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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. Rapper from Oakland - California; hit the charts in 1990 with Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em - which held the Number One position for twenty-one weeks and sold over ten million copies - becoming the bestselling rap album of all time.
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
heavy metal
M.C. Hammer
Vanilla Ice
2. The most influential and economically successful member of N.W.A. He founded an independent record label (Death Row/Interscope) - cultivated a number of younger rappers - and continued to develop a distinctive hip-hop production style - christened 'G
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
funk music
Prince
RIAA
3. The term 'alternative'—like the broadly equivalent terms 'underground' and 'independent'—is used across a wide range of popular genres - including rock - rap - adult contemporary - dance - folk - and country music. It is used to describe music that c
Napster
art rock
alternative music
psychedelic rock
4. Device that standardized digital technologies - enabling devices produced by different manufacturers to 'communicate' with one another.
MIDI
Patsy Cline
Janis Joplin
Ray Charles
5. African American musical style rooted in R&B and gospel that became popular during the 1960s.
Led Zeppelin
Janis Joplin
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
soul music
6. 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).
Def Jam
techno
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
Donna Summer
7. 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
Donna Summer
progressive country
Def Jam
Carlos Santana
8. 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.
soul music
alternative rock
N.W.A.
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
9. Kurt KObain's band - Nevermind album
Nirvana
progressive country
art rock
Tupac Shakur
10. 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.
Grandmaster Flash
analog recording
Carole King
techno
11. From the late 1980s through the 1990s - Madonna's popularity was second only to Michael Jackson's. She created controversial songs and music videos - including 'Papa Don't Preach' (1986) - 'Express Yourself' (1989) - and 'Like a Prayer' (1989).
soft soul
Bruce Springsteen
James Brown
Madonna
12. 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
alternative rock
Jimi Hendrix
funk music
N.W.A.
13. The first commercially successful white act in hip-hop. Their early recordings represent a fusion of the youth-oriented rebelliousness of hardcore punk rock—the style they began playing in 1981—with the sensibility and techniques of hip-hop.
Kenny Rogers
Beastie Boys
David Bowie
urban folk
14. British hard rock band that formed in London in 1968. Zeppelin's sledgehammer style of guitar-focused rock music drew on various influences - including urban blues - San Francisco psychedelia - and the virtuoso guitar playing of Jimi Hendrix.
Led Zeppelin
Peter Gabriel
breakdancing
alternative rock
15. 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
alternative rock
Led Zeppelin
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
analog recording
16. Upbeat variety of rock music represented by artists such as Elton John - Paul McCartney - Rod Stewart - Chicago - and Peter Frampton.
Clear channel
pop rock
Patsy Cline
Public Enemy
17. One of the main venues for techno. Semipublic event modeled partly on the be-ins of the 1960s counterculture.
N.W.A.
rave
Vanilla Ice
Aretha Franklin
18. 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.
Tupac Shakur
Queen Latifah
Carole King
sequencer
19. 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
Beastie Boys
Willie Nelson
house music
Prince
20. Music played by San Francisco bands that encompassed a variety of styles and musical influences - including folk rock - blues - 'hard rock -' Latin music - and Indian classical music.
Patsy Cline
psychedelic rock
synthesizer
funk music
21. The most important woman in the history of hip-hop - in terms of both her commercial success and her effectiveness in establishing a feminist beachhead on the male-dominated field of rap music.
Queen Latifah
disco
Aretha Franklin
soft soul
22. Emerged during the 1970s as one part of the cultural complex of hip-hop. It consisted of rhymed speech accompanied by funk-derived rhythmic grooves.
Willie Nelson
Clear channel
funk music
rap
23. 'The Queen of Soul -' she began singing gospel music at an early age and had several hit records with Atlantic - including 'Respect' in 1967 and 'Think' in 1968.
breakdancing
punk rock
M.C. Hammer
Aretha Franklin
24. The first punk rock band. Formed in 1974 in New York City - the Ramones' high-speed - energetic - and extremely loud sound influenced English punk groups such as the Sex Pistols and the Clash and also became a blueprint for 1980s L.A. hardcore bands.
gangsta rap
MIDI
progressive country
The Ramones
25. The first commercially successful white act in hip-hop. Their early recordings represent a fusion of the youth-oriented rebelliousness of hardcore punk rock—the style they began playing in 1981—with the sensibility and techniques of hip-hop.
Carlos Santana
Beastie Boys
RIAA
Peter Gabriel
26. Heterogeneous category that includes artists from Africa - the Near East - and Asia—the ultimate margins of the American music industry.
world music
bluegrass
analog recording
Kenny Rogers
27. 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.
progressive country
Napster
James Brown
analog recording
28. Music played by San Francisco bands that encompassed a variety of styles and musical influences - including folk rock - blues - 'hard rock -' Latin music - and Indian classical music.
Grateful Dead
countrypolitan
psychedelic rock
techno
29. 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
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
alternative rock
James Brown
30. Known as the 'Genius of Soul'; songwriter - arranger - keyboard player - and vocalist fluent in R&B - jazz - and mainstream pop.
sampling
Ray Charles
Grateful Dead
Michael Jackson
31. 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.
nashville sound
Janis Joplin
countrypolitan
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
32. DJ and leader of the furious five - he developed many of the turntable techniques that characterized early hip-hop music.
James Brown
Grandmaster Flash
Public Enemy
house music
33. 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
urban folk
Prince
Public Enemy
bluegrass
34. 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.
nashville sound
disco
hardcore
Kenny Rogers
35. 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.
RIAA
Dolly Parton
rave
Grandmaster Flash
36. 'The Queen of Soul -' she began singing gospel music at an early age and had several hit records with Atlantic - including 'Respect' in 1967 and 'Think' in 1968.
Ray Charles
Carole King
Def Jam
Aretha Franklin
37. The term 'alternative'—like the broadly equivalent terms 'underground' and 'independent'—is used across a wide range of popular genres - including rock - rap - adult contemporary - dance - folk - and country music. It is used to describe music that c
alternative music
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
pop rock
Ray Charles
38. 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
The Sex Pistols
gangsta rap
Run-D.M.C.
Nirvana
39. The most successful white blues singer of the 1960s. Born in Port Arthur - Texas - Joplin came to San Francisco in the mid-1960s and joined a band called Big Brother and the Holding Company.
The Sex Pistols
alternative music
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
Janis Joplin
40. Kurt KObain's band - Nevermind album
funk music
Bob Marley
Nirvana
breakdancing
41. Variant of MPEG; MP3 enables sound files to be compressed to as little as one-twelfth of their original size.
David Bowie
Grateful Dead
MP3
RIAA
42. Form of rock music that blended elements of rock and European classical music. It included bands such as King Crimson; Emerson - Lake - and Palmer; and Pink Floyd.
Kenny Rogers
world music
art rock
David Bowie
43. Band that originated in the 1960s San Francisco rock scene. Their career spanned more than three decades.
Grateful Dead
Jimi Hendrix
Carlos Santana
progressive country
44. 'Glam rock' pioneer who established the character of Ziggy Stardust.
Bruce Springsteen
Clear channel
Kurt Cobain
David Bowie
45. Rapper from Oakland - California; hit the charts in 1990 with Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em - which held the Number One position for twenty-one weeks and sold over ten million copies - becoming the bestselling rap album of all time.
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
Led Zeppelin
art rock
M.C. Hammer
46. 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
Run-D.M.C.
Willie Nelson
techno
Paul Simon
47. The most outrageous—and therefore famous—punk band - formed in 1975 in London. They were the creation of Malcolm McAllen - owner of a London boutique called Sex - which specialized in leather and rubber clothing.
Kurt Cobain
Willie Nelson
rap
The Sex Pistols
48. 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.
Sonic Youth
Vanilla Ice
Kenny Rogers
Michael Jackson
49. 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
Madonna
Jimi Hendrix
house music
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
50. Heterogeneous category that includes artists from Africa - the Near East - and Asia—the ultimate margins of the American music industry.
heavy metal
world music
RIAA
The Sex Pistols