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Key Facts: Madrid PAU Music & Dance Exam

90 Min

Official duration of the PAU History of Music and Dance exam

Comunidad de Madrid PAU Regulations

0–10

Official grading scale for PAU subjects in Madrid

PAU Organising Commission of Madrid / UCM

5 Blocks

Core curricular content areas evaluated in the 2026 syllabus

Comunidad de Madrid 2º Bachillerato LOMLOE Curriculum

100

Original practice questions provided in this OpenExamPrep bank

OpenExamPrep

EUR 93.02

Base fee for compulsory Access Phase in Madrid PAU 2026

Comunidad de Madrid Official Gazette

Madrid PAU History of Music and Dance (UCM 2026) tests 2º Bachillerato students on Western music and dance history, score and stylistic analysis, opera, ballet evolution, 20th-century vanguard, and Spanish musical and dance heritage.

Sample Madrid PAU Music & Dance Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the Madrid PAU Music & Dance exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1In Ancient Greek musical theory, what concept described the belief that music possessed moral power capable of directly affecting human emotion, character, and ethical behavior?
A.Doctrine of Ethos
B.Doctrine of Affections
C.Ars Nova
D.Isorhythm
Explanation: The Ancient Greek Doctrine of Ethos, articulated by philosophers like Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle, posited that specific musical modes and rhythms could shape human moral character and emotional states. Plato argued in the Republic that certain modes fostered discipline and courage while others induced laziness or instability.
2Which Ancient Greek stringed instrument was closely associated with Apollo, intellectual refinement, and solemn civic or religious ceremonies?
A.Aulos
B.Kithara
C.Syrinx
D.Hydraulis
Explanation: The kithara was a large, wooden-framed lyre associated with Apollo, god of poetry and order. It was used by professional musicians (kitharodes) to accompany epic recitations and sacred ceremonies, representing restraint and Apollonian clarity.
3The oldest complete surviving musical composition with both music and text inscribed on a stele is known as the:
A.Hymn to Apollo
B.Seikilos Epitaph
C.Oxyrhynchus Hymn
D.Hurrian Hymn No. 6
Explanation: The Seikilos Epitaph (circa 1st–2nd century CE) is a complete Ancient Greek song inscribed on a marble gravestone. It includes lyrics, rhythmic markings, and pitch notation in the Ancient Greek alphabetical musical system.
4What fundamental characteristic defines Gregorian Chant (cantus planus) in early Christian liturgical tradition?
A.Polyphonic texture with instrumental accompaniment
B.Monophonic, sacred Latin chant sung a cappella in free rhythm
C.Homophonic choral arrangement with organ continuo
D.Symmetrical strophic songs in vernacular languages
Explanation: Gregorian chant is monophonic (a single unharmonized vocal line), sacred, sung in Latin a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment), and follows a prose rhythm governed by the inflection of liturgical texts.
5Which 11th-century Benedictine monk invented solmization (ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la) and developed the four-line staff for musical notation?
A.Guido d'Arezzo
B.Hucbald of Saint-Amand
C.Boethius
D.Pope Gregory I
Explanation: Guido d'Arezzo (c. 991–1033) revolutionized music pedagogy by introducing solmization syllables based on the hymn 'Ut queant laxis' and establishing the 4-line staff, allowing singers to sight-read unfamiliar chants accurately.
6In medieval church modes (eight-mode system), what distinguishes an authentic mode from its corresponding plagal mode?
A.The authentic mode uses chromatic alterations while the plagal mode uses diatonic pitches
B.The authentic mode range (ambitus) extends above the final, whereas the plagal mode range extends below and above the final
C.The authentic mode is always polyphonic while the plagal mode is strictly monophonic
D.The authentic mode is intended for secular song while the plagal mode is reserved for Mass
Explanation: In medieval modal theory, authentic modes have a range (ambitus) extending from the final note up to an octave above it. Plagal modes (prefixed with 'Hypo-') share the same final note but have a lower range, extending roughly a fourth below the final to a fifth above it.
7Who were the medieval aristocrat-poet-musicians of southern France who composed secular songs in Old Occitan (Langue d'Oc) centered on courtly love (fin'amor)?
A.Trouvères
B.Troubadours
C.Minnesänger
D.Goliards
Explanation: Troubadours operated in southern France (Occitania) during the 11th–13th centuries, composing monophonic secular songs in Old Occitan. Their lyrics established the literary tradition of 'fin'amor' (courtly love).
8What early form of medieval polyphony, documented in the 9th-century treatise 'Musica Enchiriadis', added a parallel voice a fourth or fifth below a chant melody?
A.Free Organum
B.Parallel Organum
C.Florid Organum
D.Discant Organum
Explanation: Parallel organum involved adding a second voice (vox organalis) that moved in parallel motion at a strict consonant interval (fourth or fifth) below the principal chant melody (vox principalis).
9Which composer associated with the Notre Dame School of Polyphony in Paris compiled the 'Magnus Liber Organi' (Great Book of Organum)?
A.Perotin
B.Leonin
C.Guillaume de Machaut
D.Philippe de Vitry
Explanation: Leonin (working c. 1160–1190 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris) compiled the 'Magnus Liber Organi', containing two-part polyphonic settings (organum duplum) for liturgical feast days.
10In 14th-century French Ars Nova motets, what compositional technique involved repeating a fixed rhythmic pattern (talea) and melodic pattern (color) in the tenor voice?
A.Hocket
B.Isorhythm
C.Canon
D.Basso Ostinato
Explanation: Isorhythm is the structural technique characteristic of Ars Nova motets in which the tenor voice repeats a specific rhythmic pattern (talea) alongside a repeating pitch sequence (color), creating complex structural coherence.

About the Madrid PAU Music & Dance Exam

The Madrid PAU History of Music and Dance (Historia de la Música y de la Danza) examination assesses 2º Bachillerato students on musical styles, vocal and instrumental genres, dance movement evolution, Spanish musical nationalism, Zarzuela, Escuela Bolera, and Flamenco from Antiquity to the contemporary era.

Exam sponsor: PAU Organising Commission of the Community of Madrid / Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM). The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Assessment

Written 90-minute standardized exam based on LOMLOE criteria. Local questions are an English-language MCQ study adaptation of the official Madrid PAU paper, providing exhaustive coverage of music and dance history from Antiquity to contemporary styles and Spanish musical heritage.

Time Limit

90 minutes (1.5 hours)

Passing Score

Marked on a 0–10 scale. Minimum 4.0 required in Access Phase to combine with Bachillerato GPA (60% Bachillerato + 40% PAU >= 5.0 to pass).

Exam / Certification Fees

EUR 93.02 base registration fee for compulsory Access Phase in Community of Madrid (or ~11.63 € per optional subject in voluntary phase).

Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

20%

Antiquity to Renaissance Music & Dance

Greek musical ethos and modes, Gregorian monophony, troubadour secular song, Notre Dame organum, Ars Nova, Renaissance polyphony, vihuela, and court dance.

25%

Baroque & Classical Era

Opera origins, Florentine Camerata, basso continuo, fugue, Baroque suites, ballet de cour under Louis XIV, Classical sonata form, and Noverre's ballet d'action.

25%

Romanticism & 19th Century Ballet/Opera

Romantic lied, symphonic poem, Wagnerian Leitmotif, Italian Bel Canto & Verdi, Romantic ballet (Giselle, La Sylphide), and Marius Petipa's classical ballets.

15%

20th Century & Contemporary Vanguard

Impressionism, twelve-tone serialism, Stravinsky, Ballets Russes, Martha Graham and modern dance pioneers, and contemporary Tanztheater.

15%

Spanish Music & Dance Tradition

Spanish Renaissance polyphony, vihuelists, Zarzuela, Spanish Nationalism (Falla, Albéniz, Granados), Escuela Bolera, and Flamenco history.

Preparing for the Madrid PAU Music & Dance Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: Marked on a 0–10 scale. Minimum 4.0 required in Access Phase to combine with Bachillerato GPA (60% Bachillerato + 40% PAU >= 5.0 to pass).
  • Assessment: Written 90-minute standardized exam based on LOMLOE criteria. Local questions are an English-language MCQ study adaptation of the official Madrid PAU paper, providing exhaustive coverage of music and dance history from Antiquity to contemporary styles and Spanish musical heritage.
  • Time limit: 90 minutes (1.5 hours)
  • Exam / certification fees: EUR 93.02 base registration fee for compulsory Access Phase in Community of Madrid (or ~11.63 € per optional subject in voluntary phase). Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

  • Work through all 100 available questions
  • Review every answer and explanation
  • Track weak areas and revisit them
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Madrid PAU Music & Dance: Suggested Study Strategy

1Master the structural analysis of core musical forms: sonata-allegro form (exposition, development, recapitulation), fugue (subject, answer, countersubject, stretto), and dance suite movements.
2Understand the key stylistic distinctions between monophony, homophony, polyphony, and monody across historical periods from Gregorian chant to modern serialism.
3Trace the history of dance technique from Renaissance court dances (pavan, galliard) to Baroque ballet de cour, Noverre's ballet d'action, Romantic ballet blanc, and Graham's contraction-release.
4Study Spanish musical developments thoroughly, including Golden Age vihuelists, Zarzuela genres, Spanish Nationalists (Falla, Albéniz, Granados), Escuela Bolera, and Flamenco palos.
5Practice connecting musical and choreographic developments to wider historical and intellectual movements, such as humanism, the Enlightenment, Romantic individualism, and 20th-century avant-garde.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the format of the Madrid PAU History of Music and Dance examination?

The exam is a 90-minute written standardized examination organized by the Madrid PAU Commission (UCM, UAM, UC3M, UPM, URJC, UAH). It features score analysis, text/listening commentary, and historical synthesis essay topics.

How is the final PAU mark calculated for university admission in Madrid?

The exam is graded on a 0–10 scale. A minimum mark of 4.0 is required in the Access Phase to calculate the overall university admission mark (60% Bachillerato average mark + 40% PAU Access Phase mark, requiring at least 5.0 overall).

What content blocks are prioritized in the Community of Madrid Bachillerato syllabus?

The syllabus covers five thematic blocks: Antiquity to Renaissance (20%), Baroque & Classical Era (25%), Romanticism & 19th-Century Ballet/Opera (25%), 20th-Century & Contemporary Vanguard (15%), and Spanish Music & Dance Tradition (15%).

Are these questions official Madrid PAU exam papers?

No. These 100 multiple-choice practice questions are an independent English-language study adaptation created by OpenExamPrep to help students master the official Community of Madrid 2º Bachillerato curriculum for PAU 2026.

What registration fees apply to the Madrid PAU exam?

The base registration fee for the compulsory Access Phase in the Community of Madrid is EUR 93.02. Optional subjects in the Voluntary Admission Phase cost approximately EUR 11.63 per subject, with fee exemptions available for qualifying categories.