MUSC Quizzes
Listen to the excerpt from "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" by Louis Jordan's Tympany Five. What section of the piece is this?
"Tag" or ending phrase
Which song recorded by the Paul Whiteman Band sold 2 million copies and featured the Swanee whistle (slide whistle), a novelty that helped sell the record?
"Whispering"
Listen to the following excerpt by sung by Bing Crosby. What vocal style does he use and why did it become popular?
A style called crooning which made use of the microphone, allowing a more intimate and personal presentation, and easily recorded for record sales and radio performances.
Who first used the term "rock'n'roll"?
Alan Freed
The basic features of the blues form include which of the following?
All of the above: A twelve-bar structure made up of three phrases of four bars each, a basic three-chord pattern, a three-line AAB text
Listen to the excerpt from Perez Prado's "Mambo No. 5." Which of the following are represented?
All of the above: Mr. Prado's Mambo has African Cuban origins and is constructed out of melodic rhythmic building blocks represented by the opening trumpet riff followed by the main melodic motif heard in the saxophones and percussion. Mr. Prado's own signature "uh" vocal interjection punctuates the rhythm. Vocal interjections whether planned or random are common to Latin music. The 3-minute length of the album format restricted Mr. Prado from the kind of free-flowing performance his ensemble typically gave. Mr. Prado's recording's popularity sparked a "mambo" craze with many artists and producers creating their own versions, such as "Mambo Italiano".
Listen to the excerpt from "La Bamba" by Ritchie Valens. Which of the following is a unique feature of this song compared to others of the time?
All of the above: The lyrics are in Spanish Its origin is a Mexican folk song called son jarocho The repeated 3 chord guitar riff is one of the most enduring in popular music The tone quality of the hollow-bodied electric guitar played through an tube amplifier gave a "fuzzy" distorted timbre.
What does ASCAP stand for and what is its purpose?
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers founded in 1914 to protect the rights of composers.
What is another common name for the "bridge" of a Tin Pan Alley song?
B section
Listen to the excerpt from "Don't Be Cruel" by Elvis Presley. What is the rhythmic element heard in the drum called that was (and still is) common to both rhythm and blues and rock and roll?
Backbeat. (Emphasis on the "2" and "4" of a four beat pulse, rather than the "1" and "3")
John Philip Sousa was famous for composing what type of ensemble?
Brass Band
Listen to the excerpt from Bill Monroe's recording of "It's Mighty Dark to Travel." What is the common term in bluegrass for this type of section and who is attributed to creating the sound unique sound to this genre.
Breakaway or instrumental "break". Scruggs three finger style of banjo picking blended with the instruments.
Listen to the excerpt from "East St. Louis Toodle-oo" by Duke Ellington & His Washingtonians. How did featured trumpeter James Miley produce the sound evidenced in this selection?
By combining two types of mutes and creating a deep growl in his throat
Listen to the excerpt from "My Blue Heaven" by George Whiting. How does Gene Austin signal the conclusion of the piece?
By concluding the final phrase with an upward melodic motion, instead of downward as elsewhere in the song.
Listen to the excerpt from "Wrappin' it Up" by Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra. What characteristic of African-American music is used extensively here?
Call and Response
Which composer discussed in this chapter studied music at elite institutions such as Yale, Harvard, and the Scola Cantorum in Paris?
Cole Porter
Listen to the excerpt from the Muddy Waters version of "Hoochie Coochie Man." What is the genre of this music and what future form of popular music could this influence with its urban messages of power and direct style?
Electric blues that could be the origins of "Gangsta" rap
Listen to the excerpt from "New San Antonio Rose" by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. Where are we within this piece and what genre of music is represented?
Ending solo. Genre: Western Swing
In a landmark case that influenced many "cover" versions of popular songs to follow, a judge ruled in favor of the small independent record label Supreme in their copyright violation lawsuit against Decca Records ruling that arrangements of original compositions are also protected.
False
Jim Europe's band was famous for the standard repertoire, but famous potential patrons - such as Vernon and Irene Castle - bemoaned their inability to play complex syncopations.
False
Listen to the excerpt from Big Mama Thornton's recording of "Hound Dog." How is this piece strongly linked to musical features of rural blues?
Freedom of meter within the 12-bar blues form along with a "rougher" vocal style.
Listen to the excerpt from "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard. What section of the song is this?
Instrumental Break
Which of the following is true about the tango?
It developed during the late nineteenth century in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Listen to the excerpt from "That Black Snake Moan" by Blind Lemon Jefferson. In what ways is this piece a significant departure from the Anglo-American ballad tradition?
It does not have a clear story line in the lyrics, but real first-person emotional expressions, and the guitar accompaniment acts as a voice of its own.
Listen to the excerpt from "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" by Stephen Foster. What about this melody hints at the influence of Irish folk music?
It moves largely largely in "step-by-step," or "conjunct," motion
Jazz originated in the city of _______ and traveled north to the city of _________ during the great migration. Jazz also traveled internationally and popularized in the city of _______ by the "Hellfighters" military band of WWI (led by James Reese Europe)
New Orleans, Chicago, Paris
Which of the following is the best description of vaudeville?
Popular theatrical form in which a series of performers presented one after another without an overarching narrative theme.
Which of the following pieces is widely considered Gershwin's greatest work, and often called American Opera?
Porgy and Bess
What did the music industry call recordings from the 1920's until the late 1940's that were made by African Americans artists and produced mainly for sale to African American listeners?
Race Records
Which country blues artist's guitar playing was so remarkable that stories circulated claiming he sold his soul to the devil?
Robert Johnson
Listen to the excerpt from "Blue Yodel No. 2" by Jimmie Rodgers. Which of the following does Rodgers have in common with the musical styles of Jefferson or Johnson?
Rodgers shares the blues both in lyrics and song structure
Listen to the excerpt from "Ain't Misbehavin'" by Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra. What is the term for the vocal technique Armstrong uses here?
Scat
Who was the first composer that made a living composing popular songs?
Stephen Foster
Listen to the excerpt from "Tiger Rag" by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. What musical 'trick' is exemplified in this excerpt?
Stop-time
Listen to the excerpt. Who is the composer and performers and what is the significance of this group in popular music?
The Carter Family, song written by A.P. Carter and considered the roots of country music and the genres that followed.
Which film released in 1927 became the first to exploit sound successfully?
The Jazz Singer
Listen to this excerpt of "Paper Doll." Who are the performers, what is the instrumentation, how and why did they become popular during the Swing Era?
The Mills Brothers vocal harmony group accompanied by a guitar only, whose success is partially attributed to the recording ban of instrumental musicians.
Listen to the excerpt from Glenn Miller's "In the Mood." What is the commonly-known "trick" here in the ending bars of the piece?
The chorus is extended by an additional six bars
Listen to the excerpt from "Taking a Chance on Love" as recorded by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra. What common aspect of big band repertoire does this song represent?
The frequent orchestration of Tin Pan Alley songs
Listen to the excerpt from Frank Sinatra's recording of "Nancy." Which of the following are featured in both Sinatra's style and the arrangement common for this post-war song?
The rubato of Sinatra's singing style, strings and the angelic harp.
Consider the following statement and choose the best response: "Irving Berlin, born into extreme poverty among the Russian Jews who fled an anti-Jewish pogrom in 1892, was first brought widespread acclaim by the song "Blue Skies."
The statement is false because "Alexander's Ragtime Band" was Berlin's first hit.
Listen to the following excerpt of a song written by George and Ira Gershwin. Choose the most correct answer.
This is a "Tin Pan Alley" song featured in a Broadway show, "Girl Crazy". It's influenced by Jazz with the rhythm entering on the off-beat. Ethel Merman introduces a "belting" style of singing.
Although he began his career in the more modest vein of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, Woody Guthrie's difficult life experiences led him to take an overtly political mindset in his songwriting.
True
Developed by the Germans and Japanese during the 1930s, magnetic tape recording was better able to capture a full range of musical sounds than "master" phonograph discs.
True
George and Ira Gerswhin wrote many songs in the 20s and 30s that have since become "standards," or songs that have remained in active circulation more or less continuously since their original publication.
True
Scott Joplin, was a pianist-composer best known for popularizing "ragtime".
True
The "swing craze" was controlled and, at least in part, by large New York-based booking agencies; these were corporations formed to represent professional musicians and promote their music.
True
Listen to the excerpt from Ruth Brown's recording of "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean." What in this excerpt signals a deep connection to African-American church music from Ms. Brown's upbringing?
Use of tambourine
