: 250451RR - The Baroque Era
Questions 1 to 20: Select the best answer to each question. Note that a question and its answers may be split across a page break, so be sure that you have seen the entire question and all the answers before choosing an answer.
1. The group of instruments accompanying a solo singer in an opera is known collectively as the
A. orchestra.
B. basso continuo.
C. harmonic ensemble.
D. chorus.

2. Handel's Messiah is classified as a/an
A. cantata.
B. opera.
C. chorale.
D. oratorio.

3. When a melody of the same hymn tune as the rest of the work is used, it's known as a
A. ritornello.
B. chorale.
C. oratorio.
D. cantata.

4. Which of the following is the most frequently performed of all early operas?
A. Dido and Aeneas
B. Orpheus
C. Awake, a Voice Calls to Us
D. The Four Seasons

5. Which of the following statement about Baroque music is true?
A. The melody is lyrical and rare virtuosic.
B. The form is primarily sectional.
C. Polyphonic and homophonic textures coexist.
D. Word painting is limited.

6. A trio-sonata texture features which three main voices?
A. One in the alto, one in the soprano, and one in the bass
B. Two in the bass and one in the soprano
C. Two in the soprano and one in the bass
D. Two in the alto and one in the bass

7. Which of the following is not an aspect of Baroque music?
A. Lyrical and declamatory melodies coexist.
B. There's a wider range of extremes in terms of rhythm.
C. Harmony is used as an underlying basis for melody.
D. There's no sharp distinction between instrumental and vocal music.

8. When instruments double the voices by playing the same notes sung by a chorus, the music is considered to have
A. paired movement.
B. contrasting timbre.
C. unified timbre.
D. syncopation.

9. The first opera to win widespread acclaim was
A. Handel's Messiah.
B. Monteverdi's Orpheus.
C. Handel's Rinaldo.
D. Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.

10. Very few of compositions written by _______ were published during his lifetime.
A. Bach
B. Purcell
C. Handel
D. Vivaldi

11. The use of two violins and a basso continuo forms which kind of music?
A. Trio sonata
B. Sonata da camera
C. Cantata
D. Sonata da chiesa

12. Which of the following pieces features multiple soloists, including a trumpet, oboe, violin, and recorder?
A. Fugue in G Minor
B. Brandenburg Concerto no. 2
C. Orpheus, selection from Act II
D. Dido and Aeneas, Overture and Act I, nos. 1–14

13. A _______ performance usually requires the musicians to embellish the part written for them.
A. virtuoso
B. transcripted
C. canzona
D. passacaglia

14. What does it mean to modulate?
A. Conduct the instruments to play the same notes sung by the chorus
B. Move to a different key area
C. Have each voice "imitate" one another
D. Bring back the same words with the same melody at regular intervals

15. Another word for "round" is
A. rhapsody.
B. canon.
C. sarabande.
D. gigue.

16. The _______ is a musical form that utilizes multiple soloists.
A. chorale prelude
B. concerto grosso
C. sarabande
D. Gothic motet

17. Instrumental work written for a soloist and a larger ensemble is called a
A. cantata.
B. concerto.
C. prelude.
D. fugue.

18. Which of the following means "that which is sung"?
A. Oratorio
B. Basso continuo
C. Ritornello
D. Cantata

19. Which type of music features a vocal quartet in which each voice has its own role, and the bass singer handles the repeated foundation part, often in the form of a short phrase of nonsense syllables?
A. Program music
B. Doo wop
C. Opera
D. Fugue

20. _______ is a form of polyphony consisting of two or more rhythmically interlocking voices.
A. Hocket
B. Oratorio
C. Call-and-response
D. Ostinato

250452RR - The Classical Era
Questions 1 to 20: Select the best answer to each question. Note that a question and its answers may be split across a page
break, so be sure that you have seen the entire question and all the answers before choosing an answer.
1. Which of the following forms is most common during the second movement of a string quartet?
A. ABC
B. ABA
C. AAB
D. ABB

2. Which mid-eighteenth century composer is credited with having the greatest impact on the significance of the string quartet?
A. Chopin
B. Mozart
C. Beethoven
D. Haydn

3. Which of the following is the highest voice in a string quartet?
A. Violin 1
B. Cello
C. Viola
D. Violin 2

4. The last "act" of a sonata is known as the
A. rondo.
B. cadenza.
C. secondary key area.
D. recapitulation.

5. Which of the following instruments is the woodwind that most closely resembles the human voice?
A. Bassoon
B. Trumpet
C. Oboe
D. Flute

6. A sonata closes with a/an
A. antecedent.
B. exposition.
C. recapitulation.
D. coda.

7. The second section of a sonata is commonly called the
A. coda.
B. exposition.
C. recapitulation.
D. development.

8. When the Italian words da capo appear at the end of a measure, the musician is being instructed to
A. play the refrain.
B. play the main part of the musical piece over again.
C. play the next part of the music quietly.
D. hold the notes for an extra three beats.

9. Which of Mozart's works is for a string quartet and two horns, is full of intentional mistakes, and pokes fun at bad composers?
A. A Little Serenade
B. "Requiem"
C. A Musical Joke
D. "String Quartet in G Minor"

10. The scene in which Dorothy returns to Kansas in the movie The Wizard of Oz can be likened to which
part of a sonata's form?
A. Development
B. Recapitulation
C. Exposition
D. Tonic

11. Which of the following does opera buffa portray?
A. Historical characters and situations
B. Religious characters and stories
C. Real-life characters and situations
D. Mythological characters and stories

12. Beethoven was one of the last composition pupils of which of the following composers?
A. William Billings
B. Joseph Haydn
C. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
D. Christoph Willibald Gluck

13. The opening section of a minuet is known as the
A. minuet exposition.
B. opening theme.
C. opening idea.
D. minuet proper.

14. Which of the following is a trait of Classical music?
A. There's a greater variety of formal principles.
B. Harmony is a large-scale structural element.
C. There's a great use of word painting.
D. Vocal and instrumental parts are sharply defined.

15. In an opera, the standard accompaniment for a recitative is
A. played by the orchestra.
B. the basso continuo alone.
C. sung by a soprano.
D. a function of the string quartet.

16. What dates are commonly assigned to the Classical period?
A. 1700—1800
B. 1750—1800
C. 1700—1750
D. 1650—1720

17. The _______ is an essential characteristic of the sonata form.
A. fluctuation of rhythm
B. absence of harmony
C. development of themes
D. sudden crescendo

18. While a string quartet is a collaborative enterprise, which musician usually takes the lead in a performance?
A. The violist
B. The second violinist
C. The cellist
D. The first violinist

19. Throughout the centuries, koto masters have often been
A. invitees to the king's court.
B. slaves.
C. priests.
D. women.

20. Which one of the following pieces of music would you most expect to be played by a full orchestra?
A. Symphony
B. Chamber music
C. Minuet
D. Concerto

250453RR - The Nineteenth Century, Part 1
Questions 1 to 20: Select the best answer to each question. Note that a question and its answers may be split across a page break, so be sure that you have seen the entire question and all the answers before choosing an answer.
1. Franz Schubert was known for having written
A. four operas.
B. 11 symphonies.
C. 100 violin concertos.
D. hundreds of Lieder.

2. The oratorio Elijah was written by the nineteenth century composer
A. Franz Schubert.
B. Robert Schumann.
C. Clara Wieck Shumann.
D. Felix Mendelssohn.

3. The composer utilized the minor mode in Symphonie fantastique to represent
A. earthiness.
B. solemnity and brilliance.
C. joy and love.
D. gloom and ferocity.

4. In his Fifth Symphony, Beethoven
A. limits the harmony of the string section.
B. utilizes the percussion section in a whole new way.
C. varies the use of the wind and string instruments.
D. introduces the short-LONG-short-LONG rhythm.

5. In which of Beethoven's symphonies did he incorporate a chorus singing "Ode to Joy"?
A. Ninth
B. Sixth
C. Fifth
D. Seventh

6. _______ was called the "Valkyrie of the Piano."
A. Louise Farrenc
B. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel
C. Teresa Carreno
D. Clara Wieck Schumann

7. Berlioz provided _______ to his audiences as an overview of the dramatic structure of his work.
A. transcripts
B. librettos
C. programs
D. scores

8. Both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union prohibited which of the following kinds of music?
A. Italian opera
B. French folksongs
C. Marches
D. Some types of jazz

9. The overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream is a one-movement work
A. praised for its virtuosic sonata form.
B. famous for the interplay of piano, violin, and cello.
C. that presents the same basic musical idea in each strophe of the text.
D. known for the massive sound of the orchestra.

10. A poem that tells a story is called a
A. limerick.
B. ballad.
C. stanza.
D. chorale.

11. In which register is the narrator's voice in Schubert's "Elrkõning"?
A. One of the highest
B. The softest
C. The loudest
D. A neutral one

12. Which composer wrote Lieder that serve as settings of verse by the greatest writers of the time, as well as those that draw on works by poets who are largely forgotten today?
A. Beethoven
B. Schumann
C. Berlioz
D. Shubert

13. The piano became a popular instrument for middle-class families when
A. mass production became possible.
B. Dvořák composed The American.
C. the Transcontinental Railroad was completed.
D. the Civil War ended.

14. When the individual movements of a work are linked using a common musical idea, the work as a whole is commonly described as
A. nationalistic.
B. cyclic.
C. harmonic.
D. polyphonic.

15. Who wrote a piece in which the third movement is titled "Scene in the Countryside"?
A. Schumann
B. Beethoven
C. Schubert
D. Berlioz

16. Which composer called himself a tone poet?
A. Mendelssohn
B. Schubert
C. Beethoven
D. Schumann

17. During which movement in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony do double variations appear?
A. Second
B. First
C. Third
D. Fourth

18. The piano trio has been a popular instrument since the middle of the _______ century.
A. seventeenth
B. eighteenth
C. sixteenth
D. nineteenth

19. William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, was captured in a piece by
A. Ludwig van Beethoven.
B. Felix Mendelssohn.
C. Hector Berlioz.
D. Franz Schubert.

20. The rhythm of the opening statement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is
A. LONG-short-short-short.
B. Short-short-short-LONG.
C. Short-LONG-short-LONG.
D. Short-LONG-short-short.

250454RR - The Nineteenth Century, Part 2
Questions 1 to 20: Select the best answer to each question. Note that a question and its answers may be split across a page break, so be sure that you have seen the entire question and all the answers before choosing an answer.
1. What is the term for a 25-string fretless lute that features a skin head stretched over a gourd-shaped body?
A. Sitar
B. Tabla
C. Sarod
D. Tambura

2. The first American-born piano virtuoso to achieve international fame was
A. Antonin Dvořák.
B. Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
C. Johannes Brahms.
D. Richard Wagner.

3. Whose work helped galvanize Northern sentiment in support of the American Civil War, as well as proved the composer's talent as a piano virtuoso?
A. Richard Wagner
B. Louis Moreau Gottschalk
C. Antonin Dvořák
D. Giuseppe Verdi

4. Which of the following was a common band instrument during the American Civil War?
A. Banjo
B. Timpani
C. Oboe
D. Fife

5. According to Wagner, what was a fundamental error of conventional opera?
A. The libretto being used only as a means to deliver virtuosic singing
B. Projection of the text and minimizing virtuosity
C. The action on the stage reflecting what the orchestra already delivers
D. Rhythmic melodies allowing singers to repeat phrases for dramatic effect

6. Why was Richard Wagner considered the most progressive composer of his day?
A. He advanced the harmonic idiom of music into new, exciting realms.
B. He introduced the libretto to the opera.
C. He combined choral music and orchestral music.
D. He used the tala pulses in his orchestrations.

7. In Verdi's La Traviata, Violetta sings _______ when unsure of herself.
A. in recitative
B. an aria
C. a virtuoso
D. in a lower key

8. Which of the following is a trait of nineteenth century music?
A. The texture is both polyphonic and homophonic, but on the whole more homophonic.
B. It features more smoothly flowing melodies.
C. The rhythm is highly varied, from simple to complex.
D. It marks the establishment of the modern orchestra.

9. Which opera was written to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal?
A. Aida
B. Il Trovatore
C. Requiem
D. Rigoletto

10. Whose detractors found his chromatic harmonics literally painful and called his music ear-splitting noise?
A. Richard Wagner
B. Louis Moreau Gottschalk
C. Ravi Shankar
D. Giuseppe Verdi

11. Who was the first American-born conductor to lead the New York Philharmonic?
A. Felix Weingartner
B. Arturo Toscanini
C. Marin Alsop
D. Leonard Bernstein

12. To show his intense national pride, _______ wrote a large number of mazurkas.
A. Ravi Shankar
B. Frédéric Chopin
C. Antonin Dvořák
D. Giuseppe Verdi

13. Richard Wagner drew on _______ for his opera The Ring of the Nibelungs.
A. Greek mythology
B. religious dogma
C. northern European mythology
D. Roman mythology

14. The third movement of Antonin Dvořák's "String Quartet in F Major" contains a light-hearted passage in a fast tempo and in triple meter called a
A. variation.
B. prelude.
C. rondo.
D. scherzo.

15. A single pair of notes played repeatedly in succession is known as a/an
A. sotto voce.
B. drone bass.
C. a capella.
D. hee haw.

16. Which one of the following musical notations allows performers to improvise slightly with the tempo?
A. Allegretto
B. Moderato
C. Rubato
D. Sostenuto

17. Which composer called the drama—the events transpiring on the stage—"deeds of music made visible"?
A. Richard Wagner
B. Johannes Brahms
C. Giuseppe Verdi
D. Antonin Dvořák

18. Compared to a violin, a cello has a _______ register.
A. quieter
B. higher
C. lower
D. calmer

19. Which composer wrote a solo piano piece that incorporated the "Star Spangled Banner," "Hail Columbia," and "Yankee Doodle" into the work?
A. Antonin Dvořák
B. Johannes Brahms
C. Ravi Shankar
D. Louis Moreau Gottschalk

20. During the nineteenth century, harmony became
A. highly important in program music.
B. a large-scale structural element.
C. more chromatic.
D. more discordant.

250455RR - The Twentieth Century, Part 1
Questions 1 to 20: Select the best answer to each question. Note that a question and its answers may be split across a page break, so be sure that you have seen the entire question and all the answers before choosing an answer.
1. In a mega-orchestra, the _______ often provide the harmonies of the inner voices between high and low.
A. cellos
B. violas
C. second violins
D. first violins

2. Expressionism gave priority to _______ over beauty.
A. emotion
B. surrealism
C. virtuosity
D. truth

3. Which composer's work veered away from sounding conventionally beautiful and instead strove to capture pain itself?
A. Arnold Schoenberg
B. Robert Johnson
C. Ruth Crawford
D. Igor Stravinsky

4. _______ is a complex type of syncopation in which patterns of twos occur at the same time as patterns of threes.
A. Waza
B. Motif
C. Hemiola
D. Arpeggio

5. Which composer was known for improvisation?
A. Arnold Schoenberg
B. Charles Ives
C. Ruth Crawford
D. Charlie Parker

6. Which composer believed that music is all too often treated as a "narcotic," something that dulls the senses rather than arouses them?
A. Duke Ellington
B. Ruth Crawford
C. Charles Ives
D. Arnold Schoenberg

7. _______ notes are produced by lowering the third, fifth, or seventh steps of major scales.
A. Blue
B. Falsetto
C. Minor
D. Low

8. Which of the following composers sought to obtain a nonpercussive sound from the piano in his compositions?
A. Charles Ives
B. Claude Debussy
C. Charlie Parker
D. Duke Ellington

9. Which composer wrote a suite of dances about childhood for piano?
A. Claude Debussy
B. Charles Ives
C. Scott Joplin
D. Igor Stravinsky

10. _______ was one of the most lucrative parts of the music business at the end of the nineteenth century.
A. Providing music lessons
B. Writing sheet music
C. Giving concerts
D. Selling instruments

11. Roland says that Ruth Crawford Seeger was a modernist composer. Clive says that she was a collector and arranger of American folksongs. Who is correct?
A. Both Roland and Clive are correct.
B. Only Clive is correct.
C. Neither Roland nor Clive is correct.
D. Only Roland is correct.

12. In The Unanswered Question, the strings are played
A. fast and loud for shock value.
B. in unresolved and virtuosic dissonance.
C. as if they're playing a slow hymn quietly with an even tempo.
D. in constant competition with the brass.

13. Which work should be considered as a piece that travels through the dimension of space, starting low, moving upward, and returning back to where it started?
A. "Ornithology"
B. Piano Study in Mixed Accents
C. Rite of Spring
D. "Cotton Tail"

14. In the first years of the twentieth century, _______ was perceived as a threat to the "moral, spiritual, mental, and even physical well-being" of the nation.
A. bebop
B. ragtime
C. downhome blues
D. big band jazz

15. Bebop is a style of
A. fusion.
B. pop.
C. ragtime.
D. jazz.

16. Which of the following words means "very soft"?
A. Pianissimo
B. Fortissimo
C. Piano
D. Forte

17. The angular, dissonant, and challenging melodies that are the core of bebop are called
A. leads.
B. heads.
C. souls.
D. hearts.

18. Standard Song Form for popular hits of the 1920s and 1930s was
A. AABA.
B. ABBA.
C. AABB.
D. ABA.

19. Debussy's Voiles was inspired by a Javanese instrument ensemble called a
A. gamelan.
B. gong.
C. wave.
D. quartet.

20. _______ is a singing technique that's part speech and part song.
A. Walkurie
B. Klangfarben
C. Erlkönig
D. Sprechstimme

250456RR - The Twentieth Century, Part 2
Questions 1 to 20: Select the best answer to each question. Note that a question and its answers may be split across a page break, so be sure that you have seen the entire question and all the answers before choosing an answer.
1. Public Enemy's abrasive rap recording "Fight the Power" has a basic pulse of _______ beats per minute.
A. 120
B. 60
C. 106
D. 86

2. "The Walls Converge" is an example of _______ music.
A. non-diegetic
B. diegetic
C. neoclassical
D. postmodern

3. A musical style that combines traditional and modern elements is called
A. exhibitionism.
B. postmodernism.
C. minimalism.
D. modernism.

4. In the song "Tonight" from the musical West Side Story, the composer distributed two basic melodies among different characters to create a kind of _______, in which nothing disappears but new layers are constantly introduced.
A. dissonant form
B. layered presence
C. additive form
D. consonant counterpoint

5. Tamra says that the difference between an opera and a musical is that the opera includes more spoken word than singing. Eduardo says that the musical contains singing with some spoken dialog. Who is correct?
A. Both Tamra and Eduardo
B. Tamra
C. Neither Tamra nor Eduardo
D. Eduardo

6. Notes that begin a phrase before a downbeat are known as pick-up notes, or a/an
A. shuffle groove.
B. duck walk.
C. anacrusis.
D. call and response.

7. What does the word kebyar mean?
A. Ensemble
B. Shimmering
C. Interlocking
D. Explosive

8. The "classic" in "Neoclassical" refers to the music of the _______ century in general.
A. eighteenth
B. sixteenth
C. nineteenth
D. seventeenth

9. The _______ is a xylophone-like instrument with tubular resonators under each bar.
A. marimba
B. conga
C. suspended cymbal
D. piccolo

10. _______ works are often playful in spirit, a reaction against the unrelenting seriousness of much modernist art.
A. Postmodern
B. Minimalist
C. Neoclassical
D. Concerto

11. _______ composers were not attempting to recreate or imitate past styles, but to incorporate past styles into a contemporary idiom.
A. Art song
B. Nationalist
C. Opera
D. Neoclassical

12. The type of music that blended the musical styles of jump blues and honky-tonk was
A. hip hop.
B. jazz.
C. rock 'n' roll.
D. Motown.

13. Rock ‘n' roll capitalized on the youth culture of
A. Generation X.
B. the baby boom generation.
C. the silent generation.
D. Generation Y.

14. Which composer's work has been likened to Brahms and Dvořák?
A. John Cage
B. John Williams
C. Philip Glass
D. Austin Wintory

15. On whose show did Elvis Presley make his famous debut?
A. Steve Allen
B. Milton Berle
C. Ed Sullivan
D. Dick Clark

16. _______ is a common recording technique that has been used in many kinds of music since the middle of the twentieth century.
A. Reverberation
B. Stompboxing
C. Looping
D. Overdubbing

17. Which of the following composers wrote the music for West Side Story?
A. Cole Porter
B. George M. Cohan
C. Jerome Kern
D. Leonard Bernstein

18. Which of the following is used in Sonata II's prepared piano?
A. Copper wire
B. Wooden blocks
C. Coins
D. Small pieces of rubber

19. Agnes de Mille choreographed Aaron Copland's Rodeo to blend
A. square dance with Irish jig.
B. jazz with ballet.
C. ballet with tap.
D. ballet with square dance.

20. Einstein on a Beach was a unique opera because it
A. had a single violinist.
B. was exclusively recitative.
C. was written in Chinese.
D. had no plot and very little singing.

: 250451RR - The Baroque Era Questions 1 to 20: Select the best an...