CLEP Humanities : Understanding Terminology That Describes Twentieth-Century Music

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for CLEP Humanities

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Twentieth Century Music

The accordion is a traditional piece of ensembles in all of the following musical genres except which one?

Possible Answers:

Cajun

Bluegrass

Klezmer

Tejano

French Chansons

Correct answer:

Bluegrass

Explanation:

Accordions have been used in a wide variety of traditional folk music around the world. Accordions, free reed instruments that can be played with either a keyboard or diatonic buttons, provide a multitonal and varied sound that can accompany a voice all on its own. One notable exception to the kind of folk music that features the accordion is bluegrass, a folk style developed in Appalachia that exclusively features string instruments such as the guitar, banjo, fiddle, dobro, and mandolin.

Example Question #12 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Twentieth Century Music

The so-called "twelve-tone technique," which uses all twelve chromatic notes in a scale and abandons keys, was developed by the composer __________.

Possible Answers:

Arnold Schoenberg

John Cage

Sergei Prokofiev

Phillip Glass

Igor Stravinsky

Correct answer:

Arnold Schoenberg

Explanation:

In the early twentieth century, many composers sought to go beyond the traditional eight note scale of Western music. The first composer to set out a system to use atonality in compositions was Arnold Schoenberg, who created a "twelve tone system" in the 1920s of chromatic tones that gave each note equal weight. The system was used heavily by composers after World War II.

Example Question #13 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Twentieth Century Music

In a musical time signature, the top number indicates __________.

Possible Answers:

which kind of notes should be played

the total number of notes in the piece

the tempo the musician should play

the length of each beat

the number of beats in a measure

Correct answer:

the number of beats in a measure

Explanation:

The time signature is two numbers, which are stacked one on top of the other and are placed at the beginning of a piece of music. The top number indicates how many beats are in each measure. The bottom number indicates how long each beat will last, with a four meaning a quarter more, and an eight an eighth note.

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