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Test your basic knowledge |
Music Appreciation
Start Test
Study First
Subjects
:
performing-arts
,
music
Instructions:
Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
If you are not ready to take this test, you can
study here
.
Match each statement with the correct term.
Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.
This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Device that records musical data rather than musical sound and enables the creation of repeated sound sequences (loops) - the manipulation of rhythmic grooves - and the transmission of recorded data from one program or device to another.
James Brown
sequencer
Grateful Dead
Madonna
2. Pioneered West Coast gangsta rap with the release of the album Straight Outta Compton. Their recordings expressed the gangsta lifestyle - saturated with images of sex and violence. The nucleus of the group was formed in 1986 - when O'Shea ;Ice C
Def Jam
N.W.A.
Clear channel
bluegrass
3. Co-founded in 1984 by the hip-hop promoter Russell Simmons and the musician-producer Rick Rubin. During the 1980s - Def Jam cross-promoted a new generation of artists - expanding and diversifying the national audience for hip-hop - and in 1986 became
rap
Queen Latifah
techno
Def Jam
4. Form of dance music popular in the late 1970s - characterized by elaborate studio production and an insistent beat: Donna Summer - Chic - the Village People - the Bee Gees.
heavy metal
Lauryn Hill
rap
disco
5. Singer-songwriter Who wrote many hits in the 1960s with Gerry Goffin. In 1971 - the success of her album Tapestry made her a major recording star.
Sonic Youth
soft soul
Carole King
Def Jam
6. Acrobatic solo dancing improvised by the young 'B-boys' who attended hip-hop dances.
disco
Lauryn Hill
breakdancing
Grateful Dead
7. Tragic victim of conflicts between East and West Coast factions within the hip-hop business. He was an up-and-coming star with Los Angeles-based Death Row Records when He was shot and killed in Las Vegas in 1996.
sequencer
Tupac Shakur
Nirvana
Patsy Cline
8. Style of electronic dance music that originated in the Detroit area during the 1980s.
Tupac Shakur
soul music
techno
Peter Gabriel
9. Style modeled on that of the early acoustic string bands; probably the original 'alternative country' music.
Led Zeppelin
RIAA
bluegrass
pop rock
10. Ice's first album - To the Extreme (1990) - monopolized the Number One position for sixteen weeks in early 1991 - selling seven million copies. When it was discovered that Van Winkle - raised in reasonably comfortable circumstances in a middle-class
Vanilla Ice
Bruce Springsteen
Grateful Dead
heavy metal
11. The most original - inventive - and influential guitarist of the rock era - and the most prominent African American rock musician of the late 1960s.
Jimi Hendrix
breakdancing
David Bowie
punk rock
12. Country vocalist who scored crossover hits with songs such as 'I Fall to Pieces -' and 'Crazy -' both recorded in 1961.
Kenny Rogers
Patsy Cline
soul music
The Sex Pistols
13. Hip-hop culture - forged by African American and Caribbean American youth in New York City - included distinctive styles of visual art (graffiti) - dance (an acrobatic solo style called breakdancing and an energetic couple dance called the freak) - m
gangsta rap
hip-hop
heavy metal
bluegrass
14. Parton was born in the hill country of Tennessee and began her recording career at age eleven. She moved to Nashville in 1964 and built her career with regular appearances on country music radio and television.
Dolly Parton
Vanilla Ice
Sonic Youth
Prince
15. Device that records musical data rather than musical sound and enables the creation of repeated sound sequences (loops) - the manipulation of rhythmic grooves - and the transmission of recorded data from one program or device to another.
sequencer
Peter Gabriel
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
Kenny Rogers
16. Trio consisting of the MCs Run (Joseph Simmons - b. 1964) and D.M.C. (Darryl McDaniels - b. 1964) - and the DJ Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell - b. 1965). Perhaps the most influential act in the history of rap music - they established a hard-edged - roc
Prince
Run-D.M.C.
Ray Charles
breakdancing
17. One of the main venues for techno. Semipublic event modeled partly on the be-ins of the 1960s counterculture.
Napster
Nirvana
Donna Summer
rave
18. -one of the forerunners of the Grunge genre - originally part of the 'no wave' scene in NY -Many alternative bands such as Nirvana looked up to them -album 'Daydream Nation' was well-received by critics - and then they were signed to Geffen Records -
hip-hop
alternative music
Grandmaster Flash
Sonic Youth
19. Slick variety of rhythm & blues - often with lush orchestral accompaniment: the O'Jays - the Spinners - Al Green - Barry White.
Peter Gabriel
soft soul
reggae
Carole King
20. Sophisticated approach to the vocal presentation and instrumental arrangement of country music; a fusion of 'country' and 'cosmopolitan.'
Prince
countrypolitan
Jimi Hendrix
Patsy Cline
21. Trade association whose member companies—Universal - Sony - Warner Brothers - Arista - Atlantic - BMG - RCA - Capitol - Elektra - Interscope - and Sire Records—control the sale and distribution of approximately 90 percent of the offline music in the
soul music
RIAA
Kenny Rogers
Patsy Cline
22. A digital recording process wherein a sound source is recorded with a microphone - converted to a digital stream of binary numbers - and stored in a computer. The sampled sounds may be retrieved in a number of ways.
James Brown
Ray Charles
sampling
alternative rock
23. The most original - inventive - and influential guitarist of the rock era - and the most prominent African American rock musician of the late 1960s.
Bruce Springsteen
N.W.A.
hardcore
Jimi Hendrix
24. Began his performing career as a member of the Jackson Five. He achieved unprecedented success with his 1982 album Thriller - and his elaborately produced music videos helped boost the new medium of music videos. Jackson became the first African Amer
hip-hop
Grandmaster Flash
Tupac Shakur
Michael Jackson
25. The norm since the introduction of recording in the nineteenth century. Transforms the energy of sound waves into physical imprints (as in pre-1925 acoustic recordings) or into electronic waveforms that closely follow (and can be used to reproduce) t
analog recording
Grateful Dead
funk music
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
26. Regional style of alternative rock from Seattle that blended heavy metal guitar textures with hardcore punk. Bands from Seattle included Green River - Mudhoney - Pearl Jam - Nirvana - and Soundgarden.
Tupac Shakur
grunge rock
Madonna
punk rock
27. 'Glam rock' pioneer who established the character of Ziggy Stardust.
David Bowie
Donna Summer
psychedelic rock
The Sex Pistols
28. Named after the Warehouse - a popular gay dance club in Chicago - it was a style of techno dance music. Many house recordings were purely instrumental - with elements of European synth-pop - Latin soul - reggae - rap - and jazz grafted over an insist
Ray Charles
rave
house music
Dolly Parton
29. Parton was born in the hill country of Tennessee and began her recording career at age eleven. She moved to Nashville in 1964 and built her career with regular appearances on country music radio and television.
N.W.A.
Clear channel
Dolly Parton
Nirvana
30. The 'Godfather of Soul.' He was known for his acrobatic physicality and remarkable charisma on stage. No other single musician has proven to be as influential on the sound and style of black music as James Brown.
Peter Gabriel
art rock
James Brown
world music
31. Centered on the creation of a strong rhythmic momentum or groove - with the electric bass and bass drum often playing on all four main beats of the measure - the snare drum and other instruments playing equally strongly on the second and fourth beats
funk music
Michael Jackson
M.C. Hammer
grunge rock
32. Slick variety of rhythm & blues - often with lush orchestral accompaniment: the O'Jays - the Spinners - Al Green - Barry White.
Napster
soft soul
Janis Joplin
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
33. Hip-hop artist whose work is a self-conscious alternative to the violence and sexism in the work of rap stars such as Dr. Dre - the Notorious B.I.G. - and 2Pac Shakur. Her commitment to female empowerment builds on the ground-breaking example of Quee
Def Jam
Carole King
Lauryn Hill
country pop
34. Country music style involving polished arrangements and a sophisticated approach to vocal presentation. The recordings of Patsy Cline were among the most important manifestations of the Nashville sound.
Clear channel
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
nashville sound
N.W.A.
35. Gangsta rapper born in Long Beach - CA - He was a protaga of Andre 'Dr. Dre' Young and collaborated on Dr. Dre's 1992 album The Chronic. Snoop's soft drawl and laid-back-but-lethal gangster persona were featured on Doggystyle - which debuted at the t
funk music
Prince
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
rave
36. Upbeat variety of rock music represented by artists such as Elton John - Paul McCartney - Rod Stewart - Chicago - and Peter Frampton.
pop rock
Lauryn Hill
MIDI
Patsy Cline
37. Style of electronic dance music that originated in the Detroit area during the 1980s.
techno
synthesizer
Paul Simon
Public Enemy
38. Prince is one of the most talented musicians ever to achieve mass commercial success in the field of popular music. He has sold almost forty million recordings. Between 1982 and 1992 - he placed nine albums in the Top 10 - reaching the top of the cha
The Ramones
funk music
Prince
country pop
39. DJ and leader of the furious five - he developed many of the turntable techniques that characterized early hip-hop music.
Kurt Cobain
countrypolitan
progressive country
Grandmaster Flash
40. Springsteen's music and personal image evoked the rebellious rock 'n' rollers of the 1950s and the socially conscious folk rockers of the 1960s. His songs reflected his working-class origins and sympathies.
Bruce Springsteen
soft soul
Run-D.M.C.
Vanilla Ice
41. One of the biggest stars to emerge from disco in the 1970s. She sang on several disco classics - including 'Love to Love You Baby' (1976) and 'Good Times' (1979).
soft soul
gangsta rap
Donna Summer
James Brown
42. The leader of the Wailers and a national hero in his native Jamaica - Marley was reggae's most effective international ambassador. His songs of determination - rebellion - and faith - rooted in the Rastafarian belief system - found a worldwide audien
MP3
funk music
Bob Marley
Clear channel
43. Known as the 'Genius of Soul'; songwriter - arranger - keyboard player - and vocalist fluent in R&B - jazz - and mainstream pop.
nashville sound
MP3
Ray Charles
David Bowie
44. Veteran of folk pop groups such as the New Christy Minstrels and the First Edition - star of made-for-TV movies. One of the main beneficiaries of country pop's increasing mainstream appeal.
nashville sound
Kenny Rogers
disco
Kurt Cobain
45. Got his start in the 1960s as a member of the famous folk rock duo Simon and Garfunkel. His album Graceland (1986) was a global collaboration recorded in South Africa - England - and the United States. It is the album responsible - more than any othe
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
MIDI
Paul Simon
Napster
46. Band that originated in the 1960s San Francisco rock scene. Their career spanned more than three decades.
Grateful Dead
Carole King
synthesizer
analog recording
47. Born in Texas - Nelson was one of the most influential figures in the progressive country movement. Nelson's rise to national fame came in the mid-1970s - through his association with a group of musicians collectively known as 'the Outlaws.'
analog recording
Clear channel
N.W.A.
Willie Nelson
48. Singer and guitarist who founded the alternative rock band Nirvana. His recordings broke through to the commercial mainstream and popularized grunge rock. He shot himself in Seattle in 1994.
Public Enemy
Kurt Cobain
alternative music
Public Enemy
49. Known as the 'Genius of Soul'; songwriter - arranger - keyboard player - and vocalist fluent in R&B - jazz - and mainstream pop.
breakdancing
Ray Charles
Sonic Youth
punk rock
50. Marketing category that emerged around 1990; it is most often used to describe bands like are.E.M. - Sonic Youth - the Dead Kennedys - and Nirvana.
Carlos Santana
alternative rock
Paul Simon
world music