Final Examination

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Question #1

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

A polytonality.

B ostinato.

C a tone cluster.

D atonality.

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 King Oliver.

C William C. Handy.

D Bessie Smith.

Question #3

The backbone of a jazz ensemble is its

A director.

B brass section.

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 polyphonic texture.

B call and response.

C calling the beat.

D jazz.

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

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 Klangfarbenmelodie.

B serialism.

C minimalism.

D chance music.

Question #7

George Gershwin grew up in

A Paris, France.

B Charleston, South Carolina.

C Anatevka, Russia.

D New York, New York.

Question #8

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

A conductor.

B impresario.

C singer.

D concert pianist.

Question #9

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

A polonaise

B program symphony

C nocturne

D concert overture

Question #10

Nonprogram music is also known as _____________ music.

A pure

B concert

C symphonic

D absolute

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 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 an etude.

C ein lied.

D a nocturne.

Question #14

Most of Chopin’s pieces

A are exquisite miniatures.

B are for a wide range of media.

C have a limited variety of moods.

D have literary programs or titles.

Question #15

Chopin expressed his love of Poland by composing polonaises and

A folk songs.

B mazurkas.

C polkas.

D waltzes.

Question #16

Schubert

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

B produced his greatest works after the age of forty.

C was widely acknowledged as a composer in his lifetime.

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 All answers are correct.

D solo voice and orchestra.

Question #19

When music conservatories were founded, women

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

B were not admitted.

C were admitted only as vocalists.

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

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 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 Hector Berlioz.

B Franz Schubert.

C Franz Liszt.

D Frédéric Chopin.

Question #22

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

A Ludwig van Beethoven.

B Johann Sebastian Bach.

C Joseph Haydn.

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 colonisation of Africa.

B the Renaissance.

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 speech-song.

C leitmotif.

D unending melody.

Question #25

The librettos to The Ring of the Nibelung were written by

A Richard Wagner

B Arrigo Boito.

C King Ludwig of Bavaria.

D Hans von Bülow.

Question #26

During Wagner’s time in Paris, he

A conducted the famous premiere of his opera, Rienzi.

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

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

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 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 Hector Berlioz.

D Johann Sebastian Bach.

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 Turandot and Manon Lescaut.

C Madame Butterfly 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 All answers are correct.

B Ludwig van Beethoven.

C Joseph Haydn.

D Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Question #31

Brahms wrote masterpieces in many musical forms, but never any

A chamber music.

B operas.

C art songs.

D choral works.

Question #32

Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet is

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

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

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

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 Modest Mussorgsky

C Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

D César Cu

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 preferred his government position to music.

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 using their national legends as subject matter.

B All answers are correct.

C using the rhythms of the dances of their homelands.

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

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 an instrumental soloist.

B any combination of instruments.

C an instrumental soloist and orchestra.

D symphonic orchestra.

Question #39

The last movement of a classical symphony

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

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

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 minuet

B ABA

C sonata

D rondo

Question #41

The scherzo differs from the minuet in that it

A has a different form.

B All answers are correct.

C moves more quickly.

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 third.

B fourth.

C first.

D second.

Question #44

Each successive variation in a theme with variations

A is usually in the same key.

B is usually in a new key.

C presents a new melodic idea.

D retains some elements of the theme.

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 another term for the symphony.

C a set of variations on a theme.

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 motives.

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 the introduction of a new theme in the bridge.

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

C changing the meter of the second theme.

D retaining the same tonality for both themes.

Question #48

In the classical period, comic operas sometimes

A were based on the Old Testament.

B ridiculed the aristocracy.

C All answers are correct.

D were in Latin.

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 promoted and encouraged by the church.

B a limited sociological factor.

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

D ruthlessly stamped out by the aristocracy.

Question #51

A symphony is a

A work for solo instrument.

B work for chorus and orchestra.

C sonata for orchestra.

D work for piano solo.

Question #52

Beethoven’s only opera is entitled

A The Magic Flute.

B Fidelio.

C Madame Butterfly.

D Don Giovanni.

Question #53

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

A Monophony

B Basso continuo

C Fugal counterpoint

D Operatic form

Question #54

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

A described his struggles in letters to friends.

B keept a diary.

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 the legendary Spanish lover.

B the servant to Leporello.

C Sir John Falstaff.

D a despotic Italian nobleman.

Question #56

Mozart was born in

A Bonn, Germany.

B Eisenach, Germany.

C Salzburg, Austria.

D Rohrau, Austria.

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 1750-1820.

C 1600-1750.

D 1450-1600.

Question #59

Homophonic texture consists of

A one main melody accompanied by chords.

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

C a single melodic line without accompaniment.

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

Question #60

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

A scale.

B tonic.

C modulation.

D dominant.

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 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 legato.

D staccato.

Question #64

Staccato refers to playing or singing a melody

A in a short, detached manner.

B in small steps.

C at a higher or lower pitch.

D in a smooth, connected manner.

Question #65

In musical notation, silence is indicated by

A notes.

B clefs.

C rests.

D beams.

Question #66

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

A vivace

B allegro

C adagio

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 cycles per second.

B cycles per minute.

C dynamic levels.

D noiselike sounds.

Question #69

Pizzicato is an indication to the performer to

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

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

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

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 octave.

B dynamics.

C timbre.

D pitch.

Question #71

The range of a singer’s voice depends on

A which microphone the singer uses.

B training and physical makeup.

C 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 crescendo.

B blooper.

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 pitch range.

C timbre.

D dynamic accent.

Question #74

Music can be defined as

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

B sounds that are pleasing, as opposed to noise.

C a system of symbols that performers learn to read.

D sounds produced by musical instruments.

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