La Salle University MUS 150-A Art of Listening Midterm Exam Name I. Listening Answer the following questions about the various works we have listened to in the course so far. 1. Regarding the element of duration, which of the following applies to Bach Bourree? 2. Regarding the element of pitch, which of the following applies to Bach Bourree? 3. Regarding the element of dynamics, which of the following applies to Bach Bourree? 4. Regarding the element of timbre, which of the following applies to Bach Bourree? 5. Which of the following IS NOT involved with the element of Pitch in Bach Bourree? a. notes b. a motive c. tempo d. melody e. the Ball 6. What is playing the beat in Bach Bourree? a. nothing b. medium loud c. guitar solo d. subito e. tempo 7. When the fretting hand and fingers move back and forth rapidly in Bach Bourree, the result is called: a. exercise b. timbre c. vibrato d.volume e. beating 8. Which of the following is absent from Bach Bourree? 9. The example of three strikes and you re out in Bach Bourree is heard in which of the elements: a. patterns of shorts and longs b. changes from loud to soft c. guitar solo d happy e. timbre and duration 10. The three note groups that are heard throughout Bach Bourree would be considered: a. harmonies b. textures c. motives d. louds e. beats 11. Which of the following terms best defines the rhythm of Bach Bourree? a. patterns of shorts and longs b. changes from loud to soft c. guitar solo d happy e. timbre and duration 12. Which of the following describes the meter of Bach Bourree? a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 d. non-metric e. no meter 13. Regarding the element of duration, which of the following applies to River of Dreams? 14. Regarding the element of pitch, which of the following applies to River of Dreams? 15. Regarding the element of dynamics, which of the following applies to River of Dreams? 16. Regarding the element of timbre, which of the following applies to River of Dreams? 17. Which of the following IS NOT involved with to the element of Duration in River of Dreams? a. medium tempo b. a beat c. a rhythm pattern d. melody e. shorts and longs 18. The song River of Dreams begins with a that lasts about 10 seconds. a. tempo b. medium fast c. question d. crescendo e. single sound 19. What is playing the beat in River of Dreams? a. nothing b. medium loud c. voice d. subito e. tempo 20. Which of the following is absent from River of Dreams? 21. The Bed Intruder Song was performed using software for applying to the voice. a. rhythmic timing b. pitch correction c. dynamic control d. timbre shifts 22. The software used on the voice in Bed Intruder Song effectively removes which vocal characteristic? a. volume b. duration c. vibrato d. lyrics e. tempo 23. The file sizes of the original uncompressed file and low-resolution mp3 of Bed Intruder Song would be: a. thump and sizzle b. the same c. louder d. different e. clearer 24. The song length of the original uncompressed file and mp3 of Bed Intruder Song would be: a. thump and sizzle b. the same c. louder d. different e. clearer
25. The TIMBRE of a low-resolution mp3 of Bed Intruder Song would lose: a. thump and sizzle b. faster c. louder d. different e. clearer 26. Which of the following has the ball throughout Bed Intruder Song? a. vocalist b. bass drum c. bass guitar d. keyboard / synthesizer e. nothing 27. Which of the following is absent from Bed Intruder Song? 28. Which of the following falls under the element of Duration in Bed Intruder Song? a. steady beat b. medium loud c. emotional lyrics d. motives e. electronic instruments 29. In Love of My Life, each of the various drums are playing? a. nothing b. melodies c. rhythms d. notes e. subito 30. In Love of My Life, the instrument holding notes to act as the glue that holds it all together is the: a. string b. bass drum c. high-hat d. keyboard e. singer 31. The example of three strikes and you re out is clearly heard in which part of Love of My Life? a. bass guitar b. bass drum c. electric guitar d. keyboard e. conga 32. Which of the following is playing rhythms in their part in Love of My Life? a. bass guitar b. electric guitar c. keyboard d. drummer e. everyone 33. Which two instruments will lock in with each other and play together in Love of My Life? a. guitar & bass b. bass & bass drum c. bass & keyboards d. guitar & snare drum e. bass & conga 34. The three-note groups that the electric guitar is playing in Love of My Life would be considered: a. harmonies b. textures c. motives d. tempo e. beats 35. Regarding the element of duration, which of the following DOES NOT apply to Love of My Life? a. repeating rhythm b. non-metric c. steady beat d. medium tempo e. meter of 4 36. Which of the following describes the timbre of Love of My Life? a. voice only b. rock / jazz band c. voice and rock / jazz band d. choir e. choir and orchestra 37. Which of the following is absent from Love of My Life? 38. Which of the following is playing the beat in Love of My Life? a. bass guitar b. guitar c. keyboard d. conductor e. no one 39. Which of the following is playing the melody in the introduction of Love of My Life (after drum solo)? a. bass guitar b. guitar c. drums d. conductor e. no one 40. Which of the following is true regarding the element of duration from Love of My Life? a. contains soft and loud sounds d. contains motives, melody and harmony b. contains beat, rhythms and tempo e. all of the above c. contains a combination of different instrument types 41. What is the meter in Love of My Life? a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 d. no meter e. non metric II. Multiple Choice Music Terminology 42. The of a musical work is usually grouped in 2s, 3s OR 4s. a. interval b. pitch c. meter d. dynamics e. cadence 43. The steady underlying pulse that occurs in a piece of music is called the: a. beat b. pitch c. timbre d. dynamic e. conjunct interval 44. Which of the following is not specifically an element or property of music? a. duration b. happiness c. pitch d. dynamics e. timbre 45. Which of the following terms is a series of pitches played one at a time to form a logical idea? a. melody b. sound quality/tone color c. tempo d. chord e. harmony 46. In every piece of music, the beat will always be played by the: a. drums b. bass c. cymbals d. violins e. it might not be played at all 47. The term "crescendo" means to gradually get: a. louder b. faster c. higher in pitch d. softer e. slower 48. Which of the following is not required to fit our definition of music? a. time b. organization c. singing d. sound 49. The words "long" and "short" refer to which of the following terms? a. pitch b. rhythm c. dynamics d. timbre e. Ball
50. The words "loud" and "soft" refer to which of the following terms? a. pitch b. rhythm c. dynamics d. timbre e. tempo 51. The words "fast" and "slow" refer to which of the following terms? a. pitch b. Ball c. dynamics d. timbre e. tempo 52. What is the instrument (in a rock or pop band) that often signals a new section of a song? a. snare drum b. hi hat c. conga drum d. crash cymbal e. keyboard 53. What is the instrument (in a rock or pop band) that usually plays on beats 2 and 4? a. snare drum b. hi hat c. conga drum d. crash cymbal e. keyboard 54. Tempo is a term which refers to the a. melody b. dynamic level c. speed of the beats d. sound of the instruments e. composer 55. The terms "consonance" and "dissonance" refer to: a. the stability and instability of harmony b. the dynamic level of a chord c. the speed of the beats d. how many instruments are being played simultaneously e. music that is written down 56. Which of the following terms occurs when there are two or more pitches played at the same time? a. melody b. sound quality/tone color c. tempo d. motive e. harmony 57. When the beat is not evident in a musical work, it is said to be: a. nonmetric b. fast c. inconclusive d. cadence e. accented 58. In every piece of music, which timbre is always present? a. drums b. bass c. cymbals d. violin e. there is no requirement for a specific timbre 59 The term "decrescendo" means to gradually get: a. louder b. faster c. lower in pitch d. softer e. slower III. Matching 60. Auto Tune A. Gradual change from loud to softer 61. Beat B. Concentrating on what you hear 62. Passive listening C. Most prominent part at any given time 63. Motive D. Speed of the beats, fast or slow 64. The Ball E. Short section of music that is repeated electronically 65. Decrescendo F. Short fragment of music, acts as a "trigger" 66. Meter G. Two or more pitches played at once 67. Tempo H. One pitch at a time; the tune 68. Hertz I. Pattern of shorts/longs or beats/syncopations 69. Vibrato J. Highest frequency within limit of the human ear 70. Equalizer K. How the beats are grouped (usually 2, 3, or 4) 71. Groove L. Underlying guide to keep everyone on time 72. MP3 M. Process of shifting a sound to the nearest pitch 73. Harmony N. An audio file that has been compressed for space 74. Sizzle O. Subjective energy present in music 75. Compression P. A device to alter the TIMBRE of a recording 76. Rhythm Q. Description of the sounds and instruments heard 77. 20 khz R. Gradual change from soft to louder 78. Melody S. Type of music and the name of the form 79. Active listening T. Hearing in the background 80. Crescendo U. Subtle variations in pitch to enrich tone 81. Subito V. Sudden change in dynamics 82. Timbre W. Number of cycles per second of a sound wave 83. Loop X. Higher frequencies lost in mp3 compression 84. Blues Y. Squeezing frequencies heard to save space
Answer Sheet and Part IV Name 1. 23. 45. 67. 2. 24. 46. 68. 3. 25. 47. 69. 4. 26. 48. 70. 5. 27. 49. 71. 6. 28. 50. 72. 7. 29. 51. 73. 8. 30. 52. 74. 9. 31. 53. 75. 10. 32. 54. 76. 11. 33. 55. 77. 12. 34. 56. 78. 13. 35. 57. 79. 14. 36. 58. 80. 15. 37. 59. 81. 16. 38. 60. 82. 17. 39. 61. 83. 18. 40. 62. 84. 19. 41. 63. 20. 42. 64. 21. 43. 65. 22. 44. 66. IV. True or False. For each statement, indicate if it is true or false. *BONUS - change each false statement to make it read true. 85. Harmony, by its definition, contains only one pitch. 86. When you hear a piece of music, timbre might not necessarily be present. 87. The timbre of a work may be described as loud or soft, fast or slow. 88. The timbre of a musical work will always remain constant all the way through. 89. The jazz style is based upon closely following the original melody without embellishment. 90. The Piano is the correct, full name of the large white instrument in our classroom. 91. Auto Tune has been in use since the 1950s. 92. Perfect Pitch is the ability to play music without mistakes. 93. The Loudness Wars is a description coined by critics that don t like music. 94. The frequencies most heard in music occur between 20 Hz and 30 Hz. 95. There are no frequencies below 10 Hz. 96. Auto Tune removes duration from the original sound source. 97. Recorded music sounds the same on all speakers and headphones. 98. Three Strikes and You re Out is when a note is heard three times. 99. The low conga and the high conga in Love of My Life have the same pitch. 100. When Active Listening is used, the music sounds the same every time.
**BONUS** For each question, provide as much detail as you are able. Each correct point you make in your discussion will result in an extra credit point being applied to your final grade. Feel free to make your answers in essay or list form. 1. Describe how the elements of music are most commonly used in everyday popular music. 2. Discuss the meaning of Perfect Pitch, and your opinion of it. 3. Discuss how the file size of a compressed mp3 recording is made smaller from the original. 4. What is the frequency range that you personally are able to hear? What is the human normal? 5. Describe what occurs in the engineering process during The Loudness Wars. 6. List as many musical selections as you can that use Auto Tune.