California State University, Northridge » Music » Music 306 - Introduction to Jazz » Spring 2022

Music 306 - Introduction to Jazz » Spring 2022 » CH 01-06 Review Quiz

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Question #1

The quality of sound that allows listeners to distinguish between a violin and a trumpet is referred to as:

A. rhythm

B. harmony

C. melody

D. pitch

E. timbre

Question #2

A device inserted into the bell of a brass instrument to distort the sounds coming out is called

A. larynx

B. key

C. valve

D. mouthpiece

E. mute

Question #3

Which brass instrument moves its slide to create a glissando?

A. trombone

B. banjo

C. tuba

D. clarinet

E. trumpet

Question #4

Which part of the drum set consists of two cymbals controlled by a foot pedal?

A. crash cymbal

B. tam-tam

C. splash cymbal

D. high-hat

E. ride cymbal

Question #5

The relative speed of a performance’s steady “pulse rhythm” is commonly referred to as the piece’s

A. tempo

B. dynamics

C. meter

D. harmony

E. rhythm

Question #6

In jazz ensembles, bassists most often use _________ technique, plucking the strings with their fingers.

A. arco

B. legato

C. portamento

D. staccato

E. pizzacato

Question #7

Jazz concepts of form are derived from African music, where improvisation happens within:

A. only the rarest or ritual practices

B. a harmonic sequence

C. a rhythmic cycle

D. a precisely measured amount of clock time

E. a carefully notated concert performance

Question #8

Which best describes the form of a twelve-bar blues chorus?

A. six two-measure phrases

B. two six-measure phrases

C. three phrases of four measures each

D. an eight-measure phrase followed by a four-measure phrase

E. four phrases of three measures each

Question #9

What is the most common thirty-two-bar song form used by jazz musicians?

A. ABCD

B. ABAC

C. AAAA

D. ABAB

E. AABA

Question #10

Which rhythm section instrument plays the foundational role of sounding the root of each chord and keeping time with a continuous stream of notes?

A. clarinet

B. bass

C. trumpet

D. baritone saxophone

E. drums

Question #11

Harmonic improvisation requires a performer to _____________.

A. Improvise using only a single scale.

B. Abandon familiar musical elements in order to create something new.

C. Ignore the contributions and suggestions of the accompanists.

D. Embellish a composed melody.

E. Create new melodies that fit over the tune’s chord progression.

Question #12

In jazz, a repeating rhythmic and harmonic cycle is called a __________.

A. turn

B. bridge

C. chorus

D. verse

Question #13

_______ _________ is the generalized name for the harmonic sequence underlying George Gershwin’s composition “I Got Rhythm.”

A. Standard Blues

B. Bird Blues

C. Popular Song

D. Rhythm Changes

E. Rhythm Chorus

Question #14

W. C. Handy’s initial appreciation of the blues was based on its:

A. connection to African traditions

B. high-class status

C. virtuosity

D. artistic merit

E. commercial appeal

Question #15

In “polishing” the rural blues that he heard in Mississippi, W. C. Handy did which of the following?

A. He rehearsed it with his ensemble.

B. He composed his own lyrics.

C. All of the answers are true

D. He notated the music.

E. He published sheet music.

Question #16

The specific combinations of musical characteristics at the heart of jazz style—including polyrhythm, blue notes, timbre variation, and call and response—are the products of which cultural group?

A. English

B. South African

C. Cuban

D. Nigerian

E. African American

Question #17

Which best describes the poetic form of blues lyrics?

A. ten-line stanza

B. two-line stanza

C. two-line couplet with first line repeated

D. four-line stanza

E. two-line couplet with second line repeated

Question #18

Which instrument was most important in accompanying country blues?

A. saxophone

B. piano

C. drums

D. guitar

E. trumpet

Question #19

All of the following are true of “race records” EXCEPT:

A. They did not sell many copies.

B. Many of the original recordings have been preserved.

C. Singers were pressured by executives to record only the blues.

D. Singers did not receive copyright royalty, just a modest performer’s fee.

E. They were recordings of black music for black listeners.

Question #20

In her fourteen-year recording career, Bessie Smith recorded approximately how many songs?

A. 150

B. 100

C. 250

D. 200

E. 50

Question #21

On Bessie Smith’s “Reckless Blues,” which household item does Louis Armstrong use to modify the timbre of his trumpet?

A. plunger

B. bucket

C. mop

D. sponge

E. dishrag

Question #22

Which is NOT true of blackface minstrelsy?

A. Its music used African-derived instruments including the banjo.

B. It generated negative racial stereotypes.

C. In the mid-nineteenth century it was the most popular form of theater in the country.

D. It was only performed in the American South.

E. It was originally performed by white performers in heavy black makeup.

Question #23

When James Reese Europe’s Hellfighters performed in ballrooms for social dances, what type of instrumentation did they use?

A. small jazz combo

B. string ensemble

C. large military-style band

D. piano with banjo accompaniment

E. symphonic orchestra

Question #24

What does it mean to “rag” a piece of music?

A. to extend a short piece by repeating sections

B. to perform it poorly

C. to subject it to a process of rhythmic complication

D. to dance to it

E. to improvise a march

Question #25

How did Scott Joplin make most of the money to support his compositional career?

A. through record sales

B. by conducting a brass band

C. through publishing royalties

D. by playing concerts

E. by licensing his music for use in films

Question #26

Why is Wilbur Sweatman’s “Down Home Rag” significant?

A. It’s one of the fastest recorded performances of syncopated music.

B. It provides crucial evidence for the transition between ragtime and jazz.

C. It’s an early example of ragtime drumming.

D. It avoids blue notes and other blues inflections.

E. All of the answers are true

Question #27

New Orleans jazz primarily featured which of the following musical textures?

A. homophonic—solo plus accompaniment

B. monophonic—solo playing

C. polyphonic—collective improvisation

E. fully composed melodies and countermelodies

F. monophonic - solo plus accompaniment

Question #28

Who led the Onward Brass Band, a group that blended Creole sophistication with improvisational artistry?

A. Joe Oliver

B. Manuel Perez

C. Buddy Bolden

D. Barney Bigard

E. Freddie Keppard

Question #29

Which aspect of Buddy Bolden’s playing did contemporary observers note most often?

A. the understatement of his playing

B. his variations on march themes

C. the fast passages in his playing

D. his ability to play two trumpets at once

E. the loudness of his playing

Question #30

Which instruments are included in the front line of a New Orleans jazz band?

A. clarinet, flute, saxophone

B. trombone, tuba, banjo

C. piano, tuba, drums

D. trumpet, clarinet, trombone

Question #31

Which is the trumpet or cornet’s role in the New Orleans jazz band?

A. present a steady stream of notes maintaining the dominant pulse of the tune

B. arpeggiate the underlying harmony of the tune

C. present the melody with improvised variations

D. play a countermelody in a register higher than the trumpet or cornet’s line

E. play a decorated bass line that includes glissandos

Question #32

The most distinctive feature of New Orleans jazz is:

A. use of blue notes

B. harmonic improvisation

C. frequent syncopations

D. solo improvisation

E. collective improvisation

Question #33

All of the following factors were causes of the Great Migration EXCEPT:

A. few opportunities for black Americans to own land

B. widespread segregation in the American south

C. an increasing reliance on agricultural labor

D. fear generated by unequal protection under the law

E. a work shortage initiated by American entry into World War I

Question #34

Why are Jelly Roll Morton’s 1923 recording sessions with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings significant?

A. They are the first live recordings made in a jazz club.

B. They took place in New Orleans.

C. They took place in Los Angeles.

D. They are the first significant racially integrated jazz recording sessions.

E. They took place in Chicago.

Question #35

What was unusual about the front line of King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band?

A. It featured two cornets.

B. It included violin.

C. The clarinet lines were performed by the group’s pianist.

D. It featured two clarinets.

E. It featured two trombones.

Question #36

Sidney Bechet is responsible for establishing this instrument as a jazz instrument:

A. saxophone

B. clarinet

C. banjo

D. piano

E. bass

Question #37

A. The Bronx

C. Queens

D. Brooklyn

E. Staten Island

F. Manhattan

Question #38

Which of the following parts of America’s entertainment infrastructure formed in late-nineteenth-century New York?

A. record labels

B. book publishers

C. All of the answers are true.

D. grand theaters

E. radio networks

Question #39

What effect did technological advances in radio and recording have on the jazz community?

A. It led audiences to stay home and obsessively listen to specific broadcasts and recordings.

B. It decentralized the jazz infrastructure across the country.

C. It drew audiences away from jazz and to sophisticated classical performances.

D. It had no effect, since home audio systems were prohibitively expensive.

E. It forced performers to improve their technique.

Question #40

How did Prohibition affect the jazz community?

A. It caused musicians to migrate away from larger cities.

B. All of the answers are true.

C. It caused many jazz musicians to become full-time composers.

D. It provided abundant (dangerous) work opportunities for jazz musicians in illegal speakeasies.

E. It encouraged musicians to avoid alcohol.

Question #41

What was Paul Whiteman’s goal with his “An Experiment in Modern Music” concert of 1924?

A. to demonstrate that only New Orleans jazz was the authentic jazz

B. to reveal that jazz elements could form the foundation of highbrow art music

C. to show that Louis Armstrong was the “King of Jazz”

D. to argue that the blues was the soul of jazz

E. to show that white musicians could perform raucous improvisations

Question #42

Which describes the racial dynamics of Fletcher Henderson’s engagement at the Roseland Ballroom:

A. white ensembles playing for black audiences

B. integrated ensembles playing for integrated audiences

C. white ensembles playing for white audiences

D. black ensembles playing for white audiences

E. integrated ensembles playing for white audiences

Question #43

Which Manhattan neighborhood was referred to as “the greatest Negro city in the world”?

A. Times Square

B. Washington Heights

C. Harlem

D. Upper West Side

E. Greenwich Village

Question #44

“Stride” refers to which aspect of a pianist’s performance?

A. slow-moving “walking” accompaniments

B. two-handed block chords

C. fast right-hand arpeggios

D. constant left-hand tremolo

E. regular left-hand alternation between bass notes and chords

Question #45

All of the following are aspects of Louis Armstrong’s legacy EXCEPT:

A. became the most influential composer in the jazz community

B. only major figure of Western music to influence the music of his era equally as an instrumentalist and as a vocalist

C. influenced symphonic trumpet players with his vibrato

D. influenced popular and country performers with his phrasing and spontaneity

E. transformed the social music of New Orleans into an art

Question #46

A. wrote an influential series of guides to improvisation

B. established jazz as music that prizes individual expression through solo improvisation

C. established the development of technique as an end in itself

D. carefully composed a large body of passages and played them the same every time

E. established collective improvisation as the main kind of jazz improvisation

Question #47

In 1922, Joe Oliver sent Louis Armstrong a message inviting him to join Oliver’s band in which northern city?

A. Detroit

B. New York

C. Chicago

D. New Orleans

Question #48

Which of the following describes Earl Hines’s approach to rhythm?

A. steady, on-the-beat background chords

B. an idiosyncratic style that played constant games with the rhythmic pulse

C. propulsive boogie-woogie patterns

D. slow-moving regular rhythms

E. using tremolo to give the sense of no rhythmic movement

Question #49

Which is NOT true of the Austin High Gang?

A. They were named after a Chicago high school some of them attended.

B. They were a group of white jazz musicians born mostly between 1904 and 1909 and active in Chicago.

C. Their music was a rebellion against white middle class culture.

D. They created the Chicago style, which featured aggressive rhythms, expansive solos, and polyphonic theme statements.

E. Their ranks included only horn players

Question #50

In whose big band did Coleman Hawkins play for eleven years?

A. Bix Beiderbecke

B. Louis Armstrong

C. Fletcher Henderson

D. Paul Whiteman

E. Duke Ellington

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