In order to compete in the Music Listening Contest, you must be…

  • A high-school-aged student, grade 9 through 12. Your team can be made up of students from your school, your piano studio, your church, your orchestra, or your home school network, as long as you’re grade 9-12 eligible.

  • Located in the United States. You don’t need to be from Minnesota! All students around the US are welcome to participate fully. Be the first to start a team in New York, Florida, Michigan, Washington, or California!

  • Led by an adult coach. Your team coach doesn’t need to be an expert in music by any means! The Study Guide and contest questions are written so that no other outside knowledge is needed to be successful. So when it comes to coaches, any adult will do.

  • In a team of three student participants. A major component of MLC is working together as a team. That said, if you can’t find a third team member, or something comes up on contest day, you’re still welcome to compete. Under no circumstances will a team of one be accepted.

Here’s how the Music Listening Contest works…

A Brief Overview

September - October

Registration for the new season is officially open! Teams and coaches receive their study guide materials and work begins.

November - December

Teams continue to sharpen their listening skills, absorbing as much about each composer, piece, and period featured in the study guide as they can. Your school or group will be assigned a region location. A practice test written by the MLC musicologist will help you prepare for contest day!

January - February

Your Regional Contest date has arrived! Schools and groups from your surrounding area will travel to compete in person. The highest-scoring teams from each region will be invited to compete at the Championship Contest a few weeks later where a winning MLC team will be crowned!

The Test

The written test for the Regional and Championship contests are identical in format and comprised of five rounds. All except ‘Round 4’ are listening-based. Each round is worth a total of 20 points, for a grand total of 100.

Round 1: Musical Identification

Identify the testable title and composer of 10 music excerpts. Each excerpt is 10-30 seconds in length with 15 seconds between each.

Round 2: Excerpt-based Short Answer

Listen to six music excerpts and answer multiple-choice and short-answer questions about each. Excerpts are 10-30 seconds in length with one minute between each.

Round 3: Lightning Round

Matching of 20 brief music excerpts to a list of titles and composers. Excerpts are 2-10 seconds long with 10 seconds between each.

Round 4: Multiple Choice

Answer multiple-choice questions based on information from the Study Guide.

Round 5: Mystery Round

Identification of 10 music excerpts by period and composer. These excerpts are works by composers in the Study Guide, but are NOT from the MLC playlist. Excerpts are 10-30 seconds long with 20 seconds between each.

Final Round (Championship Contest only)

The top two teams from Rounds 1-5 face off in a head-to-head format. The winner of this round determines the winning team of the Championship Contest.