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 polytonality.

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 Louis Armstrong.

B William C. Handy.

C Bessie Smith.

D King Oliver.

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 polyphonic texture.

B jazz.

C calling the beat.

D call and response.

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 chance music.

B serialism.

C Klangfarbenmelodie.

D minimalism.

Question #7

George Gershwin grew up in

A Anatevka, Russia.

B Paris, France.

C New York, New York.

D Charleston, South Carolina.

Question #8

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

A concert pianist.

B conductor.

C singer.

D impresario.

Question #9

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

A polonaise

B concert overture

C nocturne

D program symphony

Question #10

Nonprogram music is also known as _____________ music.

A symphonic

B absolute

C concert

D pure

Question #11

Program music is

A vocal music that tells a story.

B All answers are correct.

C music that depicts aspects of nature.

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

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 Paris

C Budapest

D Rome

Question #13

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

A a polonaise.

B a nocturne.

C ein lied.

D an etude.

Question #14

Most of Chopin’s pieces

A are for a wide range of media.

B have a limited variety of moods.

C have literary programs or titles.

D are exquisite miniatures.

Question #15

Chopin expressed his love of Poland by composing polonaises and

A polkas.

B mazurkas.

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 the first great master of the romantic art song.

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 ballade

B chanson

C durchkomponiert

D lied

Question #18

An art song is a musical composition for

A solo voice and piano.

B solo voice and orchestra.

C All answers are correct.

D multiple voices.

Question #19

When music conservatories were founded, women

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

B were not admitted.

C were admitted only as vocalists.

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

Question #20

The rise of the urban middle class led to the

A All answers are correct.

B development of regular subscription concerts.

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 Schubert.

B Frédéric Chopin.

C Hector Berlioz.

D Franz Liszt.

Question #22

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

A Ludwig van Beethoven.

B Joseph Haydn.

C Johann Sebastian Bach.

D Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

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 nineteenth-century society and culture.

D his family lineage.

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 unending melody.

C leitmotif.

D speech-song.

Question #25

The librettos to The Ring of the Nibelung were written by

A Hans von Bülow.

B Arrigo Boito.

C Richard Wagner

D King Ludwig of Bavaria.

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

D built an opera house according to his specifications.

Question #27

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

A ritardando.

B rubato.

C fermata.

D accelerando.

Question #28

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

A Ludwig van Beethoven.

B Johannes Brahms.

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 Turandot and Manon Lescaut.

B Madame Butterfly and Turandot.

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 chamber music.

B operas.

C choral works.

D art songs.

Question #32

Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet is

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

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

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

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 Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

B Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

C César Cu

D Modest Mussorgsky

Question #34

Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony

A has five movements.

B is in the usual four-movement form.

C ends with a slow, despairing finale.

D was left unfinished by the composer.

Question #35

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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

B studied music theory and violin as a teenager.

C preferred his government position to music.

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

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 clarinet.

B harpsichord.

C piano.

D cello.

Question #38

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

A an instrumental soloist and orchestra.

B any combination of instruments.

C an instrumental soloist.

D symphonic orchestra.

Question #39

The last movement of a classical symphony

A is always in the tonic key of the symphony.

B is usually fast, lively, and brilliant, but somewhat lighter in mood than the opening movement.

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

D All answers are correct.

Question #40

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

A ABA

B minuet

C sonata

D rondo

Question #41

The scherzo differs from the minuet in that it

A has a different form.

B has a different meter.

C All answers are correct.

D moves more quickly.

Question #42

The minuet is in _______ meter.

A triple

B duple

C quadruple

D common

Question #43

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

A third.

B fourth.

C second.

D first.

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 rides.

B codas.

C melodies.

D motives.

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 the conflict of tonalities between the first and second themes.

D retaining the same tonality for both themes.

Question #48

In the classical period, comic operas sometimes

A were in Latin.

B All answers are correct.

C ridiculed the aristocracy.

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 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 sonata for orchestra.

B work for piano solo.

C work for solo instrument.

D work for chorus and orchestra.

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 the servant to Leporello.

B the legendary Spanish lover.

C a despotic Italian nobleman.

D Sir John Falstaff.

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 strings with harpsichord continuo.

B woodwinds, trombones, drums, and strings.

C a loose ensemble of available instruments.

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

Question #58

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

A 1750-1820.

B 1600-1750.

C 1820-1900.

D 1450-1600.

Question #59

Homophonic texture consists of

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

B one main melody accompanied by chords.

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

D a single melodic line without accompaniment.

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 dominant chord.

B resolution.

C tonic chord.

D progression.

Question #62

A sequence may be defined as

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

B a resting place at the end of a phrase.

C the emotional focal point of a melody.

D a part of a melody.

Question #63

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

A vibrato.

B glissando.

C staccato.

D legato.

Question #64

Staccato refers to playing or singing a melody

A in small steps.

B at a higher or lower pitch.

C in a short, detached manner.

D in a smooth, connected manner.

Question #65

In musical notation, silence is indicated by

A notes.

B clefs.

C beams.

D rests.

Question #66

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

A vivace

B andante

C adagio

D allegro

Question #67

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

A A ritardando

B Expiation

C Syncopation

D A metronome

Question #68

The frequency of vibrations is measured in

A cycles per second.

B noiselike sounds.

C dynamic levels.

D cycles per minute.

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

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 timbre.

B pitch.

C octave.

D dynamics.

Question #71

The range of a singer’s voice depends on

A training and physical makeup.

B 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 pianissimo.

B blooper.

C dynamic accent.

D crescendo.

Question #73

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

A timbre.

B pitch range.

C dynamic accent.

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 sounds produced by musical instruments.

D a system of symbols that performers learn to read.

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