Practice Exam
The French Revolution, a political upheaval with massive and long reaching consequences, began in what year?
1789
According to our lecture on the Classical period, what is the respective number of movements within a String Quartet, Solo Concerto, and Sonata?
4, 3, 3-4
Beethoven wrote how many symphonies?
9
What do we call a note in which the singer (or instrumentalist) bends the note slightly lower or higher?
A blue note
Schubert's Der Erlkönig (The Elf King) follows which of the following plots?
A father and son ride on horseback through the woods. The boy screams that the Elf King is after him (though the father dismisses it as a shadow or the wind). The Elf King comes into contact with the boy and when they arrive home, the boy is dead.
Which of the following is not a difference between a major and a minor scale?
A major scale is considered to be tonal, whereas a minor scale is not.
What is word painting?
A musical concept in which melodies depict specific words that are sung (like notes going higher in pitch on the word "ascend").
What is sprechstimme?
A singing technique where the notes are half-sung, half-spoken.
What is J.S. Bach's Coffee Cantata about?
A young girl who is addicted to coffee and her father who desperately tries to free her of this addiction.
"Hoedown" from Rodeo was composed by which American composer?
Aaron Copland
Which choice does not correspond to the aesthetics of Romanticism?
Absolute Music
Which of the following correctly orders tempi moving from fastest to slowest?
Allegro, Moderato, Andante
What is a cantata?
An often dramatic musical work for solo voice or choir with instrumental accompaniment (like a small orchestra). Similar to an opera but shorter and has no costumes, stage props, or acting.
What is a trouser or pants role?
An operatic role in which a grown woman plays the character of a pre-pubescent boy.
The serialism and twelve tone system was primarily created by what composer?
Arnold Schoenberg
The 2nd Viennese School was comprised of which three composers?
Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Anton Webern
Franz Schubert's greatest compositional output was in the genre of the _____.
Art Song
What do we call a song in which a poem is set to music and is designed to be performed by one singer and one pianist? These songs were most popular during the romantic period.
Art Song
Johann Sebastian Bach lived during what musical period?
Baroque
Identify this instrument:
Bassoon
In music, what do we call the pulse in a musical work?
Beat
Few romantic composers could escape the influence of ______ symphonies.
Beethoven's
Bebop jazz was a NYC reaction to what Jazz style from what city?
Big Band jazz from Chicago
For the violin, viola, cello, and double-bass, an object is commonly used to create sound from the instrument. This object is a long and thin piece of wood with horse hairs stretched from end to end. Those horsehairs are moved over the strings of the instrument to create sound. What is this object called?
Bow
In the exposition of the sonata form, what serves the function of modulating to a new key?
Bridge
Which of these statements is true?
By the end of the baroque era, instrumental music had gradually equaled or surpassed vocal music in popularity.
One of the non-European musical concepts observed among imported slaves was ____ in which one person sings or plays a short musical melody while the rest of the group responds in a similar manner.
Call and Response
The invention of what modern device compelled painters to begin experimenting with Impressionism in the mid-1800's?
Camera
Identify this instrument:
Cello
What do we call a group of voices that sing together?
Choir
Which of these scales do composers use to create dissonance for special, dramatic effects?
Chromatic
During the romantic period, who was given the title Queen of the Piano?
Clara Schumann
Franz Joseph Haydn belonged to which musical period?
Classical
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart belonged to which musical period?
Classical
Who composed Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun)?
Claude Debussy
Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire is a song cycle about a _____.
Clown
What is opera buffa?
Comic opera
In concert and rehearsal, orchestras, wind ensembles, choirs, and other large ensembles are led by whom?
Conductor
With what impairment did Beethoven struggle for much of his life?
Deafness
What section follows the exposition?
Development
Identify this instrument:
Double Bass
What does the term "crescendo" reference?
Dynamics that gradually get louder
What does the term "decrescendo" reference?
Dynamics that gradually get quieter
What key was historically assumed to have a warm and lush quality?
E-flat Major
A group of musicians performing together is referred to as a/an_____.
Ensemble
What section of a fugue begins immediately after the exposition?
Episode
_____ are study pieces that are designed to help musicians get better at a specific technique related to their instrument.
Etudes
New York Free Jazz shared elements with what previously discussed European art movement?
Expressionism
A combination of notes that is considered unstable and tense is called a consonance.
False
A musical composition cannot include both polyphonic and homophonic textures.
False
Absolute music tells a story or seeks to portray a tangible picture.
False
Adding "issimo" to a dynamic indication, such as piano, means to change the dynamic to less than itself. (Piano means soft and pianissimo means less soft, forte means strong and fortissimo means less strong.)
False
Beethoven's career can be divided into 3 periods, with the first period consisting of his time as a Romantic composer.
False
Church doctrine during the Middle Ages encouraged celebrating life on earth and living it to its fullest.
False
Comic opera is often called opera seria.
False
Despite the popularity of Ludwig van Beethoven in the classical period, his influence was hardly felt in the romantic period (as musicians began to forget who he was).
False
In the story of Symphonie fantastique, the Artist character sees his Beloved at places like the local tavern, recalls the feeling of fear he has when near the Beloved, avoids the Beloved's murderous attacks, and, in a massive turn of events, marries the Beloved and they live happily ever after.
False
Medieval motets used sacred language rather than secular.
False
Monophony uses a solo voice, it cannot occur simultaneously in multiple instruments
False
Ternary form describes three-part music in which all three parts are completely different.
False
The Classical Era refers to all music that we, in modern day, refer to as "classical music."
False
The Ordinary of the Mass is the part that varies with each day.
False
The Strophic song form uses new music for each verse of a song.
False
The countersubject of a fugue appears only at the very end of the piece.
False
The exposition in a fugue includes the first statement of the subject only.
False
The major scale has a number of lowered notes, which give it a "sadder" sound when compared with the minor scale.
False
The story of Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) involves a faun who awakens from sleep and, because of too much wine consumption, is confused about his earlier activities. Perhaps he brought two nymphs home, perhaps not. But figuring it out is too hard, so he goes back to sleep.
False
When Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) premiered in Paris in 1913, the Parisian audience loved it because it contained the smooth, elegant, and graceful dancing that was traditionally found in ballet at the time.
False
Which of the following is NOT one of the dances commonly present in a baroque suite?
Fantasia
In music, the composer always leads the orchestra while the conductor always writes the music.
Fasle
Identify this instrument:
Flute
Match each term with its definition. One term will not be used.
Form -The organization of musical ideas in time. Theme - An important and returning melody in a musical composition. Ternary - A musical form consisting of a beginning section, a contrasting middle section, and then a repeat of the beginning section. Binary -A musical form consisting of two contrasting sections.
Which element of Jazz does NOT come from African traditions?
Formal structure
The organic "spinning out" of a musical work based on the first few notes played is called what?
Fortspinnung
Claude Debussy was born in what country?
France
Impressionism was heard around the world, but it most thrived in _____.
France
Stephen Foster's American parlor music for amateur musicians was most similar to the Salon music of what European composer of the same period?
Franz Schubert
In response to his time in the United States, what did Antonín Dvořák nickname his ninth symphony?
From the New World
A _____ is a musical work where the main melody (the subject) is developed polyphonically. After the initial melody is heard, that same melody enters a few seconds later but at a different note-level. This process continues until all layers of melodies have entered and a complicated web of sound has been created.
Fugue
What kind of jazz attempted to merge rock and jazz?
Fusion
This medieval period composer was an advocate of the ars nova (which brought great change to music). He was a well-educated poet-musician. Because of his preservation of music manuscripts (mainly by gifting them to patrons), his music was preserved. This helped push the music scene forward into the next musical period. Who was this composer?
Guillaume de Machaut
What famous work influenced Franz Joseph Haydn so much that it led to his creating the oratorio The Creation?
Handel's Messiah (specifically, the "Hallelujah" Chorus)
If melody is the horizontal aspect of music, what is the vertical?
Harmony
Identify this instrument:
Harp
Symphonie fantastique was like an autobiography of Hector Berlioz's feelings for ____.
Harriet Smithson
What did Denis Diderot, with the help of other French philosophers, contribute to the belief in enlightenment and reason?
He compiled and wrote the first encyclopedia.
In 1802, Beethoven wrote a letter in which he poured out his heart and revealed his struggles, inner turmoil, and thoughts of suicide. This letter, though, also included his drive to fight through his struggles and succeed. Which letter is this?
Heiligenstadt Testament
A singer accompanying themself with chords on a guitar is performing which type of music?
Homophony
Which texture is most common in popular music
Homophony
Identify this instrument:
Horn
Though his total compositional output included works beyond the style, which composer was the main composer of music of the primitivism style?
Igor Stravinsky
A woman starts singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," and when she gets to the third word, a second woman starts singing the same song from the beginning. What is this called?
Imitation
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) is best described with which musical style?
Impressionism
_____ was an art style in which painters sought to capture an impression of a scene or subject rather than depicting it literally with crisp detail. Composers sought to mimic the style in music by emphasizing atmosphere and mood, avoiding pomp, and drifting melodies in and out smoothly.
Impressionism
The text to Schubert's Der Erlkönig (The Elf King) was based on a poem by whom?
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Which philosopher does not belong to the Age of Enlightenment and its emphasis on human truth as being rational?
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Who composed The Stars and Stripes Forever?
John Philip Sousa
Who was the most successful marching band leader of America?
John Philip Sousa
A written notation in music, used to help the performer identify if a piece is in major or minor, is called the
Key Signature
What do we call a melody with smooth and connected notes?
Legato
Which characteristics correctly define the "Ars Antiqua" style of music
Leonin and Perotin were critical composers of it Occurred during the 12th-14th century Compelled the creation of mensural notation
In German, art songs are referred to as _____.
Lieder
Who created the libretto for three of Mozart's most famous operas: Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), Don Giovanni (Don Juan), and Cosi fan tutte (All Women Are Like That)?
Lorenzo da Ponte
_____ became one of the most powerful trumpet players and most popular jazz musicians of all time.
Louis Armstrong
To which composer do we often look as helping move the musical world from the classical period into the romantic period?
Ludwig van Beethoven
A secular vocal genre containing a short poem set in the vernacular, this type of music was for multiple voices, found during the renaissance period, and used word painting so frequently that the genre's title became synonymous with the word painting technique. What is this describing?
Madrigal
Which factor in early 20th century society did not contribute to Expressionism?
McCarthyism
Mezzo forte means
Medium loud
What answer below best fits with the musical style of primitivism?
Melodies do not flow smoothly (they are harsh and angular) and contain many unexpected accents.
Which term describes a series of notes that add up to a recognizable whole?
Melody
Steve Reich and John Adams often compose music using a basic rhythmic motive on repeat for the entire piece. This serves to strip off nonessential elements and isolate a fundamental concept, subscribing to the mid-20th century artistic style called
Minimalism
Check all musical characteristics that correctly define early Gregorian Chant?
Monophonic texture Modal ambiguity rather than major/minor Melody is determined by inflection of the text
If your entire class sings the melody to "Sweet Home Alabama" simultaneously and does not add harmony, the class has created _____.
Monophony
In a piece of music, if there is one melody, no accompanying sound, no harmony, and no chords, that piece of music can be described using what term?
Monophony
Which statement best defines music?
Music is an art based on the organization of sounds in time.
What is improvisation as it relates to music?
Music that is created by the performer during the moment of performance.
What is atonal music?
Music that rejects tonality.
What is program music?
Music that uses the sounds of the instruments to recreate an image, scene, or event in the listener's mind.
Jazz was born in _____.
New Orleans
What do we call a piece of music for solo piano that reflects the peace and quiet of night time?
Nocturne
George Frederic Handel's Messiah is a/an_____.
Oratorio
When the keys of this instrument are pressed, air flows through specific metal pipes to create the needed pitch. Which instrument is this?
Organ
When a second melodic line was added to Gregorian chant, the song was then referred to as _____.
Organum
The modern symphony orchestra primarily contains instruments from which four instrument families?
Percussion Strings Brass Woodwinds
In the medieval period, it was common to hear secular music from troubadours, trouvères, and minnesingers. Who were these people?
Poet-musicians of France and Germany who created the first secular songs of which we have record. They're like the singer-songwriters of the medieval period.
Frederic Chopin was from _____. He loved his country and was incredibly nationalistic.
Poland
The motet uses what kind of texture?
Polyphonic
The musical texture that is defined by independence and equality among multiple voices is
Polyphony
Which of the following is not a dynamic indication?
Presto
_____ was a precursor to jazz. It contained much syncopation that reflected the non-European music of the slaves while following a very organized structure (an idea imported from European music). It was most popular among black piano players and involved no improvisation.
Ragtime
1450-1600 marks the years of which musical period?
Renaissance
Arnold Bocklin's painting, Self Portrait with Death Playing the Violin, corresponds with the aesthetic of which musical period?
Romanticism
Igor Stravinsky was a composer from what country?
Russia
What is the form of the first movement of a classical symphony?
Sonata form
What does Gustav Mahler musically quote throughout his first symphony?
Songs
What do we call a singing technique where the notes are half-spoken, half sung?
Sprechstimme
If the notes of a melody are short, disconnected, and jumpy, those notes are _____.
Staccato
The greatest pop songwriter of early America was _____. He composed songs like Camptown Races, My Old Kentucky Home, and Oh! Susanna.
Stephen Foster
The main melody of a fugue is called the
Subject
What do we call a multi-movement work where each movement is based on a particular popular dance? It is composed for a solo instrument and commonly found in the baroque period
Suite
When discussing the speed of a piece of music, you are discussing the _____.
Tempo
Which description correctly describes the contrast between an "A" theme and "B" theme in the exposition of Sonata Form?
The "A" theme is generally more energetic, the "B" theme is more lyric.
Which of the following best exemplifies the classical period's emphasis on clear and balanced artistic style?
The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David
Based on his work with the US Marine Band, his compositions, and tours with his band, John Philip Sousa earned what nickname?
The March King
King Louis XVI banned the play-version of what Mozart opera before his execution by Guillotine?
The Marriage of Figaro
Which painting best represents the Baroque era aesthetic?
The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula by Caravaggio
The most solemn service of the Catholic church, commemorating and reenacting the Last Supper, is called
The Mass
P.I. Tchaikovsky is most famous for what work that he ironically also despised?
The Nutcracker
Which statement regarding the movements of J.S. Bach's Baroque dance suite is incorrect?
The Sarabande, a slow dance in three, was sexual in nature and originated in France
What piece of art best exemplifies the aesthetic of Expressionism?
The Scream by Edward Munch
What is an idée fixe?
The concept of associating a melody with a person, object, or idea (similar to the leitmotifs found in Richard Wagner's music dramas).
The opening rhythmic motif of Beethoven's 5th Symphony is often nicknamed what?
The fate motif
Handel's Messiah focuses on what subject?
The life of Jesus from the Bible
Who was Hildegard of Bingen?
The main documented female composer of the medieval period.
Who was Scott Joplin?
The most popular and successful composer and performer of ragtime music.
What does the term a capella mean?
The music features singing with no instrumental accompaniment.
The term "dynamics" refers to what aspect of music?
The volume of music
Which events (2) of the classical era best reflect its leanings toward reason and enlightenment?
The writing of the first encyclopedia The growing belief in human control over a rational universe
The bebop style was particularly popular among which jazz artists?
Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker
Ballad is most similar to which art song form?
Through-Composed
Definite and steady vibrations create a
Tone
A Salon during the Romantic period entailed a private gathering of citizens to discuss and present artistic works.
True
A tone is a musical pitch.
True
Amy Beach was the first prominent female composer of American music.
True
Binary form can incorporate any of these formations: AB, AABB, AAB, or ABB
True
Cantatas can be sacred or secular.
True
Consonant harmonies create a sense of purity and lack tension
True
Dissonance adds variety and a sense of tension to be resolved within the music.
True
In the story of Symphonie fantastique, the Artist character recalls his feelings for the Beloved, sees her at places (like a ball), wonders if the Beloved truly loves him, kills his Beloved, is executed, and then views his now-witch Beloved dancing upon his grave.
True
In twelve tone music, a tone row could be played forward (as written), in retrograde (backwards), in an inversion, or in an inverted retrograde.
True
Later in the baroque, royals and other wealthy families hired orchestras to provide music.
True
Lining out was a musical practice used in early American religious services.
True
Mozart was a master of all music genres in existence during his time.
True
Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) is a comic opera.
True
Music that is sung with no instrument accompaniment is called a capella.
True
Pitch is determined by the frequency of its vibration: the faster the vibration, the higher the pitch.
True
Soon after the premiere of Symphonie fantastique (in which the Artist ultimately kills the Beloved), Harriet Smithson and Hector Berlioz get married.
True
The sections of the Mass that contains texts that vary with the day of the church year are called the Proper.
True
The story of Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) involves a young girl who, as part of pre-historic Russian pagan culture, has to dance herself to death in order to convince the gods to end winter and bring on spring.
True
The third movement of Gustav Mahler's first symphony quotes the children's tune Frère Jacques (Brother John).
True
Identify this instrument:
Trumpet
George Bizet's operas, especially Carmen, present life as indifferent to human emotion, the term that best describes this artistic tradition toward realism is called
Verismo
The title of Mozart's works are often followed by the letter "K" and a number (like K. 273). What does this number represent?
Where in Köchel's chronological listing the Mozart piece can be found.
How does a wind ensemble differ from an orchestra?
Wind ensembles do not have the full string family present.
The term madrigalism was often synonymous with what other term?
Word Painting
Imagine you are listening to a choir perform renaissance music (don't ask why, just imagine it). When the choir sings "climb," the notes rise in pitch. When the choir sings "falls down the stairs," the notes descend in pitch. What musical concept have you just heard?
Word painting
A composition that presents a musical idea in one voice then immediately presents it in a second voice is using a compositional technique called
imitation
The term used to describe a central note, scale, or chord is
key
A toccata keyboard piece is characterized by
many scale passages, rapid runs and trills, and massive chords.
The shift from one key to another within a composition is called
modulation
When talking about a primary melodic line we can also the term
voice