Exam Review

The bottom number of a time signature tells the musician

1. Whether or not the piece is in cut time
2. What note gets one beat
3. How many beats are in one measure
4. What measure he/she begins to play

Leger Lines are used to

1. Indicate when a note is to be sharp or flat
2. Remove notes from a piece during the editing process
3. Extend the staff higher or lower
4. Indicate that the performer should speed up or slow down

A piece of music’s time signature is represented by two numbers. The top number represents

1. How many measures per line
2. What note gets one beat
3. How many beats per measure
4. How many sharps or flats in the key signature

Which of the following are an example of enharmonic pitches?

1. D♭ and C♯
2. B♭ and C
3. A and G♯
4. E♯ and C♭

A dynamic marking that means “Medium Soft” would be pronounced

1. Molto Piano
2. Piano
3. Pianissimo
4. Mezzo Piano

What are the four clefs commonly used today?

1. Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass
2. Bass, Treble, Alto, and Soprano
3. Alto, Tenor, Treble, and Bass
4. Treble, Percussive, Alto, and Tenor

A planned series of pitches moving forward in time can also be referred to as

1. A movement
2. A melody
3. Enharmonic pitches
4. Contrapuntal

What is the correct order of the flats?

1. A B C D E F G
2. G A F B E C D
3. B E A D G C F
4. F C G D A E B

What is wrong with this diagram of the Circle of Fourths?

1. There should be sharps next to E, A, and D on the right side
2. This is the correct Circle of Fourths
3. The order of the circle is wrong
4. The numbering is incorrect; 5, 6, and 7 should be on the bottom

Pitches that have the same frequency but different letter names are called

1. Harmonious pitches
2. Enharmonic pitches
3. Retrograde pitches
4. Consonant pitches

What is the correct way to count this rhythm?

1. 1 E & 2 E 3 & A 4 A
2. 1 A 2 E & A 3 E 4 E
3. 1 & A 2 E 3 & 4 & A
4. 1 & A 2 E 3 A 4 E A

An octave can be described as

1. The distance between two pitches in which one pitch is twice the frequency of the other
2. Four half steps
3. A collection of 8 notes arranged in an ascending pattern
4. The shortest distance between two notes in Western music

A staff can be described as

1. A series of five equidistant horizontal lines on which pitches and rhythms are notated
2. A series of four equidistant horizontal lines on which pitches and rhythms are notated
3. A choral ensemble in which each member is only singing their part
4. A piece of music in which several members are used to create harmony

Which dynamic marking means “Extremely Loud”?

What is wrong with this notation of the order of the flats and the order of the sharps?

1. There should only be six sharps and six flats
2. The sharps are labeled improperly on the treble clef
3. This notation is correct
4. The flats are labeled improperly on the bass clef

Where “W” means a whole step and “H” means a half step, the correct “stepwise” pattern for a diatonic scale is

1. W W H W W W H
2. W H W W H H W
3. H W W H W W W
4. W H W H W H W

A ? indicates that a note should be lowered one half step, and a ? indicates that a note should be raised one half step

1. Flat; Crescendo
2. Sharp; Flat
3. Double Flat; Flat
4. Flat; Sharp

Which of these dynamic markings is Pianissimo?

The expression “Diminuendo” means for the performer to

1. Gradually slow down the tempo
2. Gradually get softer and slower
3. Gradually get softer
4. Slowly speed up the tempo

The dynamic marking below represents ?, which means ?

1. Piano; Extremely Loud
2. Fortissimo; Loud
3. Molto Fortissimo; Extremely Loud
4. Forte; Loud

What is the correct way to count this rhythm?

1. 1 & 2 E & 3 & A 4 E & A
2. 1 & 2 & A 3 E & 4 E & A
3. 1 & 2 T L 3 A & E 4 A &
4. 1 & 2 T L 3 E & A 4 E &

Pitch can be defined as

1. A specific position in the range of sounds from low to high
2. The distance between two notes
3. The highest note you can hit
4. The note you tune on

What is the correct order of the sharps?

1. G C F B E A D
2. F C G D A E B
3. B E A D G C F
4. A F G B E C D

The distance from any note to the note directly above or below it, and the smallest interval in written notation, is referred to as

1. One whole step
2. One half step
3. A diatonic sequence
4. One octave

When a composer places three eighth notes in the place of two, the rhythm produced is called

1. A sixteenth note
2. A violation of Western notation laws
3. An artistic liberty
4. A triplet