Music Final Listening Quiz

(Q019) How many different characters can be heard in this excerpt from Rigoletto?

4

(Q002) What is the main pulse or pattern of beats in this music?

A basic four-plus-four pulse.

(Q011) What can be heard in this excerpt from Ives's "The Rockstrewn Hills Join in the People's Outdoor Meeting"?

A church hymn emerges from cacophony.

(Q005) In this excerpt from Ruth Crawford's Prelude for Piano No. 6, what do you hear in the high range?

An ostinato

(Q018) This excerpt is taken from the opening music of which piece?

Appalachian Spring

(Q003) What kind of orchestra do you hear in this excerpt?

Balinese gamelan orchestra

(Q014) Which character is singing in this excerpt from Puccini's Madame Butterfly?

Cho-Cho-San

(Q005) "Die alten, bösen Lieder" comes from what larger work?

Dichterliebe

(Q020) What do we hear in this excerpt from "Là ci darem la mano" from Mozart's Don Giovanni?

Don Giovanni and Zerlina alternating lines of dialogue

(Q009) What is happening in this passage from Mozart's Don Giovanni?

Don Giovanni is trying to seduce Zerlina, who is somewhat reluctant and hesitant.

(Q001) This excerpt is from which work? (ch. 17)

Franz Schubert, "Erlkönig"

(Q007) This excerpt is from which work?

Frédéric Chopin's Nocturne in F-sharp

(Q009) This excerpt is from which work?

Handel's Julius Caesar

(Q001) This excerpt is taken from what kind of chant?

Hawai'ian mele pule

(Q001) This excerpt is from which work?

Hendel's messiah

(Q015) What does the orchestra do in this excerpt from Madame Butterfly?

It closely follows the melody of the voice.

(Q007) What is true about this passage from Mozart's Don Giovanni?

It uses secco recitative (speechlike singing accompanied only by the continuo).

(Q001) What kind of orchestra do you hear in this excerpt?

Japanese togaku orchestra

(Q004) The excerpt heard here comes from which work?

Josquin's "Mille regrets"

(Q006) What is happening in this passage from Mozart's Don Giovanni?

Masetto is complaining sarcastically about Don Giovanni and Zerlina.

(Q005) Which instrument plays a solo in this passage from Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G (The Surprise)?

Oboe

(Q003) What happens about ten seconds into this excerpt?

One drummer plays a prominent three-plus-three pulse against the main pulse.

(Q005) The excerpt heard here comes from which work?

Palestrina's Pope Marcellus Mass

(Q007) This excerpt is from which work? (ch. 18..)

Puccini's Madame Butterfly

(Q011) Which characters are singing in this excerpt from Wagner's The Valkyrie?

Siegmund and Sieglinde

(Q002) In what style is the soprano singing in this excerpt of Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire?

Sprechstimme

(Q018) Which character is singing in this excerpt from Rigoletto?

The Duke

(Q002) This stanza of "Erlkönig" includes dialogue between two characters. How does the music indicate which character is speaking?

The boy's voice uses higher pitches, and the father's voice uses lower pitches.

(Q019) What do we call this, the final section of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor, first movement?

The coda

(Q006) In this music from Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, what happens each time the vibraphone plays its cue?

The melodies and harmonies change.

(Q004) Which is true about this third stanza of Clara Schumann's "Der Mond kommt still gegangen"?

The melody reaches a climax on a long high note and a new harmony.

(Q012) How does Crawford manipulate dynamics in this excerpt from her Prelude?

The music gradually gets louder.

(Q004) What are you mainly hearing in this excerpt?

a choral ostinato, with soloists breaking in above the chorus

(Q008) What do you hear in this passage from Mozart's Don Giovanni?

a duet

(Q004) What do you hear in the first few seconds of this excerpt?

a few gangsas alone, followed by drums and a gong

(Q006) What kind of instrument accompanies the singer?

a string instrument

(Q018) This repeated motive in the trumpet in Davis's Bitches Brew can be called

an ostinato.

(Q013) In this excerpt, how does Weelkes illustrate the text "all alone?"

by having one singer sing the phrase

(Q016) What section is this from Haydn's String Quartet in D Major?

cadence theme

(Q002) How many musical phrases do you hear in this excerpt?

five

(Q001) Which of these instruments is heard in this brief excerpt from the fourth of Webern's Five Orchestral Pieces?

mandolin

(Q010) What theme is heard in this excerpt from Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet?

the Love theme

(Q008) Which theme from Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony is heard here?

the idée fixe

(Q005) What is used to mark the beat in this music?

two sticks struck together

(Q012) What musical device does the composer use in this excerpt?

word painting

(Q020) What instrument—entering near the end of this excerpt from Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta—helps to punctuate the percussive accents?

xylophone

(Q014) How many singers are there in total performing this excerpt?

six

(Q019) In the A A' B A'' structure of "Là ci darem la mano" from Mozart's Don Giovanni, what section is this excerpt?

B

(Q001) What kind of music do you hear in this excerpt from The Prince Who Changed into a Cat?

Beijing opera

(Q004) What happens about halfway through this excerpt?

There is a dramatic momentary speed-up.

(Q005) What do you hear in this excerpt?

accompanied recitative followed by chorus

(Q001) What jazz device does Ravel use in this passage from his Piano Concerto in G?

an instrumental break with the E-flat clarinet and trumpet interrupting the piano

(Q002) What are the low-pitched strings playing in this excerpt?

an ostinato pattern

The Rite of Spring is a(n)

ballet

(Q020) What percussion instrument is heard in this excerpt of the fifth movement of Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony?

bells

(Q009) The orchestration in this excerpt from West Side Story is reminiscent of what jazz style?

big-band swing

(Q003) The excerpt heard here is an example of what kind of music?

blues

(Q006) The theme heard in this excerpt from Still's Afro-American Symphony derives from what kind of music?

blues

(Q013) Which section of sonata form do you hear in this excerpt from Haydn's String Quartet in D Major?

development

(Q001) Which describes the piano music that begins this excerpt of Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire?

dissonant and atonal

(Q006) What instruments do you hear in this excerpt?

gangsa and flute

(Q007) What do we call the repeated pattern heard here?

ostinato

(Q002) What do you hear every eight beats in this excerpt?

paired beats on the tsuridaiko drum

(Q001) Which of the following can be heard in this sample of Yoruba drumming?

syncopation, polyrhythms, and improvisation

(Q003) This excerpt is from which work?

the "Hallelujah" Chorus in Handel's Messiah

(Q018) What percussion instrument is heard in this excerpt?

timpani

(Q011) What two instruments are featured in this excerpt from Mahler's Symphony No. 1?

timpani and double bass

(Q006) The music heard here is in what meter?

triple

(Q017) What is the solo instrument featured in this excerpt of "Conga Brava" (after the short piano introduction)?

trombone

(Q003) This excerpt is taken from what kind of chant?

Qur'anic recitation

(Q018) Folk melodies from what country appear in this final piece from Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition?

Russia

(Q005) Which is true of this excerpt from "K'adnikini'ya'"

The drum keeps a steady beat throughout.

(Q001) What do you hear in this passage from Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor?

The music modulates to a new key.

(Q005) In addition to percussion, there are three string instruments featured in this excerpt from The Prince Who Changed into a Cat. How would you identify the sound of the yueqin?

The player plays repeated notes with quick, banjo-like plucking.

(Q001) What happens about halfway through this excerpt from Duke Ellington's "Conga Brava"?

The rhythm switches from a Latin beat to a backbeat duple meter.

(Q003) What is happening during this excerpt from The Prince Who Changed into a Cat?

The singer sings the same melody as the stringed instruments, pausing frequently while the instruments continue uninterrupted.

(Q002) Which sentence accurately describes this chant?

The singer uses a central reciting tone and only one other prominent pitch.

(Q006) What do you hear in this passage from Brahms's Violin Concerto in D?

The solo violin and orchestra play a lyrical tune.

(Q005) What do you hear in this passage from Brahms's Violin Concerto in D?

The solo violin plays an ascending scale, then the orchestra plays a descending scale.

(Q005) This excerpt is from which work? (ch. 18.)

Verdi's Rigoletto

(Q011) What are the performing forces heard in this excerpt from Shaw's Sarabande?

Voices alone

(Q001) This excerpt is from which work? (ch. 18)

Wagner's The Valkyrie

(Q007) The excerpt heard here comes from which work?

Weelkes's "As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending"

(Q001) This is an example of what kind of music?

West African minstrel song

(Q018) Who are the three characters heard in this excerpt from Wozzeck?

Wozzeck, the Captain, the Doctor

(Q004) This passage from Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major is

a free, improvised passage, or cadenza

(Q011) What type of ensemble is playing in this excerpt?

a string quartet

(Q011) What solo instrument begins this excerpt from Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue?

clarinet

(Q012) What is the musical term for the long, rising slide heard in this excerpt from Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue?

glissando

(Q004) What creates the irregular rhythm of this passage from Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring?

heavy accents on unexpected beats

(Q002) What is the texture of this excerpt from The Prince Who Changed into a Cat?

heterophonic

(Q001) What is the texture of this excerpt from "Hanaq pachap kusikuyin"?

homophonic

(Q015) What is the texture of this excerpt?

imitative polyphony

(Q018) What texture did Josquin use in this excerpt of the "Gloria" from his Pange lingua Mass?

imitative polyphony

(Q004) Describe the cadence that happens near the end of this excerpt.

incomplete and unfinished

(Q015) This excerpt from Reich's Music for 18 Musicians is a good example of what musical style?

minimalism

(Q004) This music (from Mahler's Symphony No. 1) is in what mode?

minor mode

(Q004) Which terms describe the texture and meter of this chant?

monophonic and nonmetric

(Q006) Which terms describe the texture and meter of this chant?

monophonic and nonmetric

(Q003) The singing in this excerpt from Varèse's Poème électronique is a good example of the composer's use of

musique concrète.

(Q003) What instruments do you hear in this music?

only voices

(Q006) In this passage from Debussy's Clouds, the tunes played by the flute and harp and then by the English horn are built on what scale(s)?

pentatonic and octatonic

(Q016) Handel uses which musical device to build excitement in this excerpt?

phrases that are repeated at a higher pitch level each time

(Q004) What do you hear in the first few seconds of this excerpt from Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta?

pizzicato strings

(Q002) What do you hear in this passage from Josquin's Pange lingua Mass?

points of imitation

(Q020) How would you describe the texture in this excerpt from West Side Story?

polyphonic

(Q003) This is an example of what kind of music?

pygmy polyphony

(Q009) The piano music in this excerpt from Berg's Wozzeck is reminiscent of what style of American music?

ragtime

(Q007) What did John Adams call the opening (and returning) instrumental musical idea excerpted here from Doctor Atomic?

ritornello

(Q008) Which instrument plays the solo heard in this passage from "Out of Nowhere"?

saxophone

(Q001) What instruments do you hear in this opening from Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition?

solo trumpet, answered by the brass section

(Q001) In what order do the first three voice parts enter in this passage from Josquin's Pange lingua Mass?

tenor, bass, soprano

(Q016) This part of the coda of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet features a transformation of which theme?

the Love theme

(Q004) Who is the character heard singing in this excerpt from The Prince Who Changed into a Cat?

the Prime Minister

(Q012) What do we call this part of the aria, usually near the end, when the instruments stop and the singer briefly improvises before being joined again by the instruments?

the cadenza

(Q019) What musical feature is significant in Josquin's "Mille regrets?"

the composer's attention to the meaning of the words

(Q012) What is the "surprise" of Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major, heard here:

the fortissimo chord at the end

(Q009) What are the main performing forces in this excerpt from Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet?

the full orchestra

(Q005) What part of I Lotring's Bopong is heard in this excerpt?

the introduction

(Q014) This excerpt comes from which section of Liszt's Wild Hunt?

the introduction

(Q009) Which theme from Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony is heard here?

the plainchant Dies irae

(Q007) What happens about halfway through this excerpt?

the refrain is repeated

(Q016) In addition to the three instruments already playing, what other sound enters about halfway through this excerpt of "If You Ever Been Down" Blues?

the singer's voice, improvising without words

(Q004) In this passage from Ligeti's Lux aeterna,

the sound "contracts" upward to a single pitch.

(Q011) What do the insistent triplets in the right hand of the piano accompaniment in "Erlkönig" represent?

the sounds of a horse's hooves

(Q017) What does the ominous three-note motive in this excerpt from Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky signify?

the threat of the advancing army

(Q014) What solo instrument is playing the theme heard in this excerpt of Ravel's Piano Concerto?

trumpet

(Q017) What is the solo instrument heard here in León's Indígena?

trumpet

(Q019) What would be a good way to describe the piano style heard in Liszt's Wild Hunt?

virtuosic

(Q009) Which instrument family dominates this variation of the song "Simple Gifts" from Copland's Appalachian Spring?

woodwinds