Final Exam Question Bank MUSC*2150
First Written Quiz 1. A bar or measure in music is:
• A section of music that contains the number of beats indicated by the song’s meter
2. In a compound meter:
• The beat is subdivided into three equal parts
3. Timbre in music refers to:
• The colour of a sound
4. The term “rhythm” refers to:
• The ways musical sounds are organized in time
5. Why is the “fan mentality” detrimental to the scholarly study of popular music?
• Because it leads one to ignore some music while skewing evidence in favour of other music
6. The “popularity arc” refers to:
• The rise of a musical style from a subculture into the mainstream and then its decline back into a subculture
7. When did the “Baby Boom” begin in the US?
• Immediately after WWII
8. What year did coast-to-coast radio broadcasts begin?
• 1928
9. In Tin Pan Alley style, the singer is usually accompanied by:
• A full band or orchestra
10. In music, a bridge is:
• A section in a song that contrasts with the verses
11. A subtype of country/western music that features complex, virtuosic instrumentals is called: • Bluegrass
12. Yodelling is a feature of what style of music?
• Country/western
13. Which of the following is a normal feature of rural or delta blues?
• The use of a slide on the guitar neck
14.Which of the following is true?
• Doo-wop features “a cappella” singing and nonsense syllables
15. What was the immediate result of the Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education?
• Racial segregation in schools was ruled unconstitutional
16. Which war was being fought by Americans in the 1950s?
• The Cold War
17. Where did most white kids discover rhythm and blues in the 1950s?
• On local, black radio stations
18. How does Fat Domino’s stage image contrast with Little Richard’s stage image?
• Domino is clean-cut and conservatively dressed, while Richard wears makeup and is flamboyantly dressed
19. What sensible reason would Sam Phillips have had to sell Elvis Presley’s contract?
• It was difficult and expensive for Phillip’s independent label to distribute hit records effectively 20. What was the effect of Sam Phillip’s “tape delay” recording technique?
• It creates an echo
21. What do Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry have in common?
• They both wrote many of their own songs
22. Which of the following organizations was/were involved in the payola scandal?
• A, b, and c ! ASCAP, FCC, and BMI
23. Which of the following is true of American Bandstand?
• It helped promote the Twist and other named dances
24. What was the larger significance of the success of American Bandstand?
• It created a national youth culture and made rock and roll more acceptable to adults
25. The Brill Building manufactured teen idols to sell records. It was important that these idols:
• Looked and acted like ideal girlfriends/boyfriends
26. In the Brill Building approach to popular production, control was in the hands of the:
• Publisher
27. Folk music became less political over the course of the 1960s.
• False
28. A “tag” usually occurs at the end of a song.
• True
29. The producer’s role is to shape the sound of a record
• True
30. Most members of the girl groups in the 1960s were white and professionally trained
• False
31. The term “shuffle rhythm” refers to:
• Dividing a beat into two unequal parts
32. An instrumental verse is:
• A verse played only by instruments and no vocals
33. The term “meter” refers to:
• The number of beats in a bar and how each beat may be subdivided
34. Simple verse form consists of:
• A series of verses that all use the same music and with no bridge or chorus
35. For what are chart positions must useful?
• Helping scholars avoid the “fan mentality”
36. How did the “New Deal” help Americans?
• The government hired workers to improve the nation’s infrastructure, forests, and national parks
37. Which of the following is an advantage of the network system of radio broadcasting?
• A wide variety of programming was accessible through combination of central and live regional programming
38. ASCAP represents the artists of which style of music?
• Tin Pan Alley
39. Les Paul is credited with:
• Inventing one of the first solid-body electric guitars
40. How did the Acuff-Rose publishing company differ from Tin Pan Alley publishers?
• The firm relied on sales of recordings rather than sheet music
41. Bing Crosby is credited with:
• Creating one the earliest stage personas
42. What did many Americans believe was imminent during the early 1950s?
• A nuclear attack
43. What was one result of white artists covering songs originally by black artists?
• Texts were often changed to lessen the amount of sexual innuendos
44. Which of the following is often a feature of Rockability?
• No drums in the rhythm section
45. The appearance of sincerity is very important for folk singers.
• True
46. Pete Seeger and the Weavers were blacklisted for being Communist sympathizers.
• True
47. Sweet soul is created by adding saxophones to rhythm and blues.
• False
48. Mike Leiber and Jerry Stoller were the most successful singers in the Sparks Records stable.
• False
49. In music, the term “instrumentation” refers to:
• The types of instruments used in a song
50. Why are popular media not necessarily good sources for reliable, scholarly information about popular music?
• Because the information in them is designed primarily for entertainment purposes
51. America’s first “Red Scare” was originally inspired by:
• The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the resulting change in government
52. Which of the following is true of music of the big-band era?
• The bandleader was the star of the show
53. Where does the “hook” usually occur in Tin Pan Alley music?
• In the chorus
54. BMI represents the artists of which styles in the 1940s?
• Country/western and blues
55. The term “steel guitar” is derived from:
• The use of a steel slide on a guitar’s neck
56. Call and response is often a feature of:
• All of the above: ! Rural blues, Urban blues, and Field hollers
57. Which of the following is true? • Rhythm and blues styles borrow elements of gospel music
58. Senator Joseph McCarthy led a campaign against:
• Communism
59. Which of the following are all elements that helped rock and roll’s move into mainstream culture?
• The baby boom and the development of the transistor radio
60. What is the significance of Elvis Presley’s move to the RCA label from Sun?
• It began the shift of rock and roll from independent labels to major labels
61. What do Elvis and Little Richard have in common?
• They both use their falsetto voice as an emotional effect
62. Rockability is usually sung:
• Using a regional dialect
63. Which of the following is true about the payola scandal?
• It resulted in the major labels taking control of the rock-and-roll market
64. Which of the following is true of American Bandstand?
• Most of the acts were lip-synched
65. The primary focus in folk music is the instrumental sound
• False
66. Folk singers were thought of as regular people rather than teen idols.
• True
67. The “Wall of Sound” is the combination of many different sounds to create a new timbre. In this new timbre, it is very difficult to pick out the individual sounds that make it up.
• True
68. The Everly Bothers rejected the Brill Building approach to music production and performed only their own material.
• False
69. Bob Dylan’s recording of Blowin’ in the Wind appealed more to pop-music sensibilities in the 1960s than the cover version by Peter, Paul, and Mary.
• False
70. The lyrics of surf music often deal with adult sexuality.
• False
71. Which of the following is true of the blues style?
• It uses a blues scale of 5 or more notes
72. What are most often the basic instruments of a rhythm section?
• Guitar, bass, and drums
73. True or False: By the end of the 1950s, only about 10% of the hits on the rhythm and blues charts crossed over to the pop charts.
• False
74. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? Was one of Leiber and Stoller’s socially conscious songs and risqué for the time period.
• False
75. A bar of simple quadruple meter would be counted as:
• ONE-two-Three-four
76. Who invented the first multi-track tape machine in the early 1950’s?
• Les Paul
77. What was the purpose behind the stage personas “the Blue Yodeller” and “the Singing Brakeman?”
• The creation of a stereotypically rustic image to help sell the artist’s music.
78. Which of the following is true about the seven-inch, 45-rpm record?
• They were relatively cheap to produce pete 79. Rockabilly is usually sung:
• Using a regional dialect 80. One of the influences on surf music was rockabilly
• False 81. The G.I. Bill was:
• Was enacted immediately after World War II
82. Why was most music on national radio networks aimed at white middle class?
• Because this class had the most disposable income to buy the good advertised on the radio
83. What feature of Hank Williams’ performance made him so popular?
• His emotional sincerity
84. Which of the following is true?
• The 12-Bar blues chord progression is a feature of urban blues
85. What was the effect of Sam Phillip’s “tape delay” recording technique?
• It created an echo
86. One of the influences on surf music was doo-wop.
• True
Second Written Quiz 1. Which of the following is true of the Civil Rights Act?
• It marked the end of the Jim Crow era
2. Early British rock bands were heavily influenced by:
• The first wave of American rock and roll
3. What did the British Invasion re-popularize in America?
• The blues
4. A riff is:
• A short and distinctive melodic figure
5. A rave-up is:
• An improvisatory section at the end of a song
6. The electric numbers of ______caused a ______reaction at the Newport Folk Festival.
• Bob Dylan; negative
7. The first international number-one hit in the folk-rock style was ______originally written by ______.
• Mr. Tambourine Man; Bob Dylan
8. The center of the American music industry migrated from ______to ______in the mid 1960s.
• New York; Los Angeles
9. Pet Sounds became an influential album because:
• It combined the Wall of Sound and other sophisticated studio techniques with complex harmonies
10. Which of the following is true about the Monkees?
• Their music was originally created according to the Brill Building model
11. Bubblegum music was:
• Aimed at young teens
12. Who were the Funk Brothers?
• The studio band at Motown
13. Berry Gordy’s goal for Motown artist was:
• To assimilate into white, mainstream culture
14. Which label successfully adopted the Brill Building production model?
• Motown
15. Stax had a distribution deal with:
• Atlantic
16. Which of the following is a feature of southern soul?
• Vocal improvisations
17. James Brown is unusual among most southern soul artists because:
• He had almost total control over his music
18. An effect of the psychedelic approach to music was that songs became shorter.
• False
19. Drugs were seen by hippies as an attempt by the dominant culture to control youth.
• False 20. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is often cited as the first concept album.
• True
21. The Grateful Dead were the house band for Timothy Leary’s acid tests.
• False
22. Jimi Hendrix arose out of the London psychedelic scene.
• True
23. The Monterey International Pop Festival provided a good model for other large, open-air festivals that took place in the 1960s.
• True
24. The oil crisis of 1973 was the result of retaliation by Arab members of OPEC for re-supply Israel’s military during the Yom Kippur war.
• True
25. The hippie aesthetic values simplicity in music.
• False
26. Led Zepplin blended elements of blues, psychedelia, and classical music.
• True
27. The long, virtuosic solos of progressive rockers and the audience’s interest in them led Myles Davis to fuse jazz and rock. • True
28. Vincent Furnier adopted a stage persona that embraced more gothic sensibilities.
• True
29. Stereo placement is not controlled through a mixing board.
• False
30. What was the effect of television shows such as Leave It to Beaver and My Three Sons?
• The reinforced the normalcy of traditional American values
31. Which band established a bad-boy image for marketing purposes?
32. What was a factor in the Beatles’ decision to stop touring?
• Threats made against them after a religious controversy
33. The electric 12-string guitar was a popular instrument in which style in the mid 1960s?
34. Which of the following is true of folk rock?
• It blends the thoughtful lyrics of folk with the electric instruments of pop
25. Brian Wilson worked with music in a way similar to:
• Phil Spector
26. What was the effect of the popularity of the show Where the Action is?
• It provided wide exposure for imported British bands and their American counterparts
27. Motown’s top production team was:
• Holland-Dozier-Holland
28. A regular feature of James Brown’s music is:
• A complex, rhythmic groove
29. When the relationship between Jerry Wexler and Stax broke down, Wexler recorded many southern soul artists at:
• Fame Studios
30. Otis Redding worked primarily for which label?
• Stax
31. One psychedelic approach to music is to view music as a trip.
• True
32. The electric theremin produces a sine wave electronically.
• True
33. Both the Beach Boys and the Beatles were inspired by the production techniques of Jerry Wexler.
• False
34. The psychedelic scene in San Francisco grew out of the Beat movement of the late 50s and early 60s.
• True
35. Pink Floyd was a popular act in the London psychedelic scene.
• True
36. The Altramount Music Festival marked the beginning of the hippie era.
• False
37. The second Red Scare contributed to the recession of the early 1970s.
• False
38. Black Sabbath was originally a blues band that turned to more sinister sounds and gothic images to distinguish themselves from other bands.
• True
39. American blues-based rock bands include: the Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, and Aerosmith.
• True
40. The stage shows of progressive-rock bands are usually elaborate and involve light displays and props. • True
41. Alice Cooper was one of the few female artists performing glam rock in the early 1970s.
• False
42. The Black Panthers:
• Instituted the Free Breakfast for School Children program
43. What do the Beatles and the Rolling Stones have in common?
• Both groups eventually wrote their own songs
44. Which band established a new model of the rock musician as a recording artist?
• The Beatles
45. In a musical context, fuzz is:
• An effect that can added to the sound of an electric guitar
46. The Top 40 format began in which decade?
• 1950s
47. Amateur-sounding singing, inexpensive instruments, unpolished playing, and unpolished production values are hallmarks of the ______aesthetic.
• Garage-band 48. The television show The Monkees was a response to:
• The film A Hard Day’s Night
49. How did Berry Gordy prevent white covers of Motown hits?
• By insuring that the songs were acceptable to white listeners in their original form
50. Diana Ross and Florence Ballard were members of the:
• Supremes
60. The Memphis horns sound is a feature of what label?
• Stax
61. Who is Jim Stewart? • The owner of Stax
62. Eastern philosophy and drug use were linked in the minds of hippies.
• True
63. The technique of splicing together tapes of recorded material was inspired by the work of avant-garde art-music composers.
• True
64. An early indicator of the rise of hippie culture was the Human Be-In, held in San Francisco in 1967.
• True
65. Women’s liberation became an underground movement during the 1970s.
• False
66. Music prowess is particularly valued in the hippie aesthetic.
• True
67. The resurgence of blues-based rock came mostly from Britain.
• True
68. Progressive-rock theatre is represented by bands such as Genesis and Pink Floyd
• True
69. Why was American music so popular in Britain in the 1950s and early 1960s?
• American culture seemed unweighted by history and tradition; it seemed new and hopeful
70. Which of the following are folk-rock artists/groups?
• The Byrds, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Turtles
71. What is the advantage to a small label in having a distribution deal with a large label?
• It gains access to markets it could not otherwise reach
72. What is the difference between sweet soul and southern soul?
• Southern soul is more enthusiastic and emotional
73. Southern soul is heavily influenced by:
• Gospel
74. The Brill Building approach to song writing was popular with hippies.
• False
75. Jimi Hendrix built on the work of the Beatles and the Beach Boys through his experimentation in the studios.
• True
76. Lyrics in progressive rock are usually about romance or sexual prowess.
• False
77. The Woodstock Music and Art Festival drew about 400,000 people
• True
78. Deep Purple attempted to blend country music with blues
• False
79. Ziggy Stardust was a stage persona adopted by Gene Simmons
• False
80. One of the most successful producers in mono was Steely Dan
• False
81. Booker T and MG’s worked for which label?
• Stax
82. Aleatoric music is tightly controlled by the composer.
• False
83. An indicator of the rise of the psychedelic scene were Timothy Leary’s acid tests, which were made available to the public starting in 1960.
• False
84. Iron Butterfly were members of the Los Angeles psychedelic scene. Their music contains menacing riffs that anticipate heavy metal.
• True
85. Equalization can affect a sound’s fundamental
• False
86. What was a pivotal event that heavily influenced black popular music in the late 1960s?
• The assassination of Martin Luther King
87. David Bowie’s stage persona challenged traditional notions of sexual and gender identities.
• True
88. The UFO Club in London was similar to the Fillmore in San Francisco.
• False
89. Why were there few independent labels in England in the early 1960’s?
• Because there no independent radio stations prior to 1964.
90. What do the Yardbirds and the Rollin Stones have in common?
• Both groups were heavily influenced by blues.
91. The electric numbers of ___ caused a ___ reaction at the Newport Folk Festival.
• Bob Dylan; negative
92. Most garage bands were:
• One-hit wonders
93. One effect of the Sgt. Pepper album was that it created a new focus on the album, rather than the single
• True
94. The home of the London psychedelic scene was in the Victorian Haight- Ashbury district.
• False
95. The centre of the American music industry migrated from ___ to ___ in the mid 1960’s.
• New York; Los Angelas 96. Woman’s liberation became an underground movement during the 1970’s.
• False
97. The studio effect that can create the sound of a specific size of room is called reverb.
• True
98. The Memphis horns sound is a feature of which label?
• Stax
99. A regular feature of the southern-soul sound is:
• The delayed backbeat
100. Large, open-air festivals became an important part of rock culture for the first time in the 1960’s.
• True
101. Bubblegum music was:
• Aimed mainly at young teens
102. The Altamount Music Festival marked the beginning of the hippie era.
• False
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