General Music Theory MCQs

1. Which word means the speed at which a piece is played?

2. What major key has 4 sharps?

3. The variation of the pitch of a note up and down over time is called?

4. The C note that is closest to the middle of a keyboard or piano is called what?

5. 3/4 is an example of a ______ meter.

6. How many beats does the whole note have in a 4/4 time signature?

7. A whole note note is equivalent to __ half notes.

8. What is the longest note in common use?

9. The oboe is part of the _________group of instruments

10. If sheet music instructed you to be short and detached, what word would be used?

11. Which of these is a C major chord?

12. A short piece played between the verses of a song is called a(n):

13. The Pentatonic Scale contains _ notes.

14. "Common time" refers to:

15. What is the term for choral music performed without accompaniment?

16. What is a duet?

17. A quarter note is equivalent to __ sixteenth notes.

18. What does poco mean in musical terms?

19. If you were told to sing sotto voce, how would you sing?

20. IV can also be called the _______.

21. V can also be called the _______.

22. 2/4 is an example of a ______ meter.

23. What is 3 half steps above B Flat?

24. What is the inverted interval of minor third?

25. What does a Major 6th invert to?

26. What does a curved line spanning notes of differing pitch indicate in a music score?

27. 12/8 is an example of a ______ meter.

28. What is an operetta?

29. If you lower a C by one semitone, what note do you get?

30. What is a picardy third?

31. 4/4 is an example of a ______ meter.

32. What pitch is a major second above C?

33. A ledger line is used for what purpose?

34. Define the picardy third.

35. What is the relative minor of G major?

36. "Cut time" refers to:

37. E major has __ sharps.

38. To make a minor chord where the root note is an A, the third would be a:

39. A playful, humorous instrumental composition is called a what?

40. The major third of B is:

41. Describe the following chord: D F A C

42. A dotted eighth note is equivalent to __ sixteenth notes.

43. What is the relative minor key of A major?

44. For a triad in 1st inversion, which note is on the bottom?

45. 9/8 is an example of a ______ meter.

46. Describe the following chord: C Eb Gb Bb

47. Common practice musical genres came in which order?

48. B flat major has ___ flats.

49. What is polytonality?

50. What is the meaning of the term 'largo'?

51. The root of the Lydian mode corresponds to which note in the Major scale?

52. The root of the Dorian mode corresponds to which note in the Major scale?

53. E flat major has __ flats.

54. Pick the diminshed chord from the combinations below

55. Equal Temperament is

56. What are the notes of a B dominant 7th chord?

57. What is a Tritone?

58. A tritone is the same interval as ________.

59. "Plagal cadence" usually refers to what progression?

60. The root of the Aeolian mode corresponds to which note in the Major scale?

61. For a triad in 2nd inversion, which note is on the bottom?

62. The root of the Locrian mode corresponds to which note in the Major scale?

63. A dominant 7th chord contains a:

64. The root of the Mixolydian mode corresponds to which note in the Major scale?

65. Which of these voice movements are considered better practice in traditional 4 part counterpoint?

66. What notes make up an F Minor Major Seventh chord?

67. The root of the Phrygian mode corresponds to which note in the Major scale?

68. Which mode is also the Natural Minor Scale?

69. What major key has 4 flats?

70. The root of the Ionian mode corresponds to which note in the Major scale?

71. What minor key has 2 sharps?

72. The fourth mode of the G major scale is?

73. The thirds in a dominant seventh chord ascend in this order:

74. The Treble Clef most directly indicates where the:

75. In 3rd species counterpoint, on what beat can a dissonant interval be used?

76. Pick the major 4th

77. "Neapolitan" chord has____ function?

78. In alto clef, where does the C-clef appear?

79. What is classical sonata form?

80. What major key has 6 flats?

81. Which of the following forms best describes a "Rondo"

82. What are the notes that make up an A Dominant 9th chord?

83. What is a secondary dominant?

84. Identify the modes of the major scale that utilize a major chord on their root.

85. In traditional 4-part voice-leading, which of the following terms is NOT considered an error?

86. Which of the following is NOT a type of Augmented 6th chord.

87. In a concert score in the key of Bb the 1st trumpet would have a key signature of

88. What notes make up the following chord: Fm7b5

89. II can also be called the _______.

90. F Lydian mode is related to which major key signature?

91. In 4/4 time, a dotted half note is equivalent to __ sixteenth notes.

92. In a 9/8 time signature, how many beat/s does the eighth note have?

93. "Deceptive cadence" usually refers to what progression?

94. Pick the minor chord

95. What minor key has 2 flats?

96. Spell out the Secondary Dominant Chord in the key of Eb Major.

97. A half or imperfect cadence is what?

98. What is a cabaletta?

99. Of which scale is D Phrygian Dominant a derived mode?

100. Which degree of the major scale is described as an "avoid note" during improvisation?

101. Which of the following keys has the most sharps in its key signature.

102. What is a vertical hemiola?

103. What is a Neapolitan sixth?

104. Which interval would you have if you added a minor 2nd to a perfect 5th?

105. A double dotted quarter note is equivalent to __ sixteenth notes.

106. The thirds in a half-diminished chord ascend in this order:

107. What does precipitato mean in musical terms?

108. How would you build a Neapolitan chord in first inversion in the key of B minor?

109. In mezzo-soprano clef, the C-clef is centered on which line of the staff?

110. What chord does a Neapolitan usually substitute?

111. In tenor clef, the C-clef is centered on which line of the staff?

112. Which note is the 2nd degree of Eb Phrygian scale?

113. How many notes are there in the whole tone scale?

114. Which is the Tritone Substitute chord for D7?

115. What is the bottom interval of any major or minor triad in second inversion?

116. What is the form of a 'da capo' aria?

117. In an Isorhythmic Tenor, what is the Talea?

118. What chord usually follows an augmented sixth?

119. Of which scale is Bb Lydian Dominant a derived mode?

120. In the soprano clef, the C-clef is centered on which line of the staff?

121. If the flutes are playing in the key of Eb then the English Horn would be in the key of

122. The thirds in an augmented triad ascend in this order:

123. In baritone clef, the C-clef is centered on which line of the staff?

124. VI can also be called the _______.

125. Vector Analysis is the study of what compositional technique

126. A breve is equivalent to __ half notes.

127. What minor key has 6 sharps?

128. Which inversion of the diminished triad has the tritone on the top?

129. If a Phrygian mode has one flat, what is the pitch of the root?

130. In what theoretical treatise did Glareanus accept the Aeolian Mode?

131. A pianist's skill in manipulating volume is usually referred to as the performer's __________ .

132. The final scene of wozzeck revolves around _____.

133. John plays ____________ at this particular performance.

134. The text states that __________ is the essential element in music.

135. The immediate sources of jazz include ______.

136. All of the following composers worked in the early years of the twentieth century except ______.

137. Minimalism as an artistic movement was a ______.

138. Brass instruments did not acquire valves until the ____________________ century

139. Stravinsky's enormous influence on twentieth-century music is due to his innovations in ______.

140. A(n) _____ is an introductory section to an opera or oratorio.

141. Since 1950 many composers have returned to ______.

142. The leading music center in sixteenth-century europe was ______.

143. The nineteenth-century trend toward realism in opera was known as _____.

144. Beethoven's sixteen __________ are generally considered among the greatest music ever composed.

145. I'm off the deep end, watch as i dive in i'll never meet the ______

146. A collection of pitches arranged in ascending and descending order constitutes a _____.

147. The emotional focal point of a melody is called the ______.

148. Beethoven was considered a __________ composer.

149. Duke ellington was an important figure in ______.

150. Chopin spent much of his professional career in __________.

151. A perceived increase in the volume of sound is best explained by ________.

152. __________ was the first great innovator in 20th century american music.

153. The _____ of a sound is decided by the frequency of its vibrations.

154. A ____________ is a singer with a low range who usually takes comic roles.

155. The perceived volume of a musical sound is referred to as its _______.

156. Humanistic psychologists believe that psychological disorders result when _____

157. Drawing creative inspiration from cultures of lands foreign to the composer is known as ______.

158. A classical concerto is a three-movement work for ______.

159. Alban berg and anton webern were arnold schoenberg's ______.

160. Brahms wrote his requiem mass in memory of _____.

161. Brahms wrote masterpieces in many musical forms, but never any ______.

162. Although jazz began in bars and brothels, it is now considered ______.

163. Bach had ____ children, but only half survived into adulthood.

164. Bach used ________ as a basis for many of his sacred cantatas.

165. Baroque style flourished in music during the period ______.

166. Classicism, as a stylistic period in western music, roughly encompassed the years ______.

167. During most of his lifetime, charles ives's musical compositions _______.

168. Giacomo puccini's opera la boh?me takes place in ______.

169. Igor stravinsky's rite of spring is scored for ______.

170. In bach's day, the lutheran church service lasted about ____________ hour(s).

171. Schoenberg's pierrot lunaire is associated with the twentieth-century arts movement known as _____.

172. Berg's wozzeck is considered to be a(n) _____ work.

173. Berg's wozzeck was inspired by _____.

174. The beatles's recording _________ can be considered a unified song cycle.

175. Generally, musicals are in _____ act(s).

176. A(n) ______ is a romantic composition for piano that portrays a single mood, emotion, or idea.

177. A(n) ____________ is a musical number for two solo voices with orchestral accompaniment.

178. A(n) ____________ is an operatic number involving three or more leading singers.

179. Aaron copland's name has become synonymous with american music because of his use of ______.

180. Tchaikovsky was the first russian _____.

181. Wagner's view of nineteenth-century opera was that __________.

182. Baroque melodies often are ______.

183. By the age of thirteen, mendelssohn had written ____________ of astounding quality.

184. While in vienna, mozart relied on ________ for income.

185. The glissando, a technique widely used in the twentieth century, is ______.