California State University, Northridge » Music » Music 105 - Understanding Music » Spring 2023

Music 105 - Understanding Music » Spring 2023 » Quiz 4 American Popular Music

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Question #1

Born in New Orleans, he was nicknamed "Satchmo," an abbreviation of "Satchelmouth." He moved to Chicago in 1923 to play in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band and was quickly recognized as the best trumpeter alive. He also developed a distinctive singing style known as "scat."

A. Joplin

B. Ellington

C. Gillespie

D. Parker

E. Armstrong

Question #2

Called the "Empress of the Blues," this artist was brought to New York to record for Columbia, her most famous recordings occurred between 1924 and 1927, and brought her to the top of the popular music world. She was the highest paid black artist--male or female--of the day.

A. Smith

B. Basie

C. Armstrong

D. Joplin

E. Parker

Question #3

Known as the "King of Ragtime," this son of a former slave acquired a solid grounding in classical music while earning a living playing in bars around St. Louis, Missouri. He composed many popular rags, and eventually moved to New York where he composed a rag-oriented opera.

A. Armstrong

B. Smith

C. Joplin

D. Gershwin

E. Ellington

Question #4

Of the following, what has been one consequence of the country music industry?

A. elevation of female vocalists to the primary position of recording artist

B. increase in young people learning guitar

C. social respectability for a southern drawl

D. an increase in dog ownership and the purchase of pickup trucks

E. a spike in the number of boys named Garth

Question #5

What is a "blue note"?

A. a note that conveys the idea lament or mourning in a melody

B. a discordant mingling of sounds

C. the three notes in African-American folk music that are typically altered for expressive purposes

D. a pattern of pitches forming the chromatic scale

E. the smallest musical interval in the Western major or minor scale; the distance between any two adjacent keys on the piano

Question #6

What is a "blues scale"?

A. a seven-note scale that suggests melancholy emotions

B. a five-note scale found often in folk music and non-Western music

C. a seven-note scale in which the third, fifth, and seventh pitches are sometimes flat, sometimes natural, and sometimes in between

D. a musical process in which all of the scales move in the same direction, and at the same intervals, for a period of time

E. a six-note scale wherein each pitch is a whole tone away from the next

Question #7

Which genre combines jazz styles with the idioms and forms of classical music?

A. symphonic jazz

B. postmodernism

C. ragtime

D. fusion

E. swing

Question #8

Which type of jazz was most popular during the Second World War?

A. bebop

B. New Orleans jazz

C. swing

D. ragtime

E. cool

Question #9

Which of the following is most descriptive of jazz?

A. a lively, energetic music with pulsating rhythms and scintillating syncopations, usually played by a small instrumental ensemble

B. all of these

C. an Afro-Cuban dance-song that came to prominence in the nineteenth century, marked by a repeating bass and a repeating, syncopated rhythm

D. an expressive, soulful style of singing that emerged from the African-American spiritual and work song at the end of the nineteenth century

E. a musical style that emerged in the 1890s and characterized by a steady bass and a syncopated, jazzy treble

Question #10

Match each description with its term. This complex, hard-driving style of jazz emerged shortly after World War II; it is played without musical notation by a small ensemble.

A. fusion

B. cool jazz

C. bebop

D. standard

Question #11

Match each description with its term. A style of jazz that emerged in the 1950s that is softer, more relaxed, and less frenzied than bebop.

A. cool jazz

B. fusion

C. standard

D. cover

Question #12

Match each description with its term. A mixture of jazz and rock cultivated by American bands in the 1970s.

A. standard

B. cover

C. bebop

D. fusion

Question #13

Match each description with its term. Term for a tune so influential that many interpretations of it are recorded.

A. cover

B. bebop

C. standard

D. cool jazz

Question #14

Match each description with its term. A new interpretation of an influential tune.

A. cool jazz

B. fusion

C. cover

D. bebop

Question #15

The most gifted of the bebop artists, his playing style changed the history of Jazz. He rose to the top of his profession through extraordinary talent and hard work, collaborated on many recordings with Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie, but alienated his associates and disregarded his audience.

A. Armstrong

B. Joplin

C. Smith

D. Davis

E. Parker

Question #16

Which of these groups of musicians is famous for playing cool jazz?

A. Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton

B. Lew Soloff, Chuck Mangione, and Kenny G

C. Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, and Dave Brubeck

D. Charlie "Bird" Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk

E. Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and Benny Goodman

Question #17

Bernstein's musical, West Side Story, in an updated version of:

A. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

B. Shakespeare's Hamlet

C. Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities

D. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

E. Voltaire's Candide

Question #18

Tin Pan Alley was located in:

A. Chicago

B. New Orleans

C. Detroit

D. New York City

E. Denver

Question #19

Who is widely considered one of the best film composers in the history of the genre?

A. George Gershwin

B. Steven Sondheim

C. John Williams

D. Aaron Copland

E. Leonard Bernstein

Question #20

Kurt Cobain and Nirvana are examples of which movement in rock?

A. arena

B. grunge

C. funk

D. rap

E. punk rock

Question #21

An improvisatory flourish on a guitar that becomes a motive is called:

A. a guitar riff

B. a boogie-woogie

C. an instrumental break

D. a waa-waa

E. a head arrangement

Question #22

Identify the pop music style that is a blend of soul, jazz, and R&B.

A. Motown

B. funk

C. bebop

D. disco

E. New Wave

Question #23

Who paved the way for experimentation both in songwriting and in studio recording, invented the concept album, and released a film that is considered the first modern music video?

A. Bob Dylan

B. Run DMC

C. The Beatles

D. Jimi Hendrix

E. Kurt Cobain

Question #24

The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, and The Clash are examples of which type of rock movement?

A. doo-wop

B. grunge

C. punk rock

D. rap

E. New Wave

Question #25

Which style of rock music is, in effect, a more electronic and experimental form of punk?

A. soul

B. funk

C. Motown

D. New Wave

E. Rockabilly

Question #26

This African-American style of music that initially drew on funk, disco, and the black oral traditions.

A. rap

B. New Wave

C. grunge

D. Heavy Metal

E. punk rock

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