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. pitch

B. timbre

C. harmony

D. melody

E. rhythm

Question #2

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

A. mouthpiece

B. mute

C. larynx

D. key

E. valve

Question #3

Which brass instrument moves its slide to create a glissando?

A. trumpet

B. trombone

C. banjo

D. clarinet

E. tuba

Question #4

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

A. ride cymbal

B. high-hat

C. crash cymbal

D. splash cymbal

E. tam-tam

Question #5

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

A. rhythm

B. harmony

C. dynamics

D. meter

E. tempo

Question #6

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

A. pizzacato

B. staccato

C. portamento

D. arco

E. legato

Question #7

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

A. a rhythmic cycle

B. only the rarest or ritual practices

C. a harmonic sequence

D. a carefully notated concert performance

E. a precisely measured amount of clock time

Question #8

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

A. four phrases of three measures each

B. three phrases of four measures each

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

D. two six-measure phrases

E. six two-measure phrases

Question #9

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

A. ABAB

B. AABA

C. ABCD

D. AAAA

E. ABAC

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. trumpet

C. baritone saxophone

D. bass

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. Embellish a composed melody.

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

E. Ignore the contributions and suggestions of the accompanists.

Question #12

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

A. turn

B. verse

C. bridge

D. chorus

Question #13

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

A. Rhythm Changes

B. Standard Blues

C. Rhythm Chorus

D. Popular Song

E. Bird Blues

Question #14

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

A. artistic merit

B. commercial appeal

C. high-class status

D. virtuosity

E. connection to African traditions

Question #15

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

A. He published sheet music.

B. He composed his own lyrics.

C. All of the answers are true

D. He notated the music.

E. He rehearsed it with his ensemble.

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. Nigerian

B. Cuban

C. English

D. African American

E. South African

Question #17

Which best describes the poetic form of blues lyrics?

A. two-line stanza

B. two-line couplet with first line repeated

C. two-line couplet with second line repeated

D. four-line stanza

E. ten-line stanza

Question #18

Which instrument was most important in accompanying country blues?

A. trumpet

B. guitar

C. piano

D. saxophone

E. drums

Question #19

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

A. They did not sell many copies.

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

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

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

E. Many of the original recordings have been preserved.

Question #20

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

A. 100

B. 150

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. dishrag

B. sponge

C. mop

D. plunger

E. bucket

Question #22

Which is NOT true of blackface minstrelsy?

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

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

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 generated negative racial stereotypes.

Question #23

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

A. piano with banjo accompaniment

B. small jazz combo

C. large military-style band

D. string ensemble

E. symphonic orchestra

Question #24

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

A. to dance to it

B. to subject it to a process of rhythmic complication

C. to extend a short piece by repeating sections

D. to perform it poorly

E. to improvise a march

Question #25

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

A. through publishing royalties

B. by playing concerts

C. by licensing his music for use in films

D. through record sales

E. by conducting a brass band

Question #26

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

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

B. It avoids blue notes and other blues inflections.

C. All of the answers are true

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

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

Question #27

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

B. polyphonic—collective improvisation

C. fully composed melodies and countermelodies

D. monophonic - solo plus accompaniment

E. monophonic—solo playing

F. homophonic—solo plus accompaniment

Question #28

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

A. Barney Bigard

B. Joe Oliver

C. Manuel Perez

D. Buddy Bolden

E. Freddie Keppard

Question #29

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

A. his variations on march themes

B. the loudness of his playing

C. the fast passages in his playing

D. his ability to play two trumpets at once

E. the understatement of his playing

Question #30

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

A. piano, tuba, drums

B. trombone, tuba, banjo

C. trumpet, clarinet, trombone

D. clarinet, flute, saxophone

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. present the melody with improvised variations

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

D. arpeggiate the underlying harmony of the tune

E. play a decorated bass line that includes glissandos

Question #32

The most distinctive feature of New Orleans jazz is:

A. collective improvisation

B. solo improvisation

C. harmonic improvisation

D. frequent syncopations

E. use of blue notes

Question #33

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

A. fear generated by unequal protection under the law

B. few opportunities for black Americans to own land

C. an increasing reliance on agricultural labor

D. widespread segregation in the American south

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 took place in New Orleans.

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

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

D. They took place in Chicago.

E. They took place in Los Angeles.

Question #35

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

A. It featured two trombones.

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

C. It featured two cornets.

D. It featured two clarinets.

E. It included violin.

Question #36

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

A. saxophone

B. banjo

C. piano

D. bass

E. clarinet

Question #37

A. Brooklyn

B. Queens

D. Staten Island

E. Manhattan

F. The Bronx

Question #38

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

A. radio networks

B. grand theaters

C. All of the answers are true.

D. book publishers

E. record labels

Question #39

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

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

B. It forced performers to improve their technique.

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

D. It decentralized the jazz infrastructure across the country.

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

Question #40

How did Prohibition affect the jazz community?

A. All of the answers are true.

B. It encouraged musicians to avoid alcohol.

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 caused musicians to migrate away from larger cities.

Question #41

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

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

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

C. to show that white musicians could perform raucous improvisations

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

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

Question #42

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

A. white ensembles playing for white audiences

B. black ensembles playing for white audiences

C. integrated ensembles playing for integrated audiences

D. white ensembles playing for black 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. Upper West Side

B. Greenwich Village

C. Times Square

D. Washington Heights

E. Harlem

Question #44

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

A. fast right-hand arpeggios

B. two-handed block chords

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

D. slow-moving “walking” accompaniments

E. constant left-hand tremolo

Question #45

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

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

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

C. influenced symphonic trumpet players with his vibrato

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

E. became the most influential composer in the jazz community

Question #46

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

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

C. wrote an influential series of guides to improvisation

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

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. New York

B. Detroit

C. Chicago

D. New Orleans

Question #48

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

A. propulsive boogie-woogie patterns

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

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

D. steady, on-the-beat background chords

E. slow-moving regular rhythms

Question #49

Which is NOT true of the Austin High Gang?

A. Their ranks included only horn players

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

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

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

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

Question #50

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

A. Louis Armstrong

B. Fletcher Henderson

C. Duke Ellington

D. Paul Whiteman

E. Bix Beiderbecke

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