V7-I?	Answer: the bass of V7 is D and the bass of I is G, so the bass falls a fourth (or rises a fifth) from D to G.

Instruments and Orchestration

Compare common instrument groups and pitches, then answer the questions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
17	Which instruments make up a string quartet?	Answer: a string quartet has 4 instruments: first violin, second violin, viola and cello.
18	Into how many sections is the string group of a standard orchestra divided? Name them.	Answer: the string group has 5 sections: first violins, second violins, violas, cellos and double basses.
19	The standard pitch A4 is 440 Hz. What is the frequency of E5, a perfect fifth above it with a ratio of 3:2?	Answer: the frequency of E5 is 440 x 3 / 2 = 660 Hz.
20	When a B flat clarinet plays a written C, what pitch actually sounds, and how many semitones below the written note is it?	Answer: the sounding pitch is B flat, 2 semitones below the written note, that is a major second.

Analysis and Listening

After listening to the excerpt, answer the questions on form, markings and terms.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
21	How many themes does the exposition of sonata form usually contain?	Answer: the exposition usually contains 2 themes, a first and a second subject, set in different keys.
22	What does the marking D.C. in a score ask the performer to do?	Answer: D.C. stands for da capo and tells the performer to go back to the beginning of the piece and play it again.
23	Which notes make up the Chinese pentatonic modes, and how many are there?	Answer: the Chinese pentatonic modes use 5 notes: gong, shang, jue, zhi and yu.
24	What do the terms legato and staccato require of the performer?	Answer: legato means playing smoothly with the notes joined, while staccato means playing the notes short and detached.

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