Final Examination

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Question #1

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

A ostinato.

B polytonality.

C atonality.

D a tone cluster.

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 William C. Handy.

D Bessie Smith.

Question #3

The backbone of a jazz ensemble is its

A clarinet section.

B brass section.

C rhythm section.

D director.

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 polyphonic texture.

C jazz.

D calling the beat.

Question #5

Minimalist music is characterized by

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

B rapidly changing dynamics and textures.

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

D the development of musical materials through random methods.

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 chance music.

B serialism.

C Klangfarbenmelodie.

D minimalism.

Question #7

George Gershwin grew up in

A New York, New York.

B Anatevka, Russia.

C Charleston, South Carolina.

D Paris, France.

Question #8

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

A conductor.

B concert pianist.

C impresario.

D singer.

Question #9

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

A polonaise

B nocturne

C program symphony

D concert overture

Question #10

Nonprogram music is also known as _____________ music.

A pure

B absolute

C symphonic

D concert

Question #11

Program music is

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

B music that depicts aspects of nature.

C All answers are correct.

D vocal music that tells a story.

Question #12

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 Rome

D Budapest

Question #13

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

A a polonaise.

B a nocturne.

C an etude.

D ein lied.

Question #14

Most of Chopin’s pieces

A are exquisite miniatures.

B are for a wide range of media.

C have literary programs or titles.

D have a limited variety of moods.

Question #15

Chopin expressed his love of Poland by composing polonaises and

A mazurkas.

B polkas.

C folk songs.

D waltzes.

Question #16

Schubert

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

B produced his greatest works after the age of forty.

C was widely acknowledged as a composer in his lifetime.

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

Question #17

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

A lied

B ballade

C durchkomponiert

D chanson

Question #18

An art song is a musical composition for

A solo voice and orchestra.

B solo voice and piano.

C multiple voices.

D All answers are correct.

Question #19

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

D were not admitted.

Question #20

The rise of the urban middle class led to the

A piano becoming a fixture in every middle-class home.

B All answers are correct.

C development of regular subscription concerts.

D formation of many orchestras and opera groups.

Question #21

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

A Frédéric Chopin.

B Hector Berlioz.

C Franz Schubert.

D Franz Liszt.

Question #22

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

A Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

B Johann Sebastian Bach.

C Joseph Haydn.

D Ludwig van Beethoven.

Question #23

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 nineteenth-century society and culture.

C his family lineage.

D the Renaissance.

Question #24

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 #25

The librettos to The Ring of the Nibelung were written by

A King Ludwig of Bavaria.

B Richard Wagner

C Hans von Bülow.

D Arrigo Boito.

Question #26

During Wagner’s time in Paris, he

A conducted the famous premiere of his opera, Rienzi.

B built an opera house according to his specifications.

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

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

Question #27

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

A rubato.

B ritardando.

C accelerando.

D fermata.

Question #28

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

A Hector Berlioz.

B Johannes Brahms.

C Johann Sebastian Bach.

D Ludwig van Beethoven.

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 Madame Butterfly and Turandot.

B Tosca and Turandot.

C La Bohème and Madame Butterfly.

D Turandot and Manon Lescaut.

Question #30

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 #31

Brahms wrote masterpieces in many musical forms, but never any

A operas.

B chamber music.

C choral works.

D art songs.

Question #32

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 #33

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

A César Cu

B Modest Mussorgsky

C Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

D Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Question #34

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 #35

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

A preferred his government position to music.

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

C studied music theory and violin as a teenager.

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

Question #36

Composers expressed musical nationalism in their music by

A using their national legends as subject matter.

B using the rhythms of the dances of their homelands.

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

D All answers are correct.

Question #37

The favored solo instrument in the classical concerto was the

A harpsichord.

B cello.

C clarinet.

D piano.

Question #38

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

A symphonic orchestra.

B an instrumental soloist and orchestra.

C any combination of instruments.

D an instrumental soloist.

Question #39

The last movement of a classical symphony

A is most often in sonata or sonata-rondo form.

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 All answers are correct.

Question #40

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

A ABA

B sonata

C minuet

D rondo

Question #41

The scherzo differs from the minuet in that it

A has a different meter.

B moves more quickly.

C has a different form.

D All answers are correct.

Question #42

The minuet is in _______ meter.

A triple

B quadruple

C common

D duple

Question #43

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

A third.

B first.

C second.

D fourth.

Question #44

Each successive variation in a theme with variations

A presents a new melodic idea.

B is usually in the same key.

C is usually in a new key.

D retains some elements of the theme.

Question #45

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 #46

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

A motives.

B rides.

C codas.

D melodies.

Question #47

A feeling of harmonic tension and forward motion is created in the exposition of a sonata form movement by

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

B changing the meter of the second theme.

C retaining the same tonality for both themes.

D the introduction of a new theme in the bridge.

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 a visiting guest composer.

D an equal by his employer.

Question #50

Social mobility during the classical period was

A ruthlessly stamped out by the aristocracy.

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

C promoted and encouraged by the church.

D a limited sociological factor.

Question #51

A symphony is a

A work for chorus and orchestra.

B sonata for orchestra.

C work for piano solo.

D work for solo instrument.

Question #52

Beethoven’s only opera is entitled

A The Magic Flute.

B Don Giovanni.

C Madame Butterfly.

D Fidelio.

Question #53

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

A Monophony

B Operatic form

C Basso continuo

D Fugal counterpoint

Question #54

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

A told his troubles to his biographer.

B described his struggles in letters to friends.

C keept a diary.

D showed his workflow in musical sketchbooks.

Question #55

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

A a despotic Italian nobleman.

B the legendary Spanish lover.

C Sir John Falstaff.

D the servant to Leporello.

Question #56

Mozart was born in

A Rohrau, Austria.

B Salzburg, Austria.

C Bonn, Germany.

D Eisenach, Germany.

Question #57

The typical orchestra of the classical period consisted of

A woodwinds, trombones, drums, and strings.

B strings with harpsichord continuo.

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

D a loose ensemble of available instruments.

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 different versions of the same basic melody performed simultaneously.

B a single melodic line without accompaniment.

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

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 scale.

C modulation.

D tonic.

Question #61

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

A progression.

B dominant chord.

C resolution.

D tonic chord.

Question #62

A sequence may be defined as

A a part of a melody.

B the emotional focal point of a melody.

C a resting place at the end of a phrase.

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

Question #63

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

A staccato.

B glissando.

C legato.

D vibrato.

Question #64

Staccato refers to playing or singing a melody

A in a smooth, connected manner.

B at a higher or lower pitch.

C in small steps.

D in a short, detached manner.

Question #65

In musical notation, silence is indicated by

A clefs.

B beams.

C rests.

D notes.

Question #66

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

A adagio

B allegro

C andante

D vivace

Question #67

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

A Expiation

B A metronome

C A ritardando

D Syncopation

Question #68

The frequency of vibrations is measured in

A cycles per minute.

B dynamic levels.

C noiselike sounds.

D cycles per second.

Question #69

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 #70

The relative highness or lowness of a sound is called

A octave.

B timbre.

C pitch.

D dynamics.

Question #71

The range of a singer’s voice depends on

A physical makeup.

B which microphone the singer uses.

C training and musical style.

D training and physical makeup.

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 pianissimo.

C dynamic accent.

D crescendo.

Question #73

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

A dynamic accent.

B timbre.

C pitch range.

D an octave.

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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