MUS Final Exam Ch 18-26 Questions &
Answers 2024/2025
composer decided they had a right to follow their music no matter where it led, even if they ended up
alienating most of his potential audiences; they were supported by institutions which freed them from
having to compose music for audiences to make a living; led to a lot of experimentation; no longer one
agreed upon idea of what music is and what it should express; a great example of this is John Cage and
his work of complete silence, use of a prepared piano, and use of household items to create music -
ANSWERSwhat does fragmentation of the classical music world mean? (5)
20th century composers traveled around the world collecting songs/dances from peasants in rural areas
to use in their compositions; ethnomusicology became a popular discipline; the technology of the 20th
century made it possible to travel and record the music; eventually expanded people's idea of what
music is; jazz is an example of a type of music that was profoundly influenced by folk traditions -
ANSWERSdescribe the preservation of folk traditions from around the world (5)
theremin - ANSWERSthe first electronic instrument, which featured two antennae; one to regulate pitch,
the other to regulate volume
synthesizer - ANSWERSinstrument capable of generating sounds electronically
Ethnomusicology - ANSWERSthe study of music within particular cultures
atonality - ANSWERSthe principle of avoiding both the tonic and its corollary; organizing harmony and
melody so as to move away from and return to the tonic in a coherent fashion
expressionism - ANSWERSlate nineteenth and early twentieth century movement in the arts that sought
to convey the deep emotions that lie under the surface of and are often obscured by objective reality
Sprechstimme - ANSWERSspeech voice; vocal style between speech and singing required in Arnold
Schoenberg's music
, commedia dell'arte - ANSWERScomedy of the artists (of improvisation); a type of improvised theater
that developed in Italy during the 15th century
impressionism - ANSWERSlate 19th and early 20th century movement in the arts that favored
exploration of elements such as light, color, and sound over literal representation
whole-tone scale - ANSWERSscale that divides the octave into 6 equal segments a whole tone apart
col legno - ANSWERSviolin technique that involves tapping the wooden part of the bow on the strings
neoclassicism - ANSWERSany trend in the arts characterized by the revival or reinterpretation of classical
values of harmony, clarity, restraint, and adherence to established practices, as embodied in the
artworks of Greek and Roman civilization; identifies a body of 20th century music that has in common a
rejection of Romantic and post-Romantic musical values and a return to or reworking of many of the
musical features characteristic of 18th century music
serialism - ANSWERSaka twelve tone composition; system of pitch organization in which all twelve
pitches within the octave are organized in a series rather than organized hierarchically
tone row - ANSWERSin serial composition, the arrangement of all twelve pitches within the octave in a
particular sequence
retrograde - ANSWERSreversal of the original sequence of twelve pitches in a serial composition
inversion - ANSWERSin serial composition, reversing the direction of the intervals between pitches of the
tone row
mickey mousing - ANSWERSthe close synchronization of music with on screen action
blues - ANSWERSquintessentially African American music with its roots in Africa and the Mississippi
Delta; created by Southern blacks sometime after the Civil War; characterized by twelve-bar form, call
and response between voice and instrument, bent notes, and phrases that start high and end low
Answers 2024/2025
composer decided they had a right to follow their music no matter where it led, even if they ended up
alienating most of his potential audiences; they were supported by institutions which freed them from
having to compose music for audiences to make a living; led to a lot of experimentation; no longer one
agreed upon idea of what music is and what it should express; a great example of this is John Cage and
his work of complete silence, use of a prepared piano, and use of household items to create music -
ANSWERSwhat does fragmentation of the classical music world mean? (5)
20th century composers traveled around the world collecting songs/dances from peasants in rural areas
to use in their compositions; ethnomusicology became a popular discipline; the technology of the 20th
century made it possible to travel and record the music; eventually expanded people's idea of what
music is; jazz is an example of a type of music that was profoundly influenced by folk traditions -
ANSWERSdescribe the preservation of folk traditions from around the world (5)
theremin - ANSWERSthe first electronic instrument, which featured two antennae; one to regulate pitch,
the other to regulate volume
synthesizer - ANSWERSinstrument capable of generating sounds electronically
Ethnomusicology - ANSWERSthe study of music within particular cultures
atonality - ANSWERSthe principle of avoiding both the tonic and its corollary; organizing harmony and
melody so as to move away from and return to the tonic in a coherent fashion
expressionism - ANSWERSlate nineteenth and early twentieth century movement in the arts that sought
to convey the deep emotions that lie under the surface of and are often obscured by objective reality
Sprechstimme - ANSWERSspeech voice; vocal style between speech and singing required in Arnold
Schoenberg's music
, commedia dell'arte - ANSWERScomedy of the artists (of improvisation); a type of improvised theater
that developed in Italy during the 15th century
impressionism - ANSWERSlate 19th and early 20th century movement in the arts that favored
exploration of elements such as light, color, and sound over literal representation
whole-tone scale - ANSWERSscale that divides the octave into 6 equal segments a whole tone apart
col legno - ANSWERSviolin technique that involves tapping the wooden part of the bow on the strings
neoclassicism - ANSWERSany trend in the arts characterized by the revival or reinterpretation of classical
values of harmony, clarity, restraint, and adherence to established practices, as embodied in the
artworks of Greek and Roman civilization; identifies a body of 20th century music that has in common a
rejection of Romantic and post-Romantic musical values and a return to or reworking of many of the
musical features characteristic of 18th century music
serialism - ANSWERSaka twelve tone composition; system of pitch organization in which all twelve
pitches within the octave are organized in a series rather than organized hierarchically
tone row - ANSWERSin serial composition, the arrangement of all twelve pitches within the octave in a
particular sequence
retrograde - ANSWERSreversal of the original sequence of twelve pitches in a serial composition
inversion - ANSWERSin serial composition, reversing the direction of the intervals between pitches of the
tone row
mickey mousing - ANSWERSthe close synchronization of music with on screen action
blues - ANSWERSquintessentially African American music with its roots in Africa and the Mississippi
Delta; created by Southern blacks sometime after the Civil War; characterized by twelve-bar form, call
and response between voice and instrument, bent notes, and phrases that start high and end low
