Q&A Hero

Q: Active chords seek to resolve to resting chords, imparting a sense of direction or goal.

Q: Although common in jazz, inflecting a pitch is unusual in most Western music.

Q: African, Asian, and Native American musics make use of pentatonic scales.

Q: Chromatic music is most closely associated with the Classical era.

Q: A major or minor scale can begin on any of the twelve semitones of the octave.

Q: The term key refers to a group of related tones with a common center, a tonic, toward which the tones gravitate.

Q: A sharp lowers a musical tone by a half step.

Q: All musical cultures of the world divide the octave into twelve equal half steps.

Q: In Western music, the octave is divided into seven equal parts that make up the chromatic scale.

Q: In Western harmony, the dominant represents: a. the point of ultimate rest. c. the tonic. b. the active harmony. d. the leading tone.

Q: A ______ lowers a note a half step. a. sharp c. leading tone b. flat d. double flat

Q: A sharp raises a note by: a. a whole step. c. two half steps. b. a half step. d. one and a half steps.

Q: When a melody is transposed to another key, what remains the same? a. the pitch level of the melody c. the shape of the melodic line b. the key note, or tonic, of the melody d. the number of sharps or flats

Q: The process of passing from one key to another is known as: a. modulation. c. transposition. b. development. d. transformation.

Q: The three most important triads used in diatonic harmony are: a. I, III, and V. c. I, IV, and V. b. I, V, and VII. d. I, VI, and VII.

Q: The three basic triads in the Western musical system are the tonic, the dominant, and the: a. supertonic. c. submediant. b. mediant. d. subdominant.

Q: Which number represents the dominant chord? a. I c. V b. IV d. VII

Q: In harmony, the _____ is a place of rest and return. a. the tonic c. the subdominant b. the dominant d. the leading tone

Q: Which number represents the tonic chord? a. I c. V b. IV d. VII

Q: The triad built on the first note of the scale is called the: a. tonic. c. subdominant. b. dominant. d. subtonic.

Q: An interval smaller than the semitone, or half step, is called: a. a whole tone. c. a microtone. b. a glissando. d. an octave.

Q: How many notes make up a pentatonic scale? a. eight c. twelve b. five d. four

Q: With which era is chromatic music most frequently associated? a. Romantic c. Classical b. Renaissance d. Middle Ages

Q: Music based on the seven tones of a major or minor scale is called: a. chromatic. c. modal. b. diatonic. d. transposed.

Q: Which of the following characterizes the minor scale? a. It has a lowered third degree. c. It sounds the same as the major scale. b. It always begins on the note F. d. It is made up entirely of half steps.

Q: In a major scale, between which pairs of tones do the half steps occur? a. 2 and 3, 7 and 8 c. 2 and 3, 6 and 7 b. 3 and 4, 7 and 8 d. 2 and 3, 5 and 6

Q: In a major scale, the greatest tension lies between what two tones? a. 3 and 4 c. 6 and 7 b. 4 and 5 d. 7 and 8

Q: A group of related tones with a common center, a tonic, is called: a. an interval. c. an octave. b. a key. d. a melody.

Q: On the piano, the black key between the white keys C and D is called: a. C-sharp or D-flat. c. D-sharp or E. b. C-flat or B. d. none of the answers shown here

Q: The musical symbol # represents a: a. note. c. flat. b. sharp. d. pitch.

Q: A twelve-tone scale, including all the semitones of the octave, is called: a. chromatic. c. major. b. diatonic. d. minor.

Q: The smallest interval in the Western musical system is called: a. a half step. c. an octave. b. a whole step. d. a third.

Q: In Western music, the octave is divided into how many equal intervals? a. six c. twelve b. eight d. fifteen

Q: What are the pitch names used in Western music? a. A, C, E , G, J, and P c. A, E, I, O, and U b. A, B, C, D, E, F, and G d. A, B, C, D, E, G, and I

Q: Describe the harmony a composer might use to write a film score.

Q: Describe the role of dissonance in harmony.

Q: Describe the relationship between melody and harmony in music.

Q: When three or more notes are sounded together, a chord is produced.

Q: The principle of organization whereby we hear a piece of music in relation to a central tone is called tonality.

Q: A combination of tones that is discordant and unstable produces a consonance.

Q: Harmonic movement in music derives its maximum tension from consonance.

Q: The two scale types commonly found in Western music from about 1650 to 1900 are major and minor.

Q: The principle of organization around a central tone is called tonality.

Q: Melody and harmony function independently of each other.

Q: Three alternating notes of a scale, sounded simultaneously, form a triad.

Q: A triad is a chord made up of three tones.

Q: Harmony is important to most non-Western musical cultures.

Q: In the organizational system known as tonality, we hear a piece of music in relation to a central tone, called: a. the dominant. c. the tonic. b. the mediant. d. the leading tone.

Q: Harmony consisting of a single, sustained pitch is called: a. melody. c. tonic. b. drone. d. triad.

Q: Which of the following terms describes a concordant, or agreeable, combination of tones? a. conjunct c. disjunct b. consonant d. dissonant

Q: A combination of tones that sounds discordant, unstable, or in need of resolution is called a: a. cadence. c. dissonance. b. consonance. d. tonality.

Q: The principle of organization around a central tone is called: a. chromaticism. c. consonance. b. tonality. d. centralization.

Q: The first note of the scale is called the: a. octave. c. tonic. b. triad. d. dominant.

Q: A triad is: a. the most common chord type found in Western music. b. a three-note chord. c. built on alternate scale steps. d. all of the answers shown here

Q: An interval of eight notes is called: a. a chord. c. a triad. b. a fifth. d. an octave.

Q: A collection of pitches arranged in ascending or descending order is called: a. a scale. c. an interval. b. a chord. d. an octave.

Q: A combination of three or more tones is called: a. an interval. c. an octave. b. a scale. d. a chord.

Q: Harmony is to music as __________ is to painting. a. the frame c. perspective b. color d. the brush

Q: Which term describes the simultaneous combination of sounds? a. texture c. dissonance b. harmony d. melody

Q: In terms of rhythm and meter, describe the differences between traditional Western music and that of African American dance and other non-Western musical traditions.

Q: Define rhythm, beat, and meter and describe the way they work together in music.

Q: The most common compound meter is sextuple meter.

Q: Music that moves without a strong sense of beat or meter is referred to as nonmetric.

Q: All world musics feature a strong regular pulse or beat.

Q: Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of rhythmic patterns that conflict with the underlying beat.

Q: Syncopation is typical of African American dance music and spirituals.

Q: Meter is an organizing principle shared by music and poetry.

Q: Meter is the measurement of musical time.

Q: Measures mark off groupings of beats, each with a fixed number that coincides with the meter.

Q: The element that organizes musical movement in time is called harmony.

Q: In _______ meter, the beat is divided into two. a. simple c. complex b. compound d. hybrid

Q: Music that moves without a strong sense of beat or meter is called: a. compound. c. nonmetric. b. additive. d. irregular.

Q: The simultaneous use of two or more rhythmic patterns is called: a. polyrhythm. c. additive meter. b. syncopation. d. compound meter.

Q: The deliberate upsetting of the normal pattern of accents is called: a. rhythm. c. syncopation. b. meter. d. compound meter.

Q: Which of the following songs is in compound meter? a. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star c. America, the Beautiful b. Greensleeves d. America

Q: The patriotic song America (My country, tis of thee) is an example of: a. duple meter. c. quadruple meter. b. triple meter. d. compound meter.

Q: Meters in which each beat is subdivided into three rather than two are known as: a. simple meters. c. compound meters. b. complex meters. d. unequal meters.

Q: A repeated rhythmic pattern in which an accented beat is followed by two unaccented beats is called: a. duple meter. c. quadruple meter. b. triple meter. d. compound meter.

Q: Which meter would most likely be associated with a march? a. duple c. quadruple b. triple d. compound

Q: The metric pattern in which a strong beat alternates with a weak one is called: a. triple meter. c. quadruple meter. b. duple meter. d. compound meter.