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Music theory - Exam
Contributed by: Wilkins
  • 1. Music theory is the study of principles and concepts that govern the structure, harmony, and expression of music. It includes an exploration of elements such as melody, rhythm, harmony, form, and texture, as well as an analysis of how these components work together to create emotional and intellectual impact. Music theory provides a framework for understanding the language of music and helps musicians communicate with each other through notation, improvisation, and composition. By delving into music theory, musicians gain deeper insights into the mechanics behind music creation and performance, enabling them to interpret and express music more effectively.

    What is the term for the distance between two pitches?
A) Chord
B) Interval
C) Key
D) Scale
  • 2. What term describes a group of three notes played together?
A) Triad
B) Interval
C) Harmony
D) Octave
  • 3. What is the symbol that indicates to raise the pitch of a note by a semitone?
A) Natural
B) Flat
C) Sharp
D) Double Sharp
  • 4. What is the main purpose of a key signature in sheet music?
A) Indicate key of the piece
B) Show tempo changes
C) Denote dynamics
D) Specify time signature
  • 5. What is the first note of a major scale called?
A) Subdominant
B) Tonic
C) Mediant
D) Dominant
  • 6. What term refers to playing or singing in tune?
A) Transposition
B) Orchestration
C) Intonation
D) Syncopation
  • 7. What symbol is used to indicate a half step lower in pitch?
A) Sharp
B) Double Flat
C) Flat
D) Natural
  • 8. What is the term for the speed at which music is played?
A) Dynamics
B) Rhythm
C) Tempo
D) Pitch
  • 9. What is the term for a sudden increase in volume?
A) Ritardando
B) Crescendo
C) Decrescendo
D) Diminuendo
  • 10. Which three interrelated uses of 'music theory' are described by the Oxford Companion to Music?
A) Exploring electronic sound production, improvisation techniques, and orchestration methods.
B) Examining tuning systems, composition methods, and practical aspects of performance.
C) Analyzing individual works, comparing musical performances, and studying historical instruments.
D) Understanding music notation, studying scholars' views on music from antiquity to present, and defining processes in musicology.
  • 11. How does the musicological approach to theory differ from musical analysis?
A) It studies only modern music, ignoring historical perspectives.
B) It starts with fundamental materials rather than individual works or performances.
C) It emphasizes improvisation over composition methods.
D) It focuses on electronic sound production instead of traditional instruments.
  • 12. What does the development, preservation, and transmission of music theory encompass?
A) Comparative analysis of different musical cultures.
B) Only written treatises about music notation.
C) Methods and concepts used by composers and musicians in creating and performing music.
D) The study of electronic sound production exclusively.
  • 13. What is required to teach as a tenure-track music theorist in a US or Canadian university?
A) Only practical experience in performing music.
B) A degree in musical acoustics exclusively.
C) University study, typically to the MA or PhD level.
D) Experience with electronic sound production.
  • 14. Which methods are used for analysis in music theory?
A) Only descriptive and statistical methods.
B) Mathematics, graphic analysis, and western music notation.
C) Exclusively comparative analysis.
D) Primarily improvisation techniques.
  • 15. What is a music theorist?
A) A person who researches or teaches music theory.
B) Someone who only performs music.
C) A composer specializing in electronic sound production.
D) An individual focused solely on musical acoustics.
  • 16. Which ancient civilization's clay tablets include musical information such as lists of intervals and tunings?
A) Rome
B) Greece
C) Mesopotamia
D) Egypt
  • 17. What type of materials contain the earliest surviving Sumerian and Akkadian musical information?
A) Clay tablets
B) Metal plates
C) Stone carvings
D) Papyrus scrolls
  • 18. What is the approximate date of the earliest Mesopotamian texts about music?
A) Before 200 CE
B) Before 1500 BCE
C) Before 1000 BCE
D) Before 500 BCE
  • 19. Who reports on the earliest Mesopotamian texts about music?
A) Herodotus
B) Sam Mirelman
C) Plato
D) Aristotle
  • 20. What does the number five refer to in Chinese music theory?
A) The number of notes in a scale
B) The number of musical modes
C) The Pentatonic Scale, which primarily uses a 5-note scale
D) The number of musical instruments
  • 21. What did Ling Lun name the agreeable sound produced by blowing on bamboo?
A) Shierlü
B) Huangzhong, the 'Yellow Bell'
C) Lülü
D) Phoenix tone
  • 22. Who authored the work 'Harmonic Elements'?
A) Aristoxenus
B) Nicomachus of Gerasa
C) Ptolemaios
D) Cleonides
  • 23. Who wrote 'Harmonics' in Greek?
A) Aristoxenus
B) Ptolemaios (Πτολεμαίος), Claudius
C) Nicomachus of Gerasa
D) Porphyrius
  • 24. In which century was 'Introduction to Harmonics' by Cleonides written?
A) 3rd or 4th century CE
B) 2nd century CE
C) 100–150 CE
D) 4th century CE or later
  • 25. Which work is associated with Gaudentius?
A) Άρμονική είσαγωγή [Harmonic Introduction]
B) Είσαγωγή τέχνης μουσικής [Introduction to the Art of Music]
C) Άρμονικά στοιχεία [Harmonic Elements]
D) Είσαγωγή άρμονική [Introduction to Harmonics]
  • 26. Who authored 'On Ptolemy's Harmonics'?
A) Nicomachus of Gerasa
B) Porphyrius
C) Bacchius Geron
D) Aristoxenus
  • 27. During which centuries did Alypius of Alexandria write 'Introduction to Music'?
A) 100–150 CE
B) 3rd or 4th century CE
C) 4th–5th century CE
D) 2nd century CE
  • 28. What is the time period during which Ptolemaios (Πτολεμαίος), Claudius lived?
A) 100–150 CE
B) 127–148 CE
C) 428–347 BCE
D) c. 232~233 – c. 305 CE
  • 29. Which Chinese instrument theory contributed to the development of 84 musical modes?
A) The guzheng
B) The erhu
C) The dizi
D) The pipa
  • 30. Who used the first twelve letters of the alphabet to describe the twelve frets on five strings of the oud?
A) Abū Yūsuf Ya'qūb al-Kindi
B) Safi al-Din al-Urmawi
C) al-Fārābi
D) Boethius
  • 31. What is the title of Bāqiyā Nāyinῑ's work?
A) Singing by Note
B) La musique arabe
C) Ta'rῑkh al-mῡsῑqᾱ al-arabiyya wa-usῡluha wa-tatawwurᾱtuha
D) Zamzama e wahdat-i-mῡsῑqῑ
  • 32. Which French musicologist wrote about Arabian music?
A) Reverend Thomas Symmes
B) Baron Francois Rodolphe d'Erlanger
C) Bāqiyā Nāyinῑ
D) None of the above
  • 33. What does Sacred Harp music focus on in its solfege system?
A) None of the above
B) The solfege 'fa, sol, la'
C) The solfege 'ti, do, re'
D) The solfege 'do, re, mi'
  • 34. Who developed the system for 'singing by note' in Sacred Harp music?
A) Baron Francois Rodolphe d'Erlanger
B) None of the above
C) Bāqiyā Nāyinῑ
D) Reverend Thomas Symmes
  • 35. In what year did Reverend Thomas Symmes develop his system for Sacred Harp music?
A) 1900
B) 1720
C) 1750
D) 1800
  • 36. Which period saw Western musical influence spread globally, leading to the adoption of Western theory?
A) The Renaissance
B) 1750–1900
C) The Baroque period
D) The 1800s
  • 37. Which culture's music is primarily oral with specific forms, genres, and performance practices?
A) European cultures
B) Middle Eastern cultures
C) Central Asian cultures
D) African cultures
  • 38. What is the most basic interval in music?
A) Unison
B) Third
C) Fifth
D) Octave
  • 39. Which frequency was historically assigned to concert A in France in 1859?
A) 432 Hz
B) 440 Hz
C) 435 Hz
D) 450 Hz
  • 40. How many pitches does the Western chromatic scale divide an octave into?
A) Eight
B) Fifteen
C) Twelve
D) Seven
  • 41. What is a semitone also known as in music theory?
A) A whole tone
B) A minor third
C) An octave
D) A half step
  • 42. Which composer's concept of 'emancipated' dissonance became more widely accepted in the early 20th century?
A) Claude Debussy
B) Arnold Schoenberg
C) Johann Sebastian Bach
D) Ludwig van Beethoven
  • 43. What term describes accenting unexpected parts of the beat?
A) Monophony
B) Polyrhythm
C) Homophony
D) Syncopation
  • 44. Which aspect can affect apparent dissonance and consonance in music?
A) Tempo
B) Context
C) Volume
D) Instrumentation
  • 45. What is the term for playing simultaneous rhythms in more than one time signature?
A) Monophony
B) Polyrhythm
C) Syncopation
D) Homophony
  • 46. Which of the following is a harmonic set of three or more notes?
A) A rhythm
B) A melody
C) A chord
D) A scale
  • 47. What term describes chords that consist of three distinct notes?
A) Triads
B) Inversions
C) Sequences
D) Progressions
  • 48. What is a series of chords called?
A) An arpeggio sequence
B) A chord progression
C) A scale pattern
D) A melody line
  • 49. In harmony, what term refers to the 'vertical' aspect of music?
A) Polyphony
B) Harmony
C) Counterpoint
D) Melody
  • 50. What term describes the interweaving of melodic lines?
A) Polyphony
B) Melody
C) Counterpoint
D) Harmony
  • 51. Which type of music often augments chords with tensions?
A) Baroque music
B) Jazz harmony
C) All of the above
D) Classical common practice period
  • 52. What is a chord called when it includes additional notes beyond the basic triad?
A) A basic chord
B) A simple chord
C) A primary chord
D) An extended chord
  • 53. What is a common way of representing chords in Western music other than staff notation?
A) Rhythmic patterns
B) Melodic lines
C) Roman numerals
D) Harmonic progressions
  • 54. What is the relationship of separate independent voices called?
A) Counterpoint
B) Polyphony
C) Homophony
D) Monophony
  • 55. Which element of music refers to the 'horizontal' aspect?
A) Texture
B) Chords
C) Melody
D) Harmony
  • 56. What is another term commonly used for 'timbre'?
A) Rhythm
B) Pitch
C) Volume
D) Color
  • 57. What is timbre often described in terms of?
A) Major, minor, major seventh
B) Fast, slow, loud, soft
C) High, low, sharp, flat
D) Bright, dull, shrill, etc.
  • 58. Which term indicates a non-specific, but commonly understood soft and 'sweet' timbre?
A) Cuivre
B) Dolce
C) Sul tasto
D) Marcato
  • 59. Which symbol can indicate a change in timbre by suggesting a marked or accented note?
A) Crescendo (<)
B) Marcato (^)
C) Staccato (.)
D) Decrescendo (>)
  • 60. Which Italian term is used to indicate a moderately soft dynamic?
A) forte (f)
B) mezzo piano (mp)
C) piano (p)
D) sforzando (sfz)
  • 61. What term is used for the shortest articulation in music?
A) staccatissimo
B) tenuto
C) legato
D) marcato
  • 62. Which dynamic marking indicates a nearly inaudible volume?
A) sforzando (sfz)
B) forte (f)
C) mezzo forte (mf)
D) pianissississimo (pppp)
  • 63. Which articulation involves the bow bouncing off the string on bowed instruments?
A) tenuto
B) spiccato
C) legato
D) staccato
  • 64. Which term describes an articulation that is between tenuto and staccato?
A) staccatissimo
B) legato
C) marcato
D) portato
  • 65. What does 'mf' stand for in music dynamics?
A) sforzando
B) forte followed by piano
C) piano followed by forte
D) mezzo forte, meaning moderately loud
  • 66. Which dynamic marking indicates the loudest possible volume?
A) pianissimo (pp)
B) sforzando (sfz)
C) mezzo piano (mp)
D) fortississimo (ffff)
  • 67. Which dynamic marking is used for a soft volume?
A) forte (f)
B) mezzo forte (mf)
C) piano (p)
D) sforzando (sfz)
  • 68. What does 'crescendo' indicate in music dynamics?
A) a loud attack with a sudden decrease
B) a sudden decrease to a soft level
C) a moderately loud dynamic
D) progressively increasing volume
  • 69. Which articulation is described as 'separated' or 'detached'?
A) tenuto
B) legato
C) staccato
D) marcato
  • 70. What is polyphonic texture?
A) Two voices, one playing a drone note and the other a melody.
B) Multiple independent melodies played simultaneously.
C) A single melodic voice with rhythmic accompaniment.
D) Chords accompanying a melody.
  • 71. Who is credited with establishing musical analysis as a pursuit in its own right?
A) Ian Bent
B) Adolf Bernhard Marx
C) Heinrich Schenker
D) David Lewin
  • 72. What is the most fundamental concept of Schenker's theory?
A) Chord progressions.
B) Dominant operation.
C) Tonal space.
D) Musical intervals.
  • 73. What does rhythmic notation in Schenkerian analysis represent?
A) Actual rhythm of the music.
B) Hierarchical relationships between pitch-events.
C) Chord progressions.
D) Musical intervals.
  • 74. What is transformational theory primarily concerned with?
A) Tonal spaces in music.
B) The makeup of musical objects.
C) Relations between musical objects.
D) Schenkerian analysis techniques.
  • 75. Who developed transformational theory?
A) Ian Bent
B) Heinrich Schenker
C) David Lewin
D) Adolf Bernhard Marx
  • 76. What is the primary characteristic of musical technique according to Heinrich Schenker?
A) Harmony
B) Repetition
C) Improvisation
D) Rhythm
  • 77. Which of the following is NOT a fundamental pattern of notes mentioned for improving musical technique?
A) Rhythm
B) Arpeggios
C) Natural scales
D) Minor triads
  • 78. What secondary characteristic can differentiate between genres according to Allan F. Moore?
A) Subject matter
B) Tempo
C) Instrumentation
D) Musical form
  • 79. Which mathematical concept can describe just intonation?
A) A finite field
B) A free abelian group
C) A ring
D) A vector space
  • 80. What is the role of nature in the relationship between music and mathematics?
A) Nature has no connection to mathematics
B) Nature itself is amazingly mathematical
C) Nature only influences biology, not music
D) Nature's influence on music is purely aesthetic
  • 81. What type of algebra is used to expand on the methods of musical set theory?
A) Linear algebra
B) Abstract algebra
C) Boolean algebra
D) Differential algebra
  • 82. What is integral serialism also known as?
A) Multiple serialism
B) General serialism
C) Total serialism
D) Twelve-tone technique
  • 83. Which theorist first elaborated many notions of musical set theory in connection with tonal music?
A) Arnold Schoenberg
B) Howard Hanson
C) Allen Forte
D) Milton Babbitt
  • 84. Which subset describes major chords in musical set theory?
A) {0 4 7}
B) {1 4 8}
C) {0 3 7}
D) {2 5 9}
  • 85. What is the term used to describe serial music that extends beyond twelve-tone technique?
A) Integral serialism
B) General serialism
C) Post-tonal thinking
D) Twelve-tone technique
  • 86. Which musical operation is not typically associated with pitch-class set theory?
A) Transposition
B) Complementation
C) Inversion
D) Rhythm analysis
  • 87. Who adopted the idea of musical semiosis being introversive or extroversive?
A) Roland Barthes
B) Philip Tagg
C) Kofi Agawu
D) Raymond Monelle
  • 88. Which writer on music semiology focused on narrativity?
A) Heinrich Schenker
B) Eero Tarasti
C) Anthony Newcomb
D) Jean-Jacques Nattiez
  • 89. Which semiotician wrote about music in 'Image Music Text'?
A) Raymond Monelle
B) Philip Tagg
C) Roland Barthes
D) Kofi Agawu
  • 90. Who provided a systematic analysis of the relation between musical structures and connotations in popular music?
A) Leonard B. Meyer
B) Kofi Agawu
C) Philip Tagg
D) Anthony Newcomb
  • 91. What is the average number of tenure-track positions advertised per year in music theory?
A) 100
B) 50
C) Around 25
D) 10
  • 92. What does 'ABD' stand for in the context of hiring for academic positions?
A) All But Dissertation
B) Academic Board Delegate
C) Advanced Bachelor's Degree
D) Associate Board Director
  • 93. Which society was founded in 1999?
A) Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie
B) Société d'Analyse musicale
C) Society for Music Theory
D) Vereniging voor Muziektheorie
  • 94. Which writer on music semiology is known for work on topic and gesture?
A) Kofi Agawu
B) Jean-Jacques Nattiez
C) Raymond Monelle
D) Robert Hatten
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