MUS 121 Final Review

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").

Binary

A musical form consisting of two contrasting sections

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 music, the composer always leads the orchestra while the conductor always writes the music.

Choir

What do we call a group of voices that sing together?

Choir

Johann Sebastian Bach lived during what musical period?

Baroque

In music, what do we specifically call the regular and recurrent pulse?

Beat

Binary form can present as any of the following structures: ABA, AABBA, AABA, or ABBA.

False

Church doctrine during the Middle Ages portrayed life on Earth as the ultimate point of a person's existence. Cultural pluralism was embraced and celebrated.

False

In music, the composer always leads the orchestra while the conductor always writes the music.

False

Medieval motets used sacred language rather than secular.

False

Monophony uses a single solo voice. Under no circumstances can it occur simultaneously in multiple instruments.

False

The "B" in SATB initialism stands for "Baritone."

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

Tones are synonymous with noise, defined by their irregular and inconsistent sound waves.

False

Which of the following is NOT one of the dances commonly present in a baroque suite?

Fantasia

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

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

What do we call a melody with smooth and connected notes?

Legato

Which statements regarding the "Ars Antiqua" style of music are true?

Leonin and Perotin were pivotal composers of the style, Occurred during the 12th-14th century, compelled the creation of mensural notation

Which term describes a series of notes that add up to a recognizable whole?

Melody

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.

Which initialism represents the correct pitch range order, moving from highest to lowest, within an instrumental families?

SATB

In concert and rehearsal, orchestras, wind ensembles, choirs, and other large ensembles are led by whom?

conductor

A musical composition can include both polyphonic and homophonic textures.

True

Adding "issimo" to a dynamic, such as piano, means to make that dynamic an extreme of itself. (Piano means soft so pianissimo means extremely soft. Forte means strong so fortissimo means extremely strong.)

True

Cantatas can be sacred or secular.

True

Consonant harmony creates a sense of purity and lacks tension.

True

Dissonance adds variety and a sense of tension to be resolved.

True

A group of musicians performing together is referred to as a/an_____.

ensemble

Later in the baroque, royals and other aristocracy employed orchestras to provide music for their court.

True

Mozart was a master of all music genres in existence during his time.

True

Music that is sung with no instrument accompaniment is called a capella.

True

Pitch is determined by the frequency of its vibration: slower vibration will create lower pitch.

True

Ternary form consists of three or more musical sections. Musical works in ternary form generally conclude with a repeat of the opening melodic material.

True

The Ordinary portion of Catholic Mass uses the same text and process all year.

True

The piccolo is a member of the woodwind family.

True

The section of the Mass that changes based on relevant events on the liturgical calendar is called the Proper.

True

A composition that presents a musical idea in one voice then immediately presents it in a second voice is using a compositional technique called what?

imitation

The term used to describe a central note, scale, or chord is what?

key

A written notation in music, used to help the performer identify if a piece is in major or minor, is called what?

key signature

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

A toccata keyboard piece is characterized by which element(s)?

many scale passages, rapid runs and trills, and massive chords.

The shift from one key to another within a composition is called what?

modulation

Select all musical characteristics that correctly define early Gregorian Chant.

monophonic texture, modal ambiguity rather than major/minor, melody is derived from inflection of the sacred text

A piece of music with one melodic line, no accompaniment, no harmony, and no chords is best described as what?

monophony

If your entire class sings the melody to "Take Me Home, Country Roads" simultaneously and does not add harmony, the class has created _____.

monophony

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.

When talking about the primary melodic line we can also what term?

voice

The term madrigalism was often synonymous with what other term?

word painting

When the keys of this instrument are pressed, air flows through specific metal pipes to create the needed pitch. Which instrument is this?

organ

Which of the following techniques is used exclusively by harp and guitarists, and is achieved by using the finger to pluck a stringed instrument?

pizzicato

A musical texture, defined by multiple voices occurring simultaneously yet in contrast to each other, is called what?

polyphony

Which of the following are NOT dynamic indicators?

presto, adagio, vivace

Form

the organization of musical ideas in time

As discussed in your book, list these brass family instruments from highest in pitch-range (1) to lowest in pitch-range (4).

(1) trumpet (2) horn (3) trombone (4) tuba

List these string family instruments from highest in pitch-range (1) to lowest in pitch-range (4).

(1) violin (2) viola (3) cello (4) double-bass

Which of the following is NOT a difference between major and minor scales?

A major scale is considered to be tonal, whereas a minor scale is not.

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.

Theme

An important and returning melody in a musical composition

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.

Which statement is true?

By the end of the baroque era, instrumental music had gradually equaled or surpassed vocal music in popularity.

Franz Joseph Haydn belonged to which musical period?

Classical

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart belonged to which musical period?

Classical

What key was historically assumed to have an exuberant and bright quality?

D major

In sonata form, what section comes immediately after the exposition?

Development

What does the term "crescendo" suggest?

Dynamics that gradually become louder

What does the term "decrescendo" mean?

Dynamics that gradually become quieter

What section of a fugue begins immediately after the exposition?

Episode

A combination of notes that is considered unstable and tense is called a consonance.

False

The organic "spinning out" of a musical work based on the first few notes played is called what?

Fortspinnung

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

Which musical period took place from 450-1450?

Medieval

Mezzo forte means what?

Moderately loud

When a second melodic line was added to Gregorian chant, the song was then referred to as _____.

Organum

George Frederic Handel's Messiah is a/an_____.

Oratorio

The motet uses what kind of texture?

Polyphony

Which of the following correctly orders tempi moving from fastest to slowest?

Prestissimo, Presto, Allegro

1450-1600 marks the years of which musical period?

Renaissance

If the notes of a melody are short, disconnected, and jumpy, those notes are what?

Staccato

The main melody of a fugue is called the what?

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 what?

Tempo

Which painting from our lecture 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

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

Who was Hildegard of Bingen?

The main documented female composer of the medieval period.

Handel's Messiah focuses on what subject?

The life of Jesus from the Bible

The term "dynamics" refers to what aspect of music?

The volume of music

Definite and steady vibrations create what? (select all that apply)

Tone, Pitch

Ternary

a musical form consisting of a beginning section, a contrasting middle section, and then a repeat of the beginning

Which of these scales do composers use to create dissonance for special, dramatic effects?

chromatic

A singer accompanying themself with chords on a guitar is performing which type of music?

homophony

What texture is most common in popular music?

homophony

Which of the following vocal ranges is typical performed by a female voice type?

soprano