Aural stuff

Question 1

Name some classical composers

Answer 1

Mozart (towards the start - still quite baroque in some ways)
Haydn (a safe answer)
Beethoven (towards the end of the era - bridged classical and romantic so only use if sure) - usually quite dramatic

Question 2

Name some baroque composers

Answer 2

Bach
Scarletti
Handel (more choral and churchy)

Question 3

Name some romantic composers

Answer 3

Chopin
Schumann
Schubert (may also be quite classical)
Faure
Tchaikovsky (didn't really write piano music though)

Question 4

Name some modern jazz composers

Answer 4

Gershwin
Bernstein
Miles Davis (more blues)

Question 5

Name some minimalist composers

Answer 5

Philip Glass

Steve Reich

Question 6

Name some modern atonal composers

Answer 6

Schoenberg

Question 7

What are some common features of baroque music

Answer 7

Sticks to its key (major or minor throughout)
Steady tempo, usually quite lively (e.g. for dances)
The texture is usually has a polyphonic texture, with imitation in the hands. Long melodies
Ornamentation - trills and turns etc
A small range used because usually written for the harpsichord.
Limited dynamics (no pedal on the harpsichord)

Question 8

What are some common features of classical music

Answer 8

Sticks to its key with standard harmonies
Steady tempo with slightly more dynamic variance
Less complicated texture (usually homophonic with melody and accompaniment) - scalic runs
Clear cut phrases and clearly marked cadences
Elegant
ABA structure is quite common

Question 9

What are some common features of romantic music

Answer 9

More modulations in key and more chromatic notes
Rubato and changing tempo
Sustained pedal with varying dynamics (crescendos and diminuendos)
Much more expressive - lyrical melodies
Repeated notes

Question 10

What are some common features of 20th-century jazz music

Answer 10

Can be upbeat or slow and relaxed (blues)
Lots of use of syncopation and swung rhythms
Varying texture with melodies in both parts or a reversed melody and accompaniment
Chords are jazzy with blues notes (7th and extensions)
Pedal used

Question 11

What are some common features of 20th century minimalist music

Answer 11

Thin textures
Limited note range
Use of harmonies around a tonal centre
Use of articulation - variance between stacato and legato
Very rhythmic

Question 12

Perfect cadence

Answer 12

Strong and final like a full stop - can be Va/V^7a- Ia

Question 13

Imperfect cadence

Answer 13

Unfinished like a comma. Can be Ia/b/c, IIa/b, IVa to Va

Question 14

Interrupted cadence

Answer 14

Unexpected, like an exclamation mark. The last chord sounds like it’s changed tonality. Va/V^7a - VIa

Question 15

Plagal

Answer 15

A gentle finish. Can hear the tonic in 2 last chords. IVa-Ia