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