60. What does it mean that Aaron Copland’s “Hoe–Down” is composed in an “open” fashion?
a. He composed it in a public area where all could see him working.
b. He left some parts unwritten and “open” for improvisation.
c. He leaves sonic space between instrumental parts, much like the open space of the
American West.
d. He chose to leave the piece open for later compositional additions
and improvements.
61. The opening melody, and the one that keeps returning in “Hoe-Down,” is a traditional
fiddle tune called
a. “The Wild West.”
b. “Dancin’ at the Savoy.”
c. “Classical Country.”
d. “Bonaparte’s Retreat.”
62. Copland’s “Hoe–Down” uses the duple meter associated with
a. American blues.
b. radio-broadcast polka.
c. American square dancing.
d. the foxtrot.
63. Which is NOT a way that Copland’s “Hoe–Down” has been used in the decades
following its composition?
a. in the television commercial, “Beef: It’s What’s for Dinner.”
b. in Bob Dylan’s concert entrances in 2006
c. in British rock band Emerson, Lake, and Palmer’s 1972 version
d. in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket
64. Why was Copland not identified on the Ed Sullivan show in 1956 when his Lincoln
Portrait was performed?
a. due to the piece being published anonymously
b. a disagreement about broadcast royalties
c. anti-communist sentiment during the McCarthy era
d. Copland’s unpopularity due to his modernist compositional style
65. Which instruments do NOT come to the fore in Bartok’s “Game of Pairs”?
a. strings
b. bassoons
c. flutes
d. trumpets
66. Bartok’s “Game of Pairs” utilizes a
a. sonata form.
b. theme and variation with inverted repetition.
c. ritornello form that follows a mirror image.
d. ternary form that is basically symmetrical.
67. How does Bartok articulate the form in “Game of Pairs”?
a. pizzicato and arco string sections
b. changes in the timbre, alternating between woodwind, brass, and percussion
c. dramatic dynamic contrast
d. harmonic modulation toward and away from tonic
68. How did Bartok’s ethnomusicological work affect his compositional style?
a. It helped him incorporate current popular styles such as jazz into his music.
b. It spurred him to follow the 12-tone compositional method.
c. It allowed him to draw from the “uncontaminated” musical styles of folk cultures.
d. all of the above
69. Which orchestra commissioned Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra?
a. Royal Philharmonic in London
b. Budapest Philharmonic
c. Vienna Philharmonic
d. Boston Symphony Orchestra
70. In what ways is an operetta different from an opera?
a. An operetta uses a more adventurous harmonic language.
b. An operetta is an amateur production, not performed for profit.
c. An opera uses an orchestra, whereas the operetta is performed unaccompanied.
d. An operetta uses spoken dialogue and is typically more light-hearted.
71. Bernstein’s West Side Story can be characterized as a
a. historical re-creation of prohibition-era gang wars.
b. twentieth-century version of the Gesamtkunstwerk.
c. modern musical retelling of Romeo and Juliet.
d. none of the above
72. In “Tonight,” Bernstein uses additive form to
a. demonstrate the many different feelings of one character.
b. build emotional complexity by adding multiple characters
and contrasting melodies.
c. convey the chaotic energy of the mambo dance.
d. both B and C.
73. Which creative role was NOT part of what Ned Rorem described as Leonard Bernstein’s
“four lives in one”?
a. pianist
b. conductor
c. educator
d. playwright
74. Which musical considers the aftermath of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam?
a. South Pacific
b. Miss Saigon
c. Rent
d. West Side Story
75. The term “prepared piano” refers to
a. studio processing of a piano recording.
b. precise electronic testing of a piano’s consistency in sound production.
c. the insertion of various pieces of hardware into a piano to alter its sound.
d. the standard body of performance techniques used to play the piano repertoire.
76. The sound of the prepared piano has been compared to that of
a. the Indonesian gamelan.
b. pianist Glenn Gould.
c. a chainsaw.
d. a Moog synthesizer.
77. Cage’s Sonata II uses
a. modernist serial techniques.
b. a surprisingly old-fashioned periodic phrase structure.
c. an ensemble of four performers to articulate its complex cross-rhythms.
d. both B and C.
78. What is the form of Cage’s Sonata II?
a. rondo
b. binary
c. ternary
d. theme and variations
79. Cage once declared which of the following?
a. “Everything we do is music.”
b. “There is no such thing as music.”
c. “Silence is music and music is life.”
80. Which of the following is NOT typically included in the gamelan?
a. bronze-keyed vibraphones
b. double-reed woodwinds
c. bowl-shaped horizontal gongs
d. small percussion instruments
81. What does the term kebyar mean?
a. “ostinato”
b. “shimmering timbre”
c. “explosive”
d. “cycle”
82. What technique gives Kebyar Ding III its energy?
a. specialized use of glissando
b. “interlocking” melodies that alternate among groups of instruments
c. a particular tuning system in the gender
d. improvisation
83. How would one characterize the dynamics and tempo in “Oncang–oncangan”?
a. many abrupt changes
b. drone-like and subdued
c. constant and driving
d. slow-changing and hymn-like
84. The form in “Oncang–oncangan” seems to
a. follow a programmatic narrative.
b. relate to a ternary structure.
c. build to a brilliant climax near the end.
d. have no direction.
85. In Einstein on the Beach, a great deal of the text is
a. stolen from Puccini’s operas.
b. recited, with limited singing.
c. based upon Schubert’s art songs.
d. improvised.
86. Philip Glass is known for composing in a style known as minimalism, which can be
described as a
a. genre that uses only one or two instruments or voices for each piece.
b. movement that uses a stripped-down sound, rejecting new technologies.
c. style based on multiple repetitions of only a few brief ideas.
d. all of the above.
87. In “Knee Play 1,”
a. the chorus, organ, and spoken voices all develop in an uncoordinated way.
b. the spoken voices and chorus move in coordination, while the organ improvises.
c. all voices move together in homophony.
d. the organ and chorus move in close coordination, while the spoken voices enter
and exit randomly.
88. In terms of harmony, “Knee Play 1”
a. shifts dramatically among far-removed key areas.
b. is atonal, avoiding any key center.
c. follows a simple harmonic progression based on only three chords.
d. uses a ritornello structure.
89. “Knee Play 1” unfolds over a constantly repeated bass in the organ called a(n)
a. ostinato.
b. recitative.
c. basso continuo.
d. tablature.
90. Which is NOT a timbre heard in Chuck Berry’s “School Day”?
a. electric guitar
b. growling saxophone
c. piano boogie
d. bass
91. Which film, released two years before “School Day,” connected teen sex and delinquency
with rock ‘n’ roll music?
a. From Here to Eternity
b. Rock Around the Clock
c. Some Like It Hot
d. Blackboard Jungle
92. Which of the following can be described as a rhythmic pattern in which each beat is
subdivided into three pulses?
a. 12-bar blues
b. shuffle groove
c. stop time
d. call-and-response
93. Chuck Berry developed a distinctive performance gimmick known as the
a. duck walk.
b. shimmy down.
c. cakewalk.
d. berry jive.
94. Which television show began airing in 1957 and spread new records, artists, and dance
styles across the country?
a. Happy Days
b. Top of the Pops
c. American Bandstand
d. Hootenanny
95. The backing texture of “Fight the Power” is made of up layers of vocal clips and sound
fragments called
a. riffs.
b. samples.
c. grooves.
d. hits.
96. What is the form of “Fight the Power”?
a. verse-chorus
b. 12-bar blues
c. 32-bar song form
d. through-composed strophic
97. What aspect of Public Enemy’s vocal delivery in “Fight the Power” creates tension in
relation to the accompanying groove?
a. expletives
b. unison rhythmic attack
c. syncopation
d. alliterative repetition
98. Which African-American artist does Public Enemy criticize in “Fight the Power”?
a. Chuck Berry
b. Ray Charles
c. Bobby McFerrin
d. Prince
99. Public Enemy’s records in the second half of the 1980s were groundbreaking for their
a. use of a racially integrated rap crew.
b. glorification of West Coast gang violence.
c. use of live instruments in a hip-hop context.
d. politically charged, black nationalist sentiments.
100. In the visual arts and architecture, __________ favored clean, straight lines and
functionality.
a. neo-gothicism
b. postmodernism
c. romanticism
d. modernism
101. Postmodern musical style
a. combines modern and traditional elements.
b. seeks a complete break with the past.
c. is characterized by a stylistic homogeneity.
d. all of the above.
102. Which element in Guanguacó establishes a sense of a tonal center?
a. the upper-register harmonic figures in the piano
b. the lower-register ostinato melody in the piano
c. the vibraphone
d. the marimba
103. A la Par mixes
a. Cuban dance rhythms with atonal harmonies.
b. Spanish folksongs with hip-hop samples.
c. modernist atonality with seventeenth-century polyphonic counterpoint.
d. over a half-dozen distinct styles and genres of music.
104. Leon’s music reflects her
a. desire to emulate John Cage.
b. engagement with a great many musical traditions.
c. Impressionistic tendencies.
d. struggles with drugs and poverty.
105. What is the general purpose of non-diegetic music in films?
a. It allows the characters to make music on screen.
b. It draws attention away from the on-screen action.
c. It supports the action and dialogue on screen.
d. None of the above; by definition, non-diegetic music is not part of film.
106. Why does John Williams use such little melody in “The Walls Converge”?
a. His film scores never tend to emphasize melodies.
b. He was worried about sounding derivative to Wagner’s Leitmotifs.
c. The Darth Vader theme emphasized in this section is not melodic.
d. The action on screen doesn’t call for it.
107. Which of the following compositional devices is NOT used by John Williams in “The
Walls Converge”?
a. a Leitmotif to signify the power of the Force
b. dissonant harmonies to give the sense of danger and anxiety
c. low, dark timbres to accompany the characters being down in a trash compactor
d. bright and mysterious timbres to accompany the droids in the control room
108. John Williams has written
a. the music for Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List and Superman.
b. award-winning music for television.
c. concertos for flute, violin, and tuba.
d. all of the above.
109. Before 1927 the only way to provide a musical soundtrack for a movie was to have
live musicians perform at every show. The ________ was a favorite instrument for this
purpose.
a. piano
b. accordion
c. organ
d. guitar
110. Which of the following is NOT a way that Dargel’s “On This Date Every Year” is
postmodern?
a. textual reference to modern technologies
b. use of recent technologies like digital looping
c. atonal harmonic structure
d. dense polyphony similar to that found in much Renaissance music
111. What is the purpose of digital looping in Dargel’s “On This Date Every Year”?
a. to make the voice sound fuller
b. to allow a violin melody to repeat while another melody is performed on top
c. to create a steady drum beat over which he can sing
d. to fix problems with intonation
112. How many beats are in each measure of “On This Date Every Year”?
a. two
b. three
c. four
d. five
113. How is the idea of “anniversary” reinforced by the music of “On This Date Every Year”?
a. The number of beats per measure multiplies into the number of months in a year.
b. The scale divisions reflect the number of weeks in a year.
c. It uses varied repetitions through digital looping.
d. all of the above
114. Corey Dargel
a. was discovered by a record-label scout while performing in a small club.
b. began his music career as a guitarist at Berklee College of Music.
c. studied composition at Oberlin College with Pauline Oliveros.
d. all of the above.
115. The music in “Nascence”
a. is a diegetic element of Journey’s introductory scene.
b. follows a Leitmotif structure.
c. accompanies the action for the game’s climax.
d. presents the musical elements that will develop and transform over
the course of the game.
116. Which instrument in “Nascence” provides a combination of familiar and unfamiliar that
helps create a mood unique to Journey?
a. cello
b. shawm
c. bass flute
d. English horn
117. What is the texture of the final section of “Nascence”?
a. monophonic
b. homophonic
c. heterophonic
d. polyphonic
118. Today, composers of music for video games
a. rely exclusively on high-quality synthetized sounds for their soundtracks.
b. have all switched over to using prerecorded music for their soundtracks.
c. often use “blended” scores of both prerecorded and synthesized sounds.
d. usually use automated computer algorithms to write the music for them.
119. Which is NOT a venue for which Austin Wintory still actively composes music?
a. musical theater
b. games
c. film
d. concert music