Chapter 47: American Intersections: Jazz and Blues Traditions
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following popular American musical styles has/have roots in both West African and
Euro-American music?
a. ragtime c. jazz
b. blues d. all of the answers shown here
2. Which musical style is sometimes referred to as “American classical music”?
a. jazz c. rock and roll
b. country-western d. blues
3. Which of the following best describes the form of a blues text?
a. A-B-A c. A-B-C
b. A-A-B d. A-B-B
4. Blues vocal lines feature melodic pitch bending, also known as:
a. bent notes. c. blue notes.
b. blue tones. d. bent tones.
5. Jazz gained momentum through the fusion of various musical styles in which city?
a. New York c. New Orleans
b. Chicago d. Los Angeles
6. Where did slaves meet in pre-Civil War New Orleans to dance to the accompaniment of drums,
gourds, mouth harps, and banjos?
a. Congo Square
b. Storyville
c. the French Quarter
d. the Garden District
7. Louis Armstrong was also known as:
a. Jelly Roll. c. King.
b. Hot Lips. d. Satchmo.
8. Which instrument did Louis Armstrong play?
a. trumpet c. clarinet
b. trombone d. piano
9. Louis Armstrong’s instrumental-like approach to singing is called:
a. work songs. c. scat-singing.
b. ring shouts. d. holler.
10. Billie Holiday’s song Billie’s Blues is in _____ form.
a. twelve-bar blues c. thirty-two-bar popular song
b. sixteen-bar blues d. ritornello
11. Billie Holiday was one of the first African American singers to:
a. sing and record the blues.
b. lead her own band.
c. perform in Carnegie Hall.
d. break the color barrier by recording and performing with white musicians.
12. Communal songs that synchronized the rhythm of work are known as:
a. ring shouts. c. spirituals.
b. work songs. d. blues.
13. Religious rituals that involved moving in a circle while praying, singing, and clapping hands are
known as:
a. work songs. c. ring shouts.
b. spirituals. d. all of the answers shown here
14. The standard harmonic progressions for blues songs are also called:
a. chord changes. c. blue notes.
b. charts. d. ring shouts.
15. In the years after the Civil War, country, or rural, blues arose in:
a. Chicago. c. the Piedmont.
b. New Orleans. d. the Mississippi Delta.
16. What was Billie Holiday’s nickname?
a. Satchmo c. Bird
b. Lady Day d. the Queen of Soul
17. A single statement of a melodic-harmonic pattern, like a twelve-bar blues, is called:
a. a chorus. c. bebop.
b. a chord progression. d. jazz.
TRUE/FALSE
1. Jazz is an art form that was created mainly by African Americans in the early twentieth century
and blended elements from African music with traditions of the West.
2. New Orleans jazz depended on simultaneous improvisations by the players, which resulted in a
polyphonic texture.
3. Louis Armstrong was an important force in the development of early jazz styles.
4. Because she was an African American, Billie Holiday never had a chance to record with white jazz
musicians.
5. A ring shout is a communal song that synchronized the rhythm of work.
6. By the turn of the twentieth-century, male singers accompanied by a steel-string guitar performed
country blues.
7. Billie’s Blues is a sixteen-bar blues.
8. Euro-American vernacular traditions had no influence on the development of jazz.
ESSAY
1. Describe the roots of jazz and blues.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 2 REF: Essentials: pp. 267–268
TOP: Roots of Jazz and Blues MSC: Conceptual
2. Discuss the influence that New Orleans had upon early jazz.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 3 REF: Essentials: p. 268
TOP: New Orleans Jazz MSC: Applied