Test your basic knowledge |

Music Appreciation

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. Known as the 'Genius of Soul'; songwriter - arranger - keyboard player - and vocalist fluent in R&B - jazz - and mainstream pop.






2. -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 -






3. 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.






4. 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.






5. 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.






6. 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






7. CEO of the New York independent label Bad Boy Records.

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8. A style of soft rock - lightly tinged with country music influences: John Denver - Olivia Newton-John - Kenny Rogers.






9. 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.






10. Style of electronic dance music that originated in the Detroit area during the 1980s.






11. 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






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






13. Slick variety of rhythm & blues - often with lush orchestral accompaniment: the O'Jays - the Spinners - Al Green - Barry White.






14. 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.'






15. Upbeat variety of rock music represented by artists such as Elton John - Paul McCartney - Rod Stewart - Chicago - and Peter Frampton.






16. 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).






17. 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






18. 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






19. Device that standardized digital technologies - enabling devices produced by different manufacturers to 'communicate' with one another.






20. One of the main venues for techno. Semipublic event modeled partly on the be-ins of the 1960s counterculture.






21. Style of folk music that grew in popularity in the burgeoning New York folk scene during the 1960s. It included artists such as Bob Dylan.






22. 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






23. 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.






24. Founded in 1982 - Public Enemy was organized around a core set of members who met as college students - drawn together by their interest in hip-hop culture and political activism. The group included the standard hip-hop configuration of two MCs—Chuck






25. 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






26. 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.






27. 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






28. 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






29. In progressive country - performers wrote songs that were more intellectual and liberal in outlook than their contemporaries and were more concerned with testing the limits of the country music tradition than with scoring hits. The key artists includ






30. Rock style that emerged in the late 1970s. It was a 'back to basics' rebellion against the perceived artifice and pretension of corporate rock music—a stripped-down and often purposefully 'nonmusical' version of rock music.






31. One of the main venues for techno. Semipublic event modeled partly on the be-ins of the 1960s counterculture.






32. Extreme variation of punk - pioneered during the early 1980s by bands in San Francisco (the Dead Kennedys) and Los Angeles (the Germs - Black Flag - X - and the Circle Jerks).






33. Slick variety of rhythm & blues - often with lush orchestral accompaniment: the O'Jays - the Spinners - Al Green - Barry White.






34. 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.






35. The most original - inventive - and influential guitarist of the rock era - and the most prominent African American rock musician of the late 1960s.






36. 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.






37. Style modeled on that of the early acoustic string bands; probably the original 'alternative country' music.






38. 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.'






39. 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.






40. 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.






41. Style of folk music that grew in popularity in the burgeoning New York folk scene during the 1960s. It included artists such as Bob Dylan.






42. Acrobatic solo dancing improvised by the young 'B-boys' who attended hip-hop dances.






43. '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.






44. 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






45. 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.






46. 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






47. 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






48. 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.






49. Rock style that emerged in the late 1970s. It was a 'back to basics' rebellion against the perceived artifice and pretension of corporate rock music—a stripped-down and often purposefully 'nonmusical' version of rock music.






50. Variant of hip-hop music; its emergence was heralded nationwide by the release of the album Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A. (Niggaz with Attitude). It included artists such as Snoop Doggy Dogg - 2Pac Shakur - and the Notorious B.I.G.