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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. 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
Lauryn Hill
progressive country
pop rock
disco
2. 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
RIAA
Grateful Dead
hip-hop
techno
3. 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
Nirvana
Ray Charles
Def Jam
Vanilla Ice
4. Heterogeneous category that includes artists from Africa - the Near East - and Asia—the ultimate margins of the American music industry.
urban folk
world music
Ray Charles
reggae
5. 'Glam rock' pioneer who established the character of Ziggy Stardust.
Def Jam
Prince
David Bowie
reggae
6. African American musical style rooted in R&B and gospel that became popular during the 1960s.
soul music
Vanilla Ice
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
Aretha Franklin
7. Born in Mexico - he began his musical career playing guitar in Tijuana. He formed his band in San Francisco in the late 1960s. Their 1971 album Abraxas established a Latin American substream within rock.
Carlos Santana
house music
Prince
analog recording
8. Style of electronic dance music that originated in the Detroit area during the 1980s.
Michael Jackson
Grateful Dead
techno
Tupac Shakur
9. African American musical style rooted in R&B and gospel that became popular during the 1960s.
pop rock
techno
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
soul music
10. 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.
soul music
Queen Latifah
The Sex Pistols
Def Jam
11. 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.
psychedelic rock
MP3
house music
bluegrass
12. The most original - inventive - and influential guitarist of the rock era - and the most prominent African American rock musician of the late 1960s.
Paul Simon
Jimi Hendrix
art rock
gangsta rap
13. 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
Carole King
Public Enemy
techno
MP3
14. 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
punk rock
analog recording
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
RIAA
15. 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
Def Jam
Lauryn Hill
Michael Jackson
M.C. Hammer
16. Device that standardized digital technologies - enabling devices produced by different manufacturers to 'communicate' with one another.
rave
house music
Grandmaster Flash
MIDI
17. 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.
techno
Paul Simon
Kurt Cobain
sampling
18. 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.
breakdancing
soul music
Tupac Shakur
James Brown
19. 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.
grunge rock
alternative rock
Kurt Cobain
RIAA
20. 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.
Kenny Rogers
Grandmaster Flash
punk rock
Paul Simon
21. 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
house music
analog recording
techno
punk rock
22. 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
rave
Run-D.M.C.
progressive country
punk rock
23. 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.
countrypolitan
James Brown
N.W.A.
Run-D.M.C.
24. Slick variety of rhythm & blues - often with lush orchestral accompaniment: the O'Jays - the Spinners - Al Green - Barry White.
Vanilla Ice
hip-hop
synthesizer
soft soul
25. 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.
M.C. Hammer
RIAA
Janis Joplin
Donna Summer
26. Born in the impoverished shantytowns of Kingston - Jamaica - reggae first became popular in the United States in 1973 - after the release of the Jamaican film The Harder They Come and its soundtrack album. The heart of reggae music consists of 'riddi
Lauryn Hill
Run-D.M.C.
reggae
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
27. 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.
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
disco
pop rock
funk music
28. Upbeat variety of rock music represented by artists such as Elton John - Paul McCartney - Rod Stewart - Chicago - and Peter Frampton.
pop rock
sampling
sequencer
progressive country
29. 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
Jimi Hendrix
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
Public Enemy
psychedelic rock
30. 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
hip-hop
world music
Michael Jackson
Lauryn Hill
31. 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.
hip-hop
rap
Carole King
world music
32. 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.
Kenny Rogers
Bruce Springsteen
Queen Latifah
M.C. Hammer
33. 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.
Kenny Rogers
Lauryn Hill
grunge rock
progressive country
34. 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.
analog recording
heavy metal
Queen Latifah
synthesizer
35. Variant of MPEG; MP3 enables sound files to be compressed to as little as one-twelfth of their original size.
James Brown
MP3
analog recording
Jimi Hendrix
36. Internet-based software program that enabled computer users to share and swap files - specifically music - through a centralized file server. A federal court injunction forced Napster to shut down operations in February 2001.
Donna Summer
Jimi Hendrix
Napster
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
37. Style modeled on that of the early acoustic string bands; probably the original 'alternative country' music.
country pop
disco
bluegrass
alternative music
38. 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.
hardcore
Tupac Shakur
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
hardcore
39. Genre that developed out of hard rock in the 1970s and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s.
Carlos Santana
heavy metal
Vanilla Ice
alternative rock
40. 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).
David Bowie
soul music
Tupac Shakur
Donna Summer
41. DJ and leader of the furious five - he developed many of the turntable techniques that characterized early hip-hop music.
Carole King
Grandmaster Flash
The Ramones
Vanilla Ice
42. Device that enables musicians to create or 'synthesize' musical sounds. Began to appear on rock records during the early 1970s.
Tupac Shakur
Def Jam
synthesizer
Jimi Hendrix
43. 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
rave
techno
Vanilla Ice
44. 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.
The Ramones
alternative rock
sequencer
Public Enemy
45. 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.
breakdancing
alternative rock
Queen Latifah
Led Zeppelin
46. 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
Kurt Cobain
The Ramones
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
Public Enemy
47. Born in the impoverished shantytowns of Kingston - Jamaica - reggae first became popular in the United States in 1973 - after the release of the Jamaican film The Harder They Come and its soundtrack album. The heart of reggae music consists of 'riddi
MIDI
psychedelic rock
Ray Charles
reggae
48. 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).
psychedelic rock
David Bowie
Donna Summer
rave
49. 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
Tupac Shakur
Bob Marley
Paul Simon
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
50. 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.
art rock
punk rock
soft soul
nashville sound