This study dealt with the perception of dissonance by male, female, freshman and senior music majors. A test was devised which would show that there is a significant difference in dissonance perception between freshman versus senior and male versus female music majors, utilizing specific excerpts from the musical repertoire. Test item analysis was also employed to determine if a significant difference occurs in each excerpt. It was found that certain excerpts show a significant difference while the means of the combined groups do not. This phenomenon was because of relative uncertainty in response between dissonant ("four") and extremely dissonant ("five") excerpts. The conclusions of the study based upon the hypotheses were the following: 1. Four years in a university environment makes a significant difference in a music major's perception of dissonant sounds in music. 2. The sex of the music major causes no significant difference in the perception of dissonance. Male responses were consistent with female responses within the same class.