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.
pitch range.
B.
an octave.
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.
pianissimo.
B.
blooper.
C.
crescendo.
D.
dynamic accent.
Question #4
The range of a singer's voice depends on
A.
training and physical makeup.
B.
physical makeup.
C.
which microphone the singer uses.
D.
training and musical style.
Question #5
The relative highness or lowness of a sound is called
A.
dynamics.
B.
timbre.
C.
octave.
D.
pitch.
Question #6
Pizzicato is an indication to the performer to
A.
repeat tones by quick up-and-down strokes of the bow.
B.
draw the bow across two strings at the same time.
C.
pluck the string with the finger instead of using the bow.
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.
noiselike sounds.
C.
cycles per second.
D.
dynamic levels.
Question #8
Which of the following is a characteristic feature of jazz music?
A.
A metronome
B.
Expiation
C.
A ritardando
D.
Syncopation
Question #9
The Italian term _____________ is a tempo marking to indicate a lively pace.
A.
vivace
B.
allegro
C.
adagio
D.
andante
Question #10
In musical notation, silence is indicated by
A.
notes.
B.
clefs.
C.
rests.
D.
beams.
Question #11
Staccato refers to playing or singing a melody
A.
in small steps.
B.
at a higher or lower pitch.
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.
legato.
C.
staccato.
D.
vibrato.
Question #13
A sequence may be defined as
A.
the emotional focal point of a melody.
B.
a part 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.
tonic chord.
B.
resolution.
C.
progression.
D.
dominant chord.
Question #15
The central tone around which a musical composition is organized is called the
A.
tonic.
B.
modulation.
C.
scale.
D.
dominant.
Question #16
Homophonic texture consists of
A.
one main melody accompanied by chords.
B.
two or more different versions of the same basic melody performed simultaneously.
C.
a single melodic line without accompaniment.
D.
two or more melodies of relatively equal interest performed simultaneously.
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.
a loose ensemble of available instruments.
B.
woodwinds, trombones, drums, and strings.
C.
strings, woodwinds, horns, trumpets, and timpani.
D.
strings with harpsichord continuo.
Question #19
Mozart was born in
A.
Bonn, Germany.
B.
Eisenach, Germany.
C.
Salzburg, Austria.
D.
Rohrau, Austria.
Question #20
Don Giovanni, in Mozart's opera of that name, is
A.
the servant to Leporello.
B.
the legendary Spanish lover.
C.
a despotic Italian nobleman.
D.
Sir John Falstaff.
Question #21
We have a record of Beethoven's struggle with his musical material because he
A.
described his struggles in letters to friends.
B.
showed his workflow in musical sketchbooks.
C.
told his troubles to his biographer.
D.
keept a diary.
Question #22
What following technique did Beethoven use more extensively in his late works?
A.
Basso continuo
B.
Operatic form
C.
Monophony
D.
Fugal counterpoint
Question #23
Beethoven's only opera is entitled
A.
Madame Butterfly.
B.
Don Giovanni.
C.
Fidelio.
D.
The Magic Flute.
Question #24
A symphony is a
A.
work for solo instrument.
B.
sonata for orchestra.
C.
work for piano solo.
D.
work for chorus and orchestra.
Question #25
Social mobility during the classical period was
A.
ruthlessly stamped out by the aristocracy.
B.
a limited sociological factor.
C.
promoted and encouraged by the church.
D.
an important factor in the rise of the middle class.
Question #26
Haydn's contract of employment shows that he was considered
A.
a skilled servant.
B.
a visiting guest composer.
C.
a freelance musician.
D.
an equal by his employer.
Question #27
In the classical period, comic operas sometimes
A.
All answers are correct.
B.
were in Latin.
C.
were based on the Old Testament.
D.
ridiculed the aristocracy.
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.
the introduction of a new theme in the bridge.
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.
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 variations on a theme.
D.
a set of principles that serve to shape and unify contrasts of theme and key.
Question #31
Each successive variation in a theme with variations
A.
is usually in the same key.
B.
is usually in a new key.
C.
retains some elements of the theme.
D.
presents a new melodic idea.
Question #32
The movement of a symphony that is often patterned after a dance is the
A.
fourth.
B.
first.
C.
third.
D.
second.
Question #33
The minuet is in _______ meter.
A.
triple
B.
quadruple
C.
duple
D.
common
Question #34
The scherzo differs from the minuet in that it
A.
has a different meter.
B.
has a different form.
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.
minuet
B.
sonata
C.
ABA
D.
rondo
Question #36
The last movement of a classical symphony
A.
is usually fast, lively, and brilliant, but somewhat lighter in mood than the opening movement.
B.
is always in the tonic key of the symphony.
C.
All answers are correct.
D.
is most often in sonata or sonata-rondo form.
Question #37
A concerto is a large-scale work in several movements for
A.
any combination of instruments.
B.
an instrumental soloist.
C.
symphonic orchestra.
D.
an instrumental soloist and orchestra.
Question #38
The favored solo instrument in the classical concerto was the
A.
harpsichord.
B.
cello.
C.
piano.
D.
clarinet.
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.
began to study music theory at the age of twenty-one.
B.
preferred his government position to music.
C.
was a child prodigy, learning music at an early age.
D.
studied music theory and violin as a teenager.
Question #41
Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony
A.
is in the usual four-movement form.
B.
was left unfinished by the composer.
C.
ends with a slow, despairing finale.
D.
has five movements.
Question #42
Which of the following was not a member of the Russian five?
A.
César Cu
B.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
C.
Modest Mussorgsky
D.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Question #43
Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet is
A.
a ballet based on Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.
B.
an early programmatic symphony inspired by the characters in Shakespeare's play.
C.
a medley of popular melodies taken from his opera of that name.
D.
a concert overture consisting of a slow introduction and a fast movement in sonata form.
Question #44
Brahms wrote masterpieces in many musical forms, but never any
A.
chamber music.
B.
choral works.
C.
art songs.
D.
operas.
Question #45
Brahms's works, though very personal in style, are rooted in the music of
A.
All answers are correct.
B.
Joseph Haydn.
C.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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.
Ludwig van Beethoven.
B.
Hector Berlioz.
C.
Johann Sebastian Bach.
D.
Johannes Brahms.
Question #48
A slight holding back or pressing forward of tempo in music is known as
A.
ritardando.
B.
fermata.
C.
accelerando.
D.
rubato.
Question #49
During Wagner's time in Paris, he
A.
built an opera house according to his specifications.
B.
finished his masterpiece, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung).
C.
was unable to get an opera performed and was reduced to musical hackwork.
D.
conducted the famous premiere of his opera, Rienzi.
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.
lied.
B.
speech-song.
C.
leitmotif.
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 colonisation of Africa.
B.
his family lineage.
C.
nineteenth-century society and culture.
D.
the Renaissance.
Question #53
The composer whose career was a model for many romantic composers was
A.
Johann Sebastian Bach.
B.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
C.
Ludwig van Beethoven.
D.
Joseph Haydn.
Question #54
A romantic composer who earned his living as a touring virtuoso was
A.
Franz Liszt.
B.
Frédéric Chopin.
C.
Franz Schubert.
D.
Hector Berlioz.
Question #55
The rise of the urban middle class led to the
A.
formation of many orchestras and opera groups.
B.
development of regular subscription concerts.
C.
piano becoming a fixture in every middle-class home.
D.
All answers are correct.
Question #56
When music conservatories were founded, women
A.
could only study musical composition, since performance was considered undignified.
B.
were admitted only as vocalists.
C.
were at first accepted only as students of performance, but by the late 1800s could study musical composition.
D.
were not admitted.
Question #57
An art song is a musical composition for
A.
multiple voices.
B.
All answers are correct.
C.
solo voice and piano.
D.
solo voice and orchestra.
Question #58
The word ___________ is commonly used for a romantic art song with a German text.
A.
ballade
B.
lied
C.
chanson
D.
durchkomponiert
Question #59
Schubert
A.
was very self-critical, which accounts for his meager output.
B.
produced his greatest works after the age of forty.
C.
was the first great master of the romantic art song.
D.
was widely acknowledged as a composer in his lifetime.
Question #60
Chopin expressed his love of Poland by composing polonaises and
A.
mazurkas.
B.
polkas.
C.
folk songs.
D.
waltzes.
Question #61
Most of Chopin's pieces
A.
are for a wide range of media.
B.
have literary programs or titles.
C.
are exquisite miniatures.
D.
have a limited variety of moods.
Question #62
A study piece, designed to help a performer master specific technical difficulties, is known as
A.
a nocturne.
B.
an etude.
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.
music that depicts aspects of nature.
B.
instrumental music associated with a story, poem, idea, or scene.
C.
vocal music that tells a story.
D.
All answers are correct.
Question #65
Nonprogram music is also known as _____________ music.
A.
concert
B.
pure
C.
symphonic
D.
absolute
Question #66
A ____________ is an instrumental composition in several movements based to some extent on a literary or pictorial idea.
A.
program symphony
B.
concert overture
C.
nocturne
D.
polonaise
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.
Paris, France.
B.
Anatevka, Russia.
C.
Charleston, South Carolina.
D.
New York, New York.
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.
serialism.
B.
chance music.
C.
minimalism.
D.
Klangfarbenmelodie.
Question #70
Minimalist music is characterized by
A.
the development of musical materials through random methods.
B.
the use of twelve-tone techniques to organize the dimensions of music.
C.
a steady pulse, clear tonality, and insistent repetition of short melodic patterns.
D.
rapidly changing dynamics and textures.
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.
polyphonic texture.
C.
jazz.
D.
calling the beat.
Question #72
The backbone of a jazz ensemble is its
A.
director.
B.
brass section.
C.
clarinet section.
D.
rhythm 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.
Bessie Smith.
C.
William C. Handy.
D.
Louis Armstrong.
Question #74
The absence of key or tonality in a musical composition is known as
A.
atonality.
B.
polytonality.
C.
ostinato.
D.
a tone cluster.
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