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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
alternative music
Public Enemy
bluegrass
Run-D.M.C.
2. 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.
alternative rock
grunge rock
nashville sound
David Bowie
3. 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
reggae
MP3
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
Madonna
4. 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).
rap
Donna Summer
gangsta rap
nashville sound
5. 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.'
The Ramones
Carole King
Lauryn Hill
Willie Nelson
6. 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
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
Peter Gabriel
Kurt Cobain
house music
7. 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.
Lauryn Hill
James Brown
Sonic Youth
breakdancing
8. 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.
Beastie Boys
Carlos Santana
breakdancing
disco
9. Acrobatic solo dancing improvised by the young 'B-boys' who attended hip-hop dances.
hip-hop
James Brown
Ray Charles
breakdancing
10. 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
Queen Latifah
country pop
Prince
funk music
11. One of the main venues for techno. Semipublic event modeled partly on the be-ins of the 1960s counterculture.
rave
The Ramones
countrypolitan
Vanilla Ice
12. Upbeat variety of rock music represented by artists such as Elton John - Paul McCartney - Rod Stewart - Chicago - and Peter Frampton.
pop rock
Nirvana
soul music
funk music
13. DJ and leader of the furious five - he developed many of the turntable techniques that characterized early hip-hop music.
Tupac Shakur
Grandmaster Flash
sequencer
analog recording
14. 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.
M.C. Hammer
Napster
gangsta rap
Madonna
15. DJ and leader of the furious five - he developed many of the turntable techniques that characterized early hip-hop music.
world music
M.C. Hammer
Grandmaster Flash
Nirvana
16. 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.
hardcore
urban folk
Ray Charles
N.W.A.
17. Upbeat variety of rock music represented by artists such as Elton John - Paul McCartney - Rod Stewart - Chicago - and Peter Frampton.
Patsy Cline
Ray Charles
pop rock
sampling
18. African American musical style rooted in R&B and gospel that became popular during the 1960s.
David Bowie
Led Zeppelin
soul music
Grandmaster Flash
19. 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
breakdancing
Beastie Boys
Def Jam
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
20. 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.
house music
alternative rock
sequencer
Vanilla Ice
21. 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
The Sex Pistols
Kurt Cobain
Vanilla Ice
Led Zeppelin
22. 'Glam rock' pioneer who established the character of Ziggy Stardust.
hardcore
Grandmaster Flash
David Bowie
house music
23. 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
Queen Latifah
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
world music
24. Style of electronic dance music that originated in the Detroit area during the 1980s.
Bruce Springsteen
techno
David Bowie
soft soul
25. 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
Janis Joplin
Bob Marley
disco
Lauryn Hill
26. 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
rave
Carlos Santana
Kenny Rogers
Peter Gabriel
27. 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
bluegrass
RIAA
Lauryn Hill
funk music
28. 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.
Clear channel
Bob Marley
psychedelic rock
sampling
29. Sophisticated approach to the vocal presentation and instrumental arrangement of country music; a fusion of 'country' and 'cosmopolitan.'
David Bowie
hip-hop
countrypolitan
James Brown
30. 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
countrypolitan
RIAA
M.C. Hammer
sampling
31. Sophisticated approach to the vocal presentation and instrumental arrangement of country music; a fusion of 'country' and 'cosmopolitan.'
countrypolitan
rave
pop rock
Donna Summer
32. 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
gangsta rap
Jimi Hendrix
Napster
33. Heterogeneous category that includes artists from Africa - the Near East - and Asia—the ultimate margins of the American music industry.
alternative rock
Vanilla Ice
disco
world music
34. 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
reggae
breakdancing
nashville sound
Michael Jackson
35. '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 music
Aretha Franklin
hip-hop
36. Band that originated in the 1960s San Francisco rock scene. Their career spanned more than three decades.
Janis Joplin
RIAA
Prince
Grateful Dead
37. 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.
M.C. Hammer
David Bowie
Public Enemy
gangsta rap
38. 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.
RIAA
bluegrass
Jimi Hendrix
Carlos Santana
39. 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.
David Bowie
Peter Gabriel
Tupac Shakur
Sonic Youth
40. 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
heavy metal
country pop
alternative music
41. 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
Michael Jackson
Willie Nelson
psychedelic rock
Jimi Hendrix
42. 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).
Madonna
rap
Clear channel
Kenny Rogers
43. 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.
pop rock
psychedelic rock
Tupac Shakur
Kurt Cobain
44. 'Glam rock' pioneer who established the character of Ziggy Stardust.
David Bowie
Paul Simon
Aretha Franklin
breakdancing
45. 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).
soul music
Clear channel
hardcore
Carlos Santana
46. 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
Sean 'Puffy' Combs
hip-hop
Def Jam
47. 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.
Sonic Youth
grunge rock
bluegrass
soul music
48. A style of soft rock - lightly tinged with country music influences: John Denver - Olivia Newton-John - Kenny Rogers.
techno
Napster
country pop
rap
49. 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.
Kenny Rogers
rap
heavy metal
Snoop Doggy Dogg (Calvin Broadus)
50. 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.
soft soul
Paul Simon
Bruce Springsteen
Beastie Boys