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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. 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
Run-D.M.C.
house music
alternative music
Beastie Boys
2. Known as the 'Genius of Soul'; songwriter - arranger - keyboard player - and vocalist fluent in R&B - jazz - and mainstream pop.
Ray Charles
urban folk
alternative rock
Patsy Cline
3. 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.
Michael Jackson
nashville sound
urban folk
Napster
4. 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.
N.W.A.
Michael Jackson
rave
Carlos Santana
5. 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
progressive country
Tupac Shakur
hip-hop
Ray Charles
6. 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
Michael Jackson
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
Def Jam
alternative rock
7. 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).
hardcore
soul music
Aretha Franklin
Donna Summer
8. One of the main venues for techno. Semipublic event modeled partly on the be-ins of the 1960s counterculture.
Led Zeppelin
rave
M.C. Hammer
Patsy Cline
9. 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.
sequencer
Peter Gabriel
Kenny Rogers
Madonna
10. 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.
James Brown
urban folk
Carole King
nashville sound
11. 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
synthesizer
Dolly Parton
rap
analog recording
12. Achieved celebrity as a member of the art rock group Genesis before embarking on a solo career. Gabriel's best-selling single 'Sledgehammer' became Number One pop and Number Sixty-one R&B in 1986. The award-winning video version of 'Sledgehammer' was
Peter Gabriel
Vanilla Ice
bluegrass
psychedelic rock
13. 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
Bob Marley
James Brown
Prince
MP3
14. 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.
James Brown
MIDI
Beastie Boys
disco
15. 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.
The Sex Pistols
Bob Marley
pop rock
gangsta rap
16. African American musical style rooted in R&B and gospel that became popular during the 1960s.
M.C. Hammer
soul music
Bob Marley
Led Zeppelin
17. Heterogeneous category that includes artists from Africa - the Near East - and Asia—the ultimate margins of the American music industry.
Led Zeppelin
M.C. Hammer
Vanilla Ice
world music
18. DJ and leader of the furious five - he developed many of the turntable techniques that characterized early hip-hop music.
sequencer
Bob Marley
reggae
Grandmaster Flash
19. 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.
MP3
Def Jam
James Brown
sampling
20. 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.
Beastie Boys
Ray Charles
Bruce Springsteen
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
21. 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).
sampling
bluegrass
Kurt Cobain
Madonna
22. 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.
Prince
art rock
Paul Simon
psychedelic rock
23. Sophisticated approach to the vocal presentation and instrumental arrangement of country music; a fusion of 'country' and 'cosmopolitan.'
Public Enemy
countrypolitan
Run-D.M.C.
Ray Charles
24. 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).
David Bowie
Jimi Hendrix
countrypolitan
hardcore
25. 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.
Janis Joplin
psychedelic rock
art rock
house music
26. 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.
Lauryn Hill
world music
Carole King
analog recording
27. 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.
Michael Jackson
countrypolitan
Paul Simon
rap
28. 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
Bruce Springsteen
Lauryn Hill
world music
Willie Nelson
29. 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.
countrypolitan
synthesizer
techno
Napster
30. 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
N.W.A.
Tupac Shakur
Public Enemy
punk rock
31. 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
Queen Latifah
Beastie Boys
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
Carole King
32. 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.
world music
soft soul
Led Zeppelin
rap
33. Publicly traded corporation that owns more than 1 -200 radio stations - 39 television stations - 100000 advertising billboards - and 100 live performance venues - ranging from huge amphitheaters to dance clubs - enabling them to present more than 70
Clear channel
N.W.A.
punk rock
country pop
34. Genre that developed out of hard rock in the 1970s and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s.
Michael Jackson
heavy metal
Dolly Parton
Prince
35. 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.
art rock
Peter Gabriel
breakdancing
David Bowie
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
alternative rock
Aretha Franklin
funk music
37. 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.
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
Patsy Cline
urban folk
Led Zeppelin
38. 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
Ray Charles
MIDI
39. 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
Prince
nashville sound
grunge rock
40. 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.
Vanilla Ice
psychedelic rock
Kurt Cobain
The Sex Pistols
41. 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
Jimi Hendrix
Paul Simon
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
hardcore
42. Upbeat variety of rock music represented by artists such as Elton John - Paul McCartney - Rod Stewart - Chicago - and Peter Frampton.
Janis Joplin
Beastie Boys
pop rock
M.C. Hammer
43. Band that originated in the 1960s San Francisco rock scene. Their career spanned more than three decades.
Led Zeppelin
soul music
urban folk
Grateful Dead
44. Variant of MPEG; MP3 enables sound files to be compressed to as little as one-twelfth of their original size.
Willie Nelson
Napster
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
MP3
45. 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.
Tupac Shakur
sampling
Carole King
Napster
46. 'Glam rock' pioneer who established the character of Ziggy Stardust.
Nirvana
David Bowie
Def Jam
MP3
47. DJ and leader of the furious five - he developed many of the turntable techniques that characterized early hip-hop music.
synthesizer
Janis Joplin
urban folk
Grandmaster Flash
48. 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.
soul music
sequencer
MP3
punk rock
49. 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.
rap
house music
sequencer
Vanilla Ice
50. 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.
Kurt Cobain
house music
Bob Marley
sampling