Final Examination

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Question #1

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

A ostinato.

B a tone cluster.

C atonality.

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 William C. Handy.

B King Oliver.

C Bessie Smith.

D Louis Armstrong.

Question #3

The backbone of a jazz ensemble is its

A brass section.

B director.

C rhythm section.

D clarinet 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 jazz.

B call and response.

C polyphonic texture.

D calling the beat.

Question #5

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 #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 Klangfarbenmelodie.

B chance music.

C serialism.

D minimalism.

Question #7

George Gershwin grew up in

A Anatevka, Russia.

B New York, New York.

C Charleston, South Carolina.

D Paris, France.

Question #8

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

A conductor.

B singer.

C concert pianist.

D impresario.

Question #9

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

A program symphony

B polonaise

C nocturne

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 vocal music that tells a story.

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

C All answers are correct.

D music that depicts aspects of nature.

Question #12

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

A Rome

B Weimar

C Budapest

D Paris

Question #13

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

A a nocturne.

B an etude.

C ein lied.

D a polonaise.

Question #14

Most of Chopin’s pieces

A have literary programs or titles.

B are for a wide range of media.

C have a limited variety of moods.

D are exquisite miniatures.

Question #15

Chopin expressed his love of Poland by composing polonaises and

A folk songs.

B polkas.

C mazurkas.

D waltzes.

Question #16

Schubert

A was widely acknowledged as a composer in his lifetime.

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

C produced his greatest works after the age of forty.

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

Question #17

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

A ballade

B lied

C durchkomponiert

D chanson

Question #18

An art song is a musical composition for

A solo voice and piano.

B multiple voices.

C solo voice and orchestra.

D All answers are correct.

Question #19

When music conservatories were founded, women

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

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

C were not admitted.

D were admitted only as vocalists.

Question #20

The rise of the urban middle class led to the

A development of regular subscription concerts.

B All answers are correct.

C formation of many orchestras and opera groups.

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

Question #21

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

A Franz Liszt.

B Franz Schubert.

C Hector Berlioz.

D Frédéric Chopin.

Question #22

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

A Ludwig van Beethoven.

B Joseph Haydn.

C Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

D Johann Sebastian Bach.

Question #23

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

A nineteenth-century society and culture.

B the Renaissance.

C his family lineage.

D the colonisation of Africa.

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 King Ludwig of Bavaria.

B Richard Wagner

C Hans von Bülow.

D Arrigo Boito.

Question #26

During Wagner’s time in Paris, he

A built an opera house according to his specifications.

B conducted the famous premiere of his opera, Rienzi.

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 fermata.

B ritardando.

C accelerando.

D rubato.

Question #28

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

A Hector Berlioz.

B Johann Sebastian Bach.

C Ludwig van Beethoven.

D Johannes Brahms.

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 Turandot and Manon Lescaut.

C Tosca and Turandot.

D La Bohème and Madame Butterfly.

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 art songs.

D choral works.

Question #32

Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet is

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

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

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 is in the usual four-movement form.

C was left unfinished by the composer.

D has five movements.

Question #35

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

A studied music theory and violin as a teenager.

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

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

D preferred his government position to music.

Question #36

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 #37

The favored solo instrument in the classical concerto was the

A harpsichord.

B clarinet.

C piano.

D cello.

Question #38

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

A any combination of instruments.

B an instrumental soloist and orchestra.

C symphonic orchestra.

D an instrumental soloist.

Question #39

The last movement of a classical symphony

A is always in the tonic key of the symphony.

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

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 sonata

B ABA

C minuet

D rondo

Question #41

The scherzo differs from the minuet in that it

A moves more quickly.

B has a different form.

C All answers are correct.

D has a different meter.

Question #42

The minuet is in _______ meter.

A common

B duple

C triple

D quadruple

Question #43

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

A first.

B fourth.

C third.

D second.

Question #44

Each successive variation in a theme with variations

A is usually in the same key.

B presents a new melodic idea.

C retains some elements of the theme.

D is usually in a new key.

Question #45

Sonata form should be viewed as

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

B a set of variations on a theme.

C another term for the symphony.

D a rigid mold into which musical ideas are poured.

Question #46

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

A codas.

B melodies.

C motives.

D rides.

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 retaining the same tonality for both themes.

C the introduction of a new theme in the bridge.

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

Question #48

In the classical period, comic operas sometimes

A were based on the Old Testament.

B were in Latin.

C All answers are correct.

D ridiculed the aristocracy.

Question #49

Haydn’s contract of employment shows that he was considered

A a skilled servant.

B a freelance musician.

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 a limited sociological factor.

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

Question #51

A symphony is a

A work for chorus and orchestra.

B work for solo instrument.

C sonata for orchestra.

D work for piano solo.

Question #52

Beethoven’s only opera is entitled

A Madame Butterfly.

B The Magic Flute.

C Don Giovanni.

D Fidelio.

Question #53

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

A Basso continuo

B Monophony

C Fugal counterpoint

D Operatic form

Question #54

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 showed his workflow in musical sketchbooks.

D described his struggles in letters to friends.

Question #55

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

A Sir John Falstaff.

B a despotic Italian nobleman.

C the servant to Leporello.

D the legendary Spanish lover.

Question #56

Mozart was born in

A Rohrau, Austria.

B Bonn, Germany.

C Salzburg, Austria.

D Eisenach, Germany.

Question #57

The typical orchestra of the classical period consisted of

A a loose ensemble of available instruments.

B strings with harpsichord continuo.

C woodwinds, trombones, drums, and strings.

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

Question #58

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

A 1820-1900.

B 1600-1750.

C 1450-1600.

D 1750-1820.

Question #59

Homophonic texture consists of

A one main melody accompanied by chords.

B a single melodic line without accompaniment.

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

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

Question #60

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

A scale.

B dominant.

C tonic.

D modulation.

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 staccato.

B glissando.

C vibrato.

D legato.

Question #64

Staccato refers to playing or singing a melody

A in small steps.

B in a short, detached manner.

C at a higher or lower pitch.

D in a smooth, connected manner.

Question #65

In musical notation, silence is indicated by

A beams.

B rests.

C clefs.

D notes.

Question #66

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

A vivace

B adagio

C allegro

D andante

Question #67

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

A Expiation

B A metronome

C Syncopation

D A ritardando

Question #68

The frequency of vibrations is measured in

A noiselike sounds.

B dynamic levels.

C cycles per minute.

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 draw the bow across two strings at the same time.

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

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

Question #70

The relative highness or lowness of a sound is called

A dynamics.

B octave.

C pitch.

D timbre.

Question #71

The range of a singer’s voice depends on

A physical makeup.

B training and physical makeup.

C training and musical style.

D which microphone the singer uses.

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 an octave.

B dynamic accent.

C pitch range.

D timbre.

Question #74

Music can be defined as

A sounds produced by musical instruments.

B sounds that are pleasing, as opposed to noise.

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

D a system of symbols that performers learn to read.

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