Music 105 - Understanding Music » Spring 2022 » Final Examination
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Question #1
Music can be defined as
A.
sounds produced by musical instruments.
B.
sounds that are pleasing, as opposed to noise.
C.
an art based on the organization of sounds in time.
D.
a system of symbols that performers learn to read.
Question #2
The distance between the lowest and highest tones a voice or instrument can produce is called
A.
an octave.
B.
pitch range.
C.
timbre.
D.
dynamic accent.
Question #3
When a performer emphasizes a tone by playing it more loudly than the tones around it, it is called a
A.
dynamic accent.
B.
crescendo.
C.
blooper.
D.
pianissimo.
Question #4
The range of a singer's voice depends on
A.
training and musical style.
B.
which microphone the singer uses.
C.
training and physical makeup.
D.
physical makeup.
Question #5
The relative highness or lowness of a sound is called
A.
pitch.
B.
dynamics.
C.
octave.
D.
timbre.
Question #6
Pizzicato is an indication to the performer to
A.
pluck the string with the finger instead of using the bow.
B.
repeat tones by quick up-and-down strokes of the bow.
C.
draw the bow across two strings at the same time.
D.
veil or muffle the tone by fitting a clamp onto the bridge.
Question #7
The frequency of vibrations is measured in
A.
cycles per minute.
B.
dynamic levels.
C.
cycles per second.
D.
noiselike sounds.
Question #8
Which of the following is a characteristic feature of jazz music?
A.
Syncopation
B.
A ritardando
C.
A metronome
D.
Expiation
Question #9
The Italian term _____________ is a tempo marking to indicate a lively pace.
A.
andante
B.
allegro
C.
vivace
D.
adagio
Question #10
In musical notation, silence is indicated by
A.
clefs.
B.
beams.
C.
rests.
D.
notes.
Question #11
Staccato refers to playing or singing a melody
A.
at a higher or lower pitch.
B.
in small steps.
C.
in a short, detached manner.
D.
in a smooth, connected manner.
Question #12
A smooth, connected style of playing a melody is known as
A.
glissando.
B.
legato.
C.
vibrato.
D.
staccato.
Question #13
A sequence may be defined as
A.
a part of a melody.
B.
the emotional focal point of a melody.
C.
the repetition of a melodic pattern at a higher or lower pitch.
D.
a resting place at the end of a phrase.
Question #14
The triad built on the fifth step of the scale is called the
A.
progression.
B.
dominant chord.
C.
resolution.
D.
tonic chord.
Question #15
The central tone around which a musical composition is organized is called the
A.
scale.
B.
tonic.
C.
modulation.
D.
dominant.
Question #16
Homophonic texture consists of
A.
a single melodic line without accompaniment.
B.
two or more melodies of relatively equal interest performed simultaneously.
C.
two or more different versions of the same basic melody performed simultaneously.
D.
one main melody accompanied by chords.
Question #17
Classicism, as a stylistic period in western music, roughly encompassed the years
A.
1820-1900.
B.
1600-1750.
C.
1450-1600.
D.
1750-1820.
Question #18
The typical orchestra of the classical period consisted of
A.
woodwinds, trombones, drums, and strings.
B.
a loose ensemble of available instruments.
C.
strings with harpsichord continuo.
D.
strings, woodwinds, horns, trumpets, and timpani.
Question #19
Mozart was born in
A.
Salzburg, Austria.
B.
Rohrau, Austria.
C.
Bonn, Germany.
D.
Eisenach, Germany.
Question #20
Don Giovanni, in Mozart's opera of that name, is
A.
a despotic Italian nobleman.
B.
Sir John Falstaff.
C.
the legendary Spanish lover.
D.
the servant to Leporello.
Question #21
We have a record of Beethoven's struggle with his musical material because he
A.
told his troubles to his biographer.
B.
keept a diary.
C.
described his struggles in letters to friends.
D.
showed his workflow in musical sketchbooks.
Question #22
What following technique did Beethoven use more extensively in his late works?
A.
Fugal counterpoint
B.
Operatic form
C.
Monophony
D.
Basso continuo
Question #23
Beethoven's only opera is entitled
A.
The Magic Flute.
B.
Madame Butterfly.
C.
Don Giovanni.
D.
Fidelio.
Question #24
A symphony is a
A.
work for chorus and orchestra.
B.
sonata for orchestra.
C.
work for solo instrument.
D.
work for piano solo.
Question #25
Social mobility during the classical period was
A.
promoted and encouraged by the church.
B.
ruthlessly stamped out by the aristocracy.
C.
a limited sociological factor.
D.
an important factor in the rise of the middle class.
Question #26
Haydn's contract of employment shows that he was considered
A.
an equal by his employer.
B.
a freelance musician.
C.
a visiting guest composer.
D.
a skilled servant.
Question #27
In the classical period, comic operas sometimes
A.
ridiculed the aristocracy.
B.
were based on the Old Testament.
C.
were in Latin.
D.
All answers are correct.
Question #28
A feeling of harmonic tension and forward motion is created in the exposition of a sonata form movement by
A.
changing the meter of the second theme.
B.
the conflict of tonalities between the first and second themes.
C.
retaining the same tonality for both themes.
D.
the introduction of a new theme in the bridge.
Question #29
Short musical ideas or fragments of themes that are developed within a composition are called
A.
motives.
B.
melodies.
C.
rides.
D.
codas.
Question #30
Sonata form should be viewed as
A.
a rigid mold into which musical ideas are poured.
B.
another term for the symphony.
C.
a set of principles that serve to shape and unify contrasts of theme and key.
D.
a set of variations on a theme.
Question #31
Each successive variation in a theme with variations
A.
is usually in the same key.
B.
retains some elements of the theme.
C.
presents a new melodic idea.
D.
is usually in a new key.
Question #32
The movement of a symphony that is often patterned after a dance is the
A.
fourth.
B.
first.
C.
second.
D.
third.
Question #33
The minuet is in _______ meter.
A.
triple
B.
common
C.
duple
D.
quadruple
Question #34
The scherzo differs from the minuet in that it
A.
All answers are correct.
B.
has a different meter.
C.
has a different form.
D.
moves more quickly.
Question #35
The first movement of a classical symphony is almost always fast, and in _____ form.
A.
rondo
B.
minuet
C.
sonata
D.
ABA
Question #36
The last movement of a classical symphony
A.
All answers are correct.
B.
is always in the tonic key of the symphony.
C.
is usually fast, lively, and brilliant, but somewhat lighter in mood than the opening movement.
D.
is most often in sonata or sonata-rondo form.
Question #37
A.
symphonic orchestra.
B.
an instrumental soloist and orchestra.
C.
an instrumental soloist.
D.
any combination of instruments.
Question #38
The favored solo instrument in the classical concerto was the
A.
clarinet.
B.
piano.
C.
harpsichord.
D.
cello.
Question #39
Composers expressed musical nationalism in their music by
A.
basing their music on the folk songs of their country.
B.
All answers are correct.
C.
using their national legends as subject matter.
D.
using the rhythms of the dances of their homelands.
Question #40
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
A.
was a child prodigy, learning music at an early age.
B.
began to study music theory at the age of twenty-one.
C.
studied music theory and violin as a teenager.
D.
preferred his government position to music.
Question #41
Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony
A.
was left unfinished by the composer.
B.
has five movements.
C.
ends with a slow, despairing finale.
D.
is in the usual four-movement form.
Question #42
Which of the following was not a member of the Russian five?
A.
Modest Mussorgsky
B.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
C.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
D.
César Cu
Question #43
Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet is
A.
a medley of popular melodies taken from his opera of that name.
B.
a concert overture consisting of a slow introduction and a fast movement in sonata form.
C.
a ballet based on Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.
D.
an early programmatic symphony inspired by the characters in Shakespeare's play.
Question #44
Brahms wrote masterpieces in many musical forms, but never any
A.
art songs.
B.
chamber music.
C.
operas.
D.
choral works.
Question #45
Brahms's works, though very personal in style, are rooted in the music of
A.
Ludwig van Beethoven.
B.
All answers are correct.
C.
Joseph Haydn.
D.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Question #46
Some of Puccini's operas feature exoticism, as in his use of melodic and rhythmic elements derived from Japanese and Chinese music in his operas
A.
La Bohème and Madame Butterfly.
B.
Turandot and Manon Lescaut.
C.
Tosca and Turandot.
D.
Madame Butterfly and Turandot.
Question #47
The composer who had an overwhelming influence on the young Wagner was
A.
Johannes Brahms.
B.
Hector Berlioz.
C.
Johann Sebastian Bach.
D.
Ludwig van Beethoven.
Question #48
A slight holding back or pressing forward of tempo in music is known as
A.
fermata.
B.
rubato.
C.
ritardando.
D.
accelerando.
Question #49
During Wagner's time in Paris, he
A.
was unable to get an opera performed and was reduced to musical hackwork.
B.
finished his masterpiece, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung).
C.
conducted the famous premiere of his opera, Rienzi.
D.
built an opera house according to his specifications.
Question #50
The librettos to The Ring of the Nibelung were written by
A.
King Ludwig of Bavaria.
B.
Hans von Bülow.
C.
Arrigo Boito.
D.
Richard Wagner
Question #51
A short musical idea associated with a person, object, or thought, used by Richard Wagner in his operas, is called
A.
unending melody.
B.
leitmotif.
C.
lied.
D.
speech-song.
Question #52
While Wagner's Ring cycle features fantastical elements such as gods, giants, and magic, the opera is really about
A.
nineteenth-century society and culture.
B.
his family lineage.
C.
the colonisation of Africa.
D.
the Renaissance.
Question #53
The composer whose career was a model for many romantic composers was
A.
Ludwig van Beethoven.
B.
Johann Sebastian Bach.
C.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
D.
Joseph Haydn.
Question #54
A romantic composer who earned his living as a touring virtuoso was
A.
Franz Schubert.
B.
Hector Berlioz.
C.
Franz Liszt.
D.
Frédéric Chopin.
Question #55
The rise of the urban middle class led to the
A.
development of regular subscription concerts.
B.
piano becoming a fixture in every middle-class home.
C.
All answers are correct.
D.
formation of many orchestras and opera groups.
Question #56
When music conservatories were founded, women
A.
were at first accepted only as students of performance, but by the late 1800s could study musical composition.
B.
were admitted only as vocalists.
C.
could only study musical composition, since performance was considered undignified.
D.
were not admitted.
Question #57
An art song is a musical composition for
A.
All answers are correct.
B.
solo voice and piano.
C.
solo voice and orchestra.
D.
multiple voices.
Question #58
The word ___________ is commonly used for a romantic art song with a German text.
A.
lied
B.
durchkomponiert
C.
ballade
D.
chanson
Question #59
Schubert
A.
produced his greatest works after the age of forty.
B.
was widely acknowledged as a composer in his lifetime.
C.
was the first great master of the romantic art song.
D.
was very self-critical, which accounts for his meager output.
Question #60
Chopin expressed his love of Poland by composing polonaises and
A.
mazurkas.
B.
folk songs.
C.
polkas.
D.
waltzes.
Question #61
Most of Chopin's pieces
A.
are for a wide range of media.
B.
have a limited variety of moods.
C.
are exquisite miniatures.
D.
have literary programs or titles.
Question #62
A study piece, designed to help a performer master specific technical difficulties, is known as
A.
an etude.
B.
a nocturne.
C.
a polonaise.
D.
ein lied.
Question #63
Liszt abandoned his career as a traveling virtuoso to become court conductor at __________, where he championed works by contemporary composers.
A.
Paris
B.
Weimar
C.
Budapest
D.
Rome
Question #64
Program music is
A.
vocal music that tells a story.
B.
instrumental music associated with a story, poem, idea, or scene.
C.
music that depicts aspects of nature.
D.
All answers are correct.
Question #65
Nonprogram music is also known as _____________ music.
A.
concert
B.
pure
C.
absolute
D.
symphonic
Question #66
A ____________ is an instrumental composition in several movements based to some extent on a literary or pictorial idea.
A.
nocturne
B.
program symphony
C.
concert overture
D.
polonaise
Question #67
Outside France, Berlioz enjoyed a great career as a(n)
A.
conductor.
B.
impresario.
C.
singer.
D.
concert pianist.
Question #68
George Gershwin grew up in
A.
Anatevka, Russia.
B.
Charleston, South Carolina.
C.
New York, New York.
D.
Paris, France.
Question #69
Twelve-tone compositional techniques used to organize rhythm, dynamics, tone color, and other dimensions of music to produce totally controlled and organized music are called
A.
minimalism.
B.
serialism.
C.
chance music.
D.
Klangfarbenmelodie.
Question #70
Minimalist music is characterized by
A.
a steady pulse, clear tonality, and insistent repetition of short melodic patterns.
B.
the use of twelve-tone techniques to organize the dimensions of music.
C.
rapidly changing dynamics and textures.
D.
the development of musical materials through random methods.
Question #71
When a voice is answered by an instrument, or when one instrument (or group of instruments) is answered by a chorus, the pattern is referred to as
A.
polyphonic texture.
B.
calling the beat.
C.
call and response.
D.
jazz.
Question #72
The backbone of a jazz ensemble is its
A.
director.
B.
rhythm section.
C.
brass section.
D.
clarinet section.
Question #73
The poetic and musical form of the blues was popularized in the early years of the twentieth century through the publication of Memphis Blues and St. Louis Blues, composed by
A.
King Oliver.
B.
Louis Armstrong.
C.
William C. Handy.
D.
Bessie Smith.
Question #74
The absence of key or tonality in a musical composition is known as
A.
ostinato.
B.
polytonality.
C.
a tone cluster.
D.
atonality.
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