Music Appreciation MCQs

Music Appreciation MCQs

The following Music Appreciation MCQs have been compiled by our experts through research, in order to test your knowledge of the subject of Music Appreciation. We encourage you to answer these multiple-choice questions to assess your proficiency.
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1: The _________ movement of haydn's surprise symphony is in theme-and-variations form.

A.   First

B.   Second

C.   Third

D.   Fourth

2: The emphasis on rhythm brought the ____________ section of the orchestra into greater prominence.

A.   Wide leaps and dissonant intervals.

B.   A tone row.

C.   Retrograde

D.   Percussion

3: A _____ can be a building block in the construction of a musical work.

A.   Sequence

B.   Theme

C.   Variation

D.   None of these

4: A special theater was built at ____________ for the presentation of wagner

A.   Wagner

B.   Separate arias

C.   Bayreuth

5: An ____________ is an orchestral composition performed before the curtain rises on a dramatic work.

A.   Overture

B.   Basso buffo

C.   Chorale

D.   Basso ostinato

6: A lied is an art song for solo voice and piano sung in _____.

A.   Latin

B.   French

C.   Italian

D.   German

7: A melody is said to move by steps if it moves by ______.

A.   Large intervals.

B.   Having rests between the notes.

C.   Repeating the same notes.

D.   Adjacent scale tones.

8: A melody that is stated backward is said to be in _____.

A.   Art of Fugue

B.   Episodes

C.   Retrograde

D.   Exposition

9: A pizzicato effect is created on a string instrument when _____.

A.   The strings are bowed

B.   The strings are plucked

C.   The finger slides along the string

10: A short, repeated musical pattern used as a structural device is known as a(n) _____.

A.   Variation

B.   Ostinato

C.   Movements

D.   Ternary

11: A song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment is called a/an ______.

A.   Key

B.   Aria

C.   Two violins and basso continuo

D.   Henry Purcel

12: A survivor from warsaw used three languages: english, german, and _______.

A.   UCLA

B.   Students

C.   1921

D.   Hebrew

13: A symphonic band is different from an orchestra due to the absence of ______.

A.   Strings.

B.   Horsehair

C.   Tambourine

D.   Clarinet

14: A woodwind quintet is unusual in that _____.

A.   It has only four players

B.   It includes a string instrument

C.   It includes a brass instrument.

15: After his conservatory studies, chopin spent most of his productive career in _____.

A.   Germany

B.   Italy

C.   France

D.   England

16: All of the following were major baroque composers except ______.

A.   Pierluigi da Palestrina.

B.   Sonata da camera

C.   Basso continuo

D.   Basso buffo

17: Along with his symphonies, haydn's ________ are considered his most important works.

A.   Operas

B.   Serenades

C.   String quartets

D.   Baryton trios.

18: An accented beat followed by two weak beats would indicate a ____________ meter.

A.   Third

B.   Iambic

C.   Triple

D.   None of these

19: Baroque suites frequently begin with a ______.

A.   Stretto

B.   Frence overture

C.   Opera

D.   Libretto

20: Billy the kid, rodeo, and appalachian spring are ballets by _____.

A.   Concord Sonata

B.   Aaron Copland

C.   Wind band

D.   New England

21: Brahms wrote his requiem mass in memory of _____.

A.   His mother

B.   Dance or scherzo

C.   Four

D.   Small orchestra with limited winds

22: By the middle of the nineteenth century, pianos were __________.

A.   Produced in factories, making them more affordable than before.

B.   Percussion section

C.   Harriet Smithson

D.   Political sentiments

23: Charles ives's music contains elements of _______.

A.   Revival hymns and ragtime.

B.   Patriotic songs and barn dances.

C.   Village bands and church choirs.

24: Critics were often scandalized by the subject matter of verdi's operas because they ______.

A.   Were based on Shakespearean plays

B.   Symbolized a free and unified Italy.

C.   Commemorated the Suez canal, which was not even in Europe.

D.   Seemed to condone rape, suicide, and free love

25: During the first ten years of his creative life, schumann published only ______.

A.   Musical criticism

B.   Songs

C.   Piano pieces

D.   Symphonies

26: Dynamics determine the ______________ at which music is played.

A.   Volume

B.   Rate of speed

C.   Venue

D.   None of these

27: Edvard grieg represents the _____ nationalist school.

A.   All possible answers

B.   Incidental music

C.   Scandinavian

D.   Henrik Ibsen

28: Expressionism as an artistic movement was largely centered in ______.

A.   Norway

B.   The United States

C.   Germany and Austria

D.   Spain

29: In music, the early twentieth century was a time of ______.

A.   The continuation of old forms.

B.   Stagnation.

C.   Revolt and change.

D.   Disinterest.

30: Louis xv and frederick the great ruled as a result of norms associated with _____.

A.   Meritocracy

B.   Democracy

C.   Aristocracy

D.   Technocracy

31: Nadezhda von meck's relationship with tchaikovsky was that of his _____.

A.   Romeo and Juliet

B.   Patron

C.   Celesta

D.   None of these

32: The element that propels music forward in time is _____.

A.   First

B.   Meter

C.   Rhythm

D.   Three

33: The large size of the romantic orchestra resulted in the need for a _____.

A.   French horn

B.   Conductor

C.   Small orchestras (NOT interest in new orchestral forms, increased dissonance expression, or added varied tone color/ timbre)

D.   None of these

34: The musical heir of haydn and mozart, beethoven bridged the the __________ and __________ periods.

A.   Schiller's Ode to Joy

B.   Esterhazy

C.   Classical Romantic

D.   Scherzo

35: The overall form of debussy's prelude to "the afternoon of a faun" is best described as _____.

A.   Sonata-allegro

B.   Rondeau

C.   Ternary (A-B-A')

D.   None of these

36: The overall melodic movement of the main theme in this excerpt is best described as ____.

A.   Conjunct.

B.   Trumpet

C.   Duple

D.   Chimes

37: The text of a survivor from warsaw _______.

A.   Was written by Schoenberg

B.   Accumulated in the barn of his Connecticut farm.

C.   Were sought after by musicians eager to perform them in public.

D.   Were enthusiastically received in public performances.

38: The use of two or more contrasting and independent rhythms at the same time is known as ______.

A.   Polyrythm

B.   Norway

C.   France

D.   Great Britain

39: In the first movement of the new world symphony, dvo??k ______.

A.   Used the form of the scherzo

B.   Was the founder of Czech national music

C.   Was a leading composer of symphonies

D.   Served as a member of the Austrian provincial government

40: The main theme of a fugue is called the ______.

A.   Countersubject.

B.   Retrograde

C.   Inversion

D.   Diminution

41: Franz schubert composed over 600 _____________

A.   E

B.   T

C.   F

D.   None of these

42: The proper musical term for 'decreasing the tempo' is __________.

A.   Ritardando

B.   Rubato

C.   Accelerando

D.   Excerpt A

43: Most of chopin's pieces ______.

A.   Are composed for a wide variety of ensembles

B.   Are exquisite miniatures

C.   Have literary programs or titles

D.   Have a limited variety of moods

44: Music that sounds despairing and sad usually has a ________ tempo.

A.   Slow

B.   Presto

C.   Dynamics

D.   Duple meter

E.   Conjunct

45: Much of western sacred music is in latin, while ________ music is often in the vernacular.

A.   Refrain

B.   Strophic

C.   Sacred

D.   Secular

46: Antonin dvorak's symphony no. 9 ______.

A.   Is his most famous work

B.   Is subtitled from the new world

C.   Glorifies both the Czech and the American folk spirit

47: This opening passage, known as a(n) _______, serves to unify the entire concerto movement.

A.   Ritornello

B.   Thunder and lightning

C.   Violin

D.   None of these

48: Tchaikovsky?s music for shakespeare's romeo and juliet is a famous example of _____.

A.   Ritornello form

B.   Scandinavian

C.   Program overture

D.   Incidental music

49: A rondo is most typically found in the ________ movement of a classical multimovement cycle.

A.   Last

B.   First

C.   Third

D.   Second.

50: Bach was recognized as the most eminent ____________ of his day.

A.   Organist.

B.   Composer.

C.   Violinist.

D.   Cellist