Music Multiple Choice

Name the composer who used American music of all kinds, regions, and ages, including Shaker tunes, square dances, jazz and orchestral pieces, and cowboy songs and ballets.

A. Aaron Copland

What is the value of a quarter note in 6/8 meter?

A. two beats

Name the second two intervals in the overtone series.

B. P5 and P4

In the classical style, the opening movement of an instrumental work was often composed in which of the following forms?

C. sonata

In the Kodaly method, pitch discrimination is explored by beginning with which of the following intervals?

D. Minor 3rd

Name the term for plucking the strings on bowed string instruments.

D. Pizzicato

The spelling E, F#, G#, A#, B#, C##, E represents what type of scale?

D. Whole tone

Which of the following statements is true of teaching gospel music in public schools?

a. As long as songs that avoid outright Biblical passages and themes are avoided or minimized, gospel music emphasizing broader themes (love, freedom, etc.) can be a included as part of a public school's music curriculum.

In the first inversion for the chord C major, which note is transposed up an octave?

a. C

Which of the following notes makes a C major chord triad?

a. C, E, and G

In which of the following musicals would one expect to hear klezmer music?

a. Fiddler on the Roof

Which of the following statements is true of a diagnostic assessment? a. It is performed at the beginning of the semester, and it includes auditions.

a. It is performed at the beginning of the semester, and it includes auditions.

According to state music safety guidelines, what is required of instrument mouthpieces that are shared between students?

a. Mouthpieces should be sterilized before being shared.

A high school choir travels via school bus to a neighboring town for a festival. After the performance, one of the student musicians asks the band director if she can ride home in a car driven by her brother, who is a freshman in college. A second student asks if he can drive home with friends from school. A third asks if she can ride home with her parents. Following best practices, students should be allowed to travel home by which of the following means other than the school bus?

a. None of the students should be allowed to ride home by any means other than the school bus.

Which of the following is true of crescendo and decrescendo?

a. Percussion and upper voices should decrescendo more quickly than lower voices.

A choir teacher composes a suite of music with her class and feels the music is of sufficient quality to copyright. What must she do to protect it?

a. Record it.

Which of the following statements describes incorrect sitting posture for students singing in a choir?

a. Sitting toward the back of the seat, with the back just touching the backrest.

What style of music traditionally is played by a sextet—a group consisting of two violins, a piano, a double bass, and two bandoneóns?

a. Tango

Which of the following is an example of leitmotif?

a. The distinctive, repetitive change from E to F in John Williams' theme for Jaws

Which of the following statements is true of the tuba?

a. The number of tuba players in a band is entirely up to the number of players who want to play it and the desires of the band director.

The Hammond organ originally was used by

a. U.S. churches in the 1930s

A choir director believes an arrangement of "People" would be perfect for her concert choir, except for one part near the end that she deems too difficult for her tenors. Can she modify the arrangement to make it easier to sing, provided she has obeyed all other copyright law?

a. Yes, as long as she retains the fundamental character of the piece and does not alter or add lyrics.

Which portion of a daily class lesson would be the best for teaching concentrated, fundamental lessons in voice training?

a. at the beginning of class

Kan ha diskan, the most widely known music of Brittany, is characterized by which musical form?

a. call and response

Which of the following techniques can help the beginning clarinetist "cross the break"?

a. have him/her play in the low register and then activate the register key

Which of the following performance styles are denoted musically by thin, curved lines over most of the notes?

a. legato

How often should brass players oil the valves of their instruments in order to prevent sticking?

a. once a day

The "tr" written above the staff in measure indicates that the performer should:

a. trill

Which of the following is generally considered the first widely popular hip hop single in the United States?

b. "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang

Although the pitch of "concert A" is accepted almost universally for tuning, musicians attempting to play Baroque instruments (or modern instruments in a more "authentic" style) will often tune to "Baroque pitch," which is an A at what frequency?

b. 415 Hz

The following musical staff represents which key signature?

b. A major

There is a note between every natural note on a scale except

b. B and C, and E and F

Which of the following characteristics do the baritone and the euphonium have in common?

b. Both instruments are pitched to B-flat.

A musician playing a B♭ clarinet sees the written note c. How will that note actually sound?

b. B♭

The standout trumpeter in a high school concert band lately has been making obvious mistakes and throwing off the ensemble during rehearsals. The director strongly suspects that she has not been practicing. What would be an appropriate intervention?

b. Confer with the student privately about the importance of practice, and warn her that her top spot could slip in an upcoming trial for first chair.

The tempo of the preceding piece by Frédéric Chopin could best be described by which of the following statements?

b. Faster than andante but slower than moderato

Which of the following statements is true about a band or choir director's conducting style?

b. He or she should practice conducting in front of a mirror along with taped or recorded music in order to make sure his or her conducting style is rhythmic and appropriate.

According to The National Association for Music Education standards for music teachers, which grade level's students might be assessed in their singing of the song "America the Beautiful"?

b. K-4

Which of the following musical instruction methods holds that all aspiring musicians, even instrumentalists, should begin their instruction through singing?

b. Kodály

Which of the following is true of extrinsic motivation in a music classroom?

b. Should be limited to routine, well-earned behaviors.

Diminished chords are considered dissonant for which of the following reasons:

b. They lack a tonal center.

What was the goal of The Five—Mily Balakirev, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Alexander Borodin—the group of composers who met periodically in Saint Petersburg, Russia, between 1856 and 1870?

b. To create a style of art music that was uniquely and characteristically Russian

A middle school choir teacher becomes alarmed at the emaciated condition and lack of focus in one of her students. Under Texas' mandatory reporting law, how long does she have to report her suspicions to the appropriate agencies?

b. Within 48 hours

According to standards set forth for music teachers by the state of Texas, beginning music teachers working with children from early childhood to fourth grade (EC-4) should:

b. be able to sing or play a musical instrument

Intervals larger than an octave are:

b. compound intervals

The most common method of vibrato for trumpet— and the easiest to develop—is

b. hand vibrato

Which of the following keyboard instruments that evolved in late Medieval times produces sound from a series of strings that is plucked?

b. harpsichord

Which of the following would satisfy a young musical learner's kinesthetic needs?

b. hitting notes on a xylophone with the correct rhythm

A band director wants to record a student performance of a copyrighted work for educational or archival purposes. How many copies can the director make without paying a fee?

b. one copy

The bass line in Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean," the three-note bass line in the Temptations' "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," and the "take a chance, take a chance" chant in the ABBA tune "Take a Chance on Me" are all examples of:

b. ostinato

Music of the Renaissance began relying on what interval as a consonance, which previously had been regarded as dissonant?

b. third

Castrati were employed to sing in choirs because which of the following groups was banned from performing in churches?

b. women

Which of the following is true about the needs of middle school vs. high school percussion inventories, with regard to size and number of instruments?

c. A middle school percussion ensemble needs about half the instruments of a high school section.

Which of the following tempos is played between 120 and 168 beats per minute?

c. Allegro

Which are the best tuning pitches before a rehearsal or performance?

c. Concert B♭ and Concert F, with the exception of saxophones

A music history teacher desires to construct a lesson based upon the eccentric brilliance of keyboard master Glenn Gould. As part of the lesson, he would like to play a copyrighted CD recording of Gould's harpsichord work. If he wanted to follow copyright law, the teacher would have to do which of the following?

c. Do nothing, since his role as a teacher allows this type of presentation.

Which of the following statements describes incorrect standing posture for students singing in a choir?

c. Feet together.

What is the difference between 3/4 time and 6/8 time, by definition?

c. In 3/4 time the quarter note acts as the one beat unit, while in 6/8 time the eighth note acts as the one beat unit.

Which of the following would be an appropriate adaptation for a student musician identified as a gifted and talented learner?

c. Independent projects, such as composition and improvisation.

What is the proper use of the finger ring for trumpet players?

c. It should be used only for keeping the horn steady while turning pages or inserting a mute.

Which of the following is generally not true of a march?

c. It should feature slowed-down tempos when playing piano dynamics.

Which of the following statements is true of the oboe?

c. It uses a double reed.

Which of the following statements is true about the viola?

c. It uses alto or "viola" clef, a clef that is otherwise rarely used.

Which composer wrote the famous guitar concerto Concerto de Aranjuez in 1939?

c. Joaquín Rodrigo

Of the commonly accepted and understood time periods into which Western classical music has been divided, which period is associated most strongly with musical nationalism?

c. Romantic

Which of the following composers was known best for creating operettas?

c. Sir Arthur Sullivan

Which is true of the amount of practice a student instrumentalist or singer should do every day?

c. Students should practice a half-hour or so each day, then ideally work up to more than an hour every day.

Which of the following statements is true regarding music teachers' expected level of proficiency on their students' instruments?

c. Teachers should have at least a passing familiarity with all of the instruments in the bands they are teaching.

Which of the following is true of the manner in which instrumental ensembles should be organized?

c. Tenor saxophones should sit near the euphoniums, as they often play the same tenor line.

A flute player taps her feet in order to keep time to music during performances and rehearsals. A young band director is unsure of what to do about this, as she knows that proper concert etiquette is important when performing for the public. What should she do with the flute player?

c. The flute player should be encouraged to tap her toe inside her shoe; a little foot motion is fine.

Which of the following statements is true regarding the piccolo?

c. The piccolo uses less air, but the musician must blow that air more rapidly.

What is the role of a standard written exam for student musicians? (That is, a written exam that includes true-false, multiple choice, and essay questions?)

c. To test concepts such as time and key signatures, music symbols, and musical history.

Which of the following types of music is not constructed monophonically?

c. a Bach fugue

What is the normal compass of a timpani?

c. a perfect fifth

Which of the following is not a stage of the Americanized version of the Orff-Schulwerk process?

c. composition

Other than early drums formed from hitting logs with a blunt tool, the precursors to which of the following musical instruments generally are considered the oldest?

c. flutes

Which of the following instruments would be integral to Indonesian gamelan?

c. gong

The MP3 format allows a CD track to be stored at a fraction of its original size because the process

c. removes selected information, including frequencies that are too high or too low for humans to hear

Bedřich Smetana's "Vltava," also named "The Moldau," is a piece of music that describes

c. the course of a river as it winds through Central Europe

The average school concert band should becomprised of approximately

c. two thirds woodwinds and one third brass

Which of the following is true for hearing-impaired music students?

d. A music teacher is permitted to make other accommodations, even beyond those outlined in the student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

Which of the following describes the best method for determining the proper-sized violin for a student musician?

d. Choosing a violin that allows the student's fingers to curl comfortably around the scroll and allows the elbows to bend slightly

The folk music of which of the following cultures or countries is primarily percussive in nature?

d. Ewe

Which of the following musical genres was one of the influences in the development of Tejano music?

d. German music

Which of the following statements is true of vocal changes in developing adolescents?

d. Girls' singing voices change just as boys' voices do.

Which of the following is true about the Suzuki method of musical instruction?

d. It deliberately avoids auditions as a means of judging suitability for instruction.

Which of the following statements is true of tablature, or "tabs," for guitar and other stringed instruments?

d. It indicates the fingering position of pieces, note for note, for stringed instruments.

Which of the following styles of music would feature taiko drums?

d. Japanese

Which of the following composers is most strongly associated with the Romantic Period?

d. Johannes Brahms

Which of the following statements is not true about a school's musical instrumental practice rooms?

d. Practice rooms are among the most frequently used rooms after classrooms.

Which of the following pairs of composers would have lived and worked during the same time period?

d. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Edvard Grieg

Students with overbites tend to play with their brass instruments pointed downward, which hurts their sound and can affect their posture. Which of the following statements offers an acceptable way for a band teacher to correct this problem?

d. Suggest that the student move the jaw forward comfortably.

Which of the following statements is true of program notes typically given to audience members during a performance?

d. They should include the arrangers of the pieces rather than merely the composers.

Which of the following assessment scales would be appropriate for a teacher measuring progress of her second grade music students?

d. a simple system such as checks and plusses

A music teacher found guilty of willful copyright infringement for personal financial gain faces maximum penalties of which of the following?

d. criminal fines up to $250,000 and/or a five year jail sentence

What sizes of violins are available for student musicians?

d. full, 1/32, 1/16, 1/8, ¼, ½, and 3/4 size

A band director is blessed with a group of eager, committed beginning musicians, all of whom have their hearts set on their instruments of choice.In fact, most of the students have already rented or purchased these instruments, and few, if any, can be persuaded to switch to other instruments in order to allow the band to have the proper brass-to-woodwinds balance. The band director then should

d. make changes to the music, moving some instruments to other instruments' parts, as long as the central integrity of the music is preserved

Competitions for chair positions in a student band or orchestra:

d. should be held both unannounced and on a scheduled basis, at the instructor's discretion

In standard twelve-bar blues form, where would one expect to find the "turnaround"?

d. the twelfth bar

Bebop was a dramatic shift from the traditional jazz of the middle 20th century because it

d. used asymmetrical phrasing and an expanded role for the rhythm section