Final Examination

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Question #1

The absence of key or tonality in a musical composition is known as

A atonality.

B ostinato.

C a tone cluster.

D polytonality.

Question #2

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 Bessie Smith.

D William C. Handy.

Question #3

The backbone of a jazz ensemble is its

A rhythm section.

B director.

C clarinet section.

D brass section.

Question #4

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 calling the beat.

C polyphonic texture.

D jazz.

Question #5

Minimalist music is characterized by

A the development of musical materials through random methods.

B a steady pulse, clear tonality, and insistent repetition of short melodic patterns.

C the use of twelve-tone techniques to organize the dimensions of music.

D rapidly changing dynamics and textures.

Question #6

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 serialism.

D chance music.

Question #7

George Gershwin grew up in

A Charleston, South Carolina.

B Anatevka, Russia.

C Paris, France.

D New York, New York.

Question #8

Outside France, Berlioz enjoyed a great career as a(n)

A concert pianist.

B impresario.

C singer.

D conductor.

Question #9

A ____________ is an instrumental composition in several movements based to some extent on a literary or pictorial idea.

A nocturne

B polonaise

C concert overture

D program symphony

Question #10

Nonprogram music is also known as _____________ music.

A concert

B pure

C absolute

D symphonic

Question #11

Program music is

A instrumental music associated with a story, poem, idea, or scene.

B music that depicts aspects of nature.

C vocal music that tells a story.

D All answers are correct.

Question #12

Liszt abandoned his career as a traveling virtuoso to become court conductor at __________, where he championed works by contemporary composers.

A Weimar

B Rome

C Budapest

D Paris

Question #13

A study piece, designed to help a performer master specific technical difficulties, is known as

A an etude.

B a polonaise.

C a nocturne.

D ein lied.

Question #14

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 #15

Chopin expressed his love of Poland by composing polonaises and

A polkas.

B mazurkas.

C waltzes.

D folk songs.

Question #16

Schubert

A was the first great master of the romantic art song.

B was very self-critical, which accounts for his meager output.

C produced his greatest works after the age of forty.

D was widely acknowledged as a composer in his lifetime.

Question #17

The word ___________ is commonly used for a romantic art song with a German text.

A durchkomponiert

B ballade

C chanson

D lied

Question #18

An art song is a musical composition for

A All answers are correct.

B solo voice and orchestra.

C multiple voices.

D solo voice and piano.

Question #19

When music conservatories were founded, women

A were admitted only as vocalists.

B were not admitted.

C were at first accepted only as students of performance, but by the late 1800s could study musical composition.

D could only study musical composition, since performance was considered undignified.

Question #20

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 #21

A romantic composer who earned his living as a touring virtuoso was

A Franz Liszt.

B Frédéric Chopin.

C Hector Berlioz.

D Franz Schubert.

Question #22

The composer whose career was a model for many romantic composers was

A Ludwig van Beethoven.

B Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

C Johann Sebastian Bach.

D Joseph Haydn.

Question #23

While Wagner’s Ring cycle features fantastical elements such as gods, giants, and magic, the opera is really about

A the Renaissance.

B the colonisation of Africa.

C his family lineage.

D nineteenth-century society and culture.

Question #24

A short musical idea associated with a person, object, or thought, used by Richard Wagner in his operas, is called

A speech-song.

B unending melody.

C leitmotif.

D lied.

Question #25

The librettos to The Ring of the Nibelung were written by

A Richard Wagner

B Hans von Bülow.

C King Ludwig of Bavaria.

D Arrigo Boito.

Question #26

During Wagner’s time in Paris, he

A conducted the famous premiere of his opera, Rienzi.

B was unable to get an opera performed and was reduced to musical hackwork.

C built an opera house according to his specifications.

D finished his masterpiece, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung).

Question #27

A slight holding back or pressing forward of tempo in music is known as

A rubato.

B ritardando.

C fermata.

D accelerando.

Question #28

The composer who had an overwhelming influence on the young Wagner was

A Johannes Brahms.

B Ludwig van Beethoven.

C Johann Sebastian Bach.

D Hector Berlioz.

Question #29

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 Madame Butterfly and Turandot.

C Turandot and Manon Lescaut.

D La Bohème and Madame Butterfly.

Question #30

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 #31

Brahms wrote masterpieces in many musical forms, but never any

A art songs.

B operas.

C choral works.

D chamber music.

Question #32

Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet is

A a ballet based on Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet.

B a concert overture consisting of a slow introduction and a fast movement in sonata form.

C a medley of popular melodies taken from his opera of that name.

D an early programmatic symphony inspired by the characters in Shakespeare’s play.

Question #33

Which of the following was not a member of the Russian five?

A César Cu

B Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

C Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

D Modest Mussorgsky

Question #34

Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony

A ends with a slow, despairing finale.

B has five movements.

C was left unfinished by the composer.

D is in the usual four-movement form.

Question #35

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

A preferred his government position to music.

B studied music theory and violin as a teenager.

C was a child prodigy, learning music at an early age.

D began to study music theory at the age of twenty-one.

Question #36

Composers expressed musical nationalism in their music by

A All answers are correct.

B using the rhythms of the dances of their homelands.

C using their national legends as subject matter.

D basing their music on the folk songs of their country.

Question #37

The favored solo instrument in the classical concerto was the

A cello.

B harpsichord.

C clarinet.

D piano.

Question #38

A concerto is a large-scale work in several movements for

A symphonic orchestra.

B an instrumental soloist.

C an instrumental soloist and orchestra.

D any combination of instruments.

Question #39

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 most often in sonata or sonata-rondo form.

C All answers are correct.

D is always in the tonic key of the symphony.

Question #40

The first movement of a classical symphony is almost always fast, and in _____ form.

A sonata

B minuet

C ABA

D rondo

Question #41

The scherzo differs from the minuet in that it

A All answers are correct.

B has a different form.

C moves more quickly.

D has a different meter.

Question #42

The minuet is in _______ meter.

A duple

B triple

C common

D quadruple

Question #43

The movement of a symphony that is often patterned after a dance is the

A second.

B third.

C first.

D fourth.

Question #44

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 #45

Sonata form should be viewed as

A a set of variations on a theme.

B a rigid mold into which musical ideas are poured.

C a set of principles that serve to shape and unify contrasts of theme and key.

D another term for the symphony.

Question #46

Short musical ideas or fragments of themes that are developed within a composition are called

A motives.

B rides.

C melodies.

D codas.

Question #47

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 retaining the same tonality for both themes.

D the conflict of tonalities between the first and second themes.

Question #48

In the classical period, comic operas sometimes

A ridiculed the aristocracy.

B All answers are correct.

C were in Latin.

D were based on the Old Testament.

Question #49

Haydn’s contract of employment shows that he was considered

A a freelance musician.

B a skilled servant.

C an equal by his employer.

D a visiting guest composer.

Question #50

Social mobility during the classical period was

A ruthlessly stamped out by the aristocracy.

B promoted and encouraged by the church.

C an important factor in the rise of the middle class.

D a limited sociological factor.

Question #51

A symphony is a

A work for piano solo.

B work for chorus and orchestra.

C sonata for orchestra.

D work for solo instrument.

Question #52

Beethoven’s only opera is entitled

A The Magic Flute.

B Fidelio.

C Don Giovanni.

D Madame Butterfly.

Question #53

What following technique did Beethoven use more extensively in his late works?

A Basso continuo

B Operatic form

C Fugal counterpoint

D Monophony

Question #54

We have a record of Beethoven’s struggle with his musical material because he

A keept a diary.

B described his struggles in letters to friends.

C showed his workflow in musical sketchbooks.

D told his troubles to his biographer.

Question #55

Don Giovanni, in Mozart’s opera of that name, is

A a despotic Italian nobleman.

B the legendary Spanish lover.

C the servant to Leporello.

D Sir John Falstaff.

Question #56

Mozart was born in

A Eisenach, Germany.

B Salzburg, Austria.

C Bonn, Germany.

D Rohrau, Austria.

Question #57

The typical orchestra of the classical period consisted of

A strings, woodwinds, horns, trumpets, and timpani.

B woodwinds, trombones, drums, and strings.

C a loose ensemble of available instruments.

D strings with harpsichord continuo.

Question #58

Classicism, as a stylistic period in western music, roughly encompassed the years

A 1750-1820.

B 1450-1600.

C 1600-1750.

D 1820-1900.

Question #59

Homophonic texture consists of

A two or more melodies of relatively equal interest performed simultaneously.

B two or more different versions of the same basic melody performed simultaneously.

C a single melodic line without accompaniment.

D one main melody accompanied by chords.

Question #60

The central tone around which a musical composition is organized is called the

A dominant.

B modulation.

C tonic.

D scale.

Question #61

The triad built on the fifth step of the scale is called the

A dominant chord.

B resolution.

C tonic chord.

D progression.

Question #62

A sequence may be defined as

A a part of a melody.

B the repetition of a melodic pattern at a higher or lower pitch.

C a resting place at the end of a phrase.

D the emotional focal point of a melody.

Question #63

A smooth, connected style of playing a melody is known as

A legato.

B vibrato.

C glissando.

D staccato.

Question #64

Staccato refers to playing or singing a melody

A in a smooth, connected manner.

B in small steps.

C in a short, detached manner.

D at a higher or lower pitch.

Question #65

In musical notation, silence is indicated by

A clefs.

B rests.

C beams.

D notes.

Question #66

The Italian term _____________ is a tempo marking to indicate a lively pace.

A andante

B allegro

C vivace

D adagio

Question #67

Which of the following is a characteristic feature of jazz music?

A Expiation

B Syncopation

C A ritardando

D A metronome

Question #68

The frequency of vibrations is measured in

A noiselike sounds.

B cycles per minute.

C cycles per second.

D dynamic levels.

Question #69

Pizzicato is an indication to the performer to

A draw the bow across two strings at the same time.

B veil or muffle the tone by fitting a clamp onto the bridge.

C repeat tones by quick up-and-down strokes of the bow.

D pluck the string with the finger instead of using the bow.

Question #70

The relative highness or lowness of a sound is called

A pitch.

B dynamics.

C timbre.

D octave.

Question #71

The range of a singer’s voice depends on

A which microphone the singer uses.

B physical makeup.

C training and physical makeup.

D training and musical style.

Question #72

When a performer emphasizes a tone by playing it more loudly than the tones around it, it is called a

A blooper.

B crescendo.

C dynamic accent.

D pianissimo.

Question #73

The distance between the lowest and highest tones a voice or instrument can produce is called

A an octave.

B timbre.

C pitch range.

D dynamic accent.

Question #74

Music can be defined as

A sounds that are pleasing, as opposed to noise.

B an art based on the organization of sounds in time.

C a system of symbols that performers learn to read.

D sounds produced by musical instruments.

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