Test Bank For
World Music Traditions and Transformations, 4th Edition Michael Bakan
Chapters 1-15 Answers are at the End of Each Chapter
Chapter 1
TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.
1) The term “music” is universal and exists in every human language.
⊚ true
⊚ false
2) The term “music” is inescapably tied to Western culture and its assumptions.
⊚ true
⊚ false
3) What music is – and is not – is definitive and widely agreed upon among people interested in
studying music as a worldwide phenomenon.
⊚ true
⊚ false
4) Tones acquire cultural meanings from the symbolic associations that people attach to them.
⊚ true
⊚ false
5) All sounds have the potential to be tones.
⊚ true
⊚ false
MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
6) The basic property of all music is
A) sound.
B) song.
C) melody.
D) rhythm.
,7) Ethnocentricism means
A) imposing one’s own culturally grounded perspectives, biases, and assumptions on
practices and lifeways that are different from one’s own.
B) approaching the study of culture and music from the perspective of a specific ethnic
group that is central to the study.
C) having a high degree of sensitivity and awareness regarding the unique qualities of
different ethnic and cultural groups.
D) living among the people whose culture is the subject of one’s research investigations
over the course of an extended period of time.
8) The "musical elements" you perceive during a performance of John Cage's piece 4'33" in a
concert hall might include the
A) humming of the air-conditioning system.
B) coughing of someone in the audience.
C) creaking of seats in the audience.
D) All of the choices are correct.
9) Which of the following is not one of the four basic physical properties of a tone?
A) duration
B) frequency
C) amplitude
D) polarity
10) When we speak about pitch in music, we are referring to
A) amplitude.
B) duration.
C) frequency.
D) timbre.
,11) Music is
A) an animal phenomenon.
B) a human phenomenon.
C) performed by birds and whales.
D) All of the choices are correct.
12)
13) Qur’anic recitation
A) is humanly organized sound.
B) is practiced by Muslims.
C) is not considered music by its practitioners.
D) All of the choices are correct.
14) The best way to figure out whether something is or is not music is to
A) ask a music professor or a professional musician.
B) make your decision on the basis of whether it is of high or low musical quality.
C) determine whether there are people who intended it to be music or who perceive it as
music.
D) determine whether it has the requisite types of rhythms, melodies, and harmonies to
qualify as music.
15) The HIP (human intention and perception) approach emphasizes
A) exclusiveness over inclusiveness.
B) inclusiveness over exclusiveness.
16) The song “A Minha Menina” (My Girl) by Brazilian band Os Mutantes was used to
A) start a riot at a song contest.
B) help McDonalds sell hamburgers.
C) challenge listeners’ conception of silence.
D) recite the Qur’an.
17) Which of the following is true of the Japanese gagaku example from your textbook?
A) It is a form of organized sound.
B) It is universally enjoyed by people everywhere.
C) It is not considered music by its practitioners.
D) It includes composers such as John Cage and Pauline Oliveros.
FILL IN THE BLANK. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
18) According to the author of your textbook, music is a product of human intention
and________.
, 19) A sound whose principal identity is a musical identity, as defined by people (though not
necessarily all people) who make or experience that sound is called a________.
20) According to John Blacking, music is a form of “________ organized sound.”
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
21) List the five propositions about music from your textbook. How do these propositions help us
to define and discuss “music?” Provide specific examples that help you explain your answer.
22) What is ethnocentricism, and how does it affect your own perceptions and definitions of
music? Give at least one specific example.
23) Why might some people not have perceived Os Mutantes’ “A Minha Menina” (My Girl) as
music? How might cultural attitudes about national identity contribute to this assessment?
24) What might have John Cage hoped to achieve with his piece 4’33’? Why can 4′33″ be
categorized as a piece of music even though it does not seem to sound like one?
World Music Traditions and Transformations, 4th Edition Michael Bakan
Chapters 1-15 Answers are at the End of Each Chapter
Chapter 1
TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.
1) The term “music” is universal and exists in every human language.
⊚ true
⊚ false
2) The term “music” is inescapably tied to Western culture and its assumptions.
⊚ true
⊚ false
3) What music is – and is not – is definitive and widely agreed upon among people interested in
studying music as a worldwide phenomenon.
⊚ true
⊚ false
4) Tones acquire cultural meanings from the symbolic associations that people attach to them.
⊚ true
⊚ false
5) All sounds have the potential to be tones.
⊚ true
⊚ false
MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
6) The basic property of all music is
A) sound.
B) song.
C) melody.
D) rhythm.
,7) Ethnocentricism means
A) imposing one’s own culturally grounded perspectives, biases, and assumptions on
practices and lifeways that are different from one’s own.
B) approaching the study of culture and music from the perspective of a specific ethnic
group that is central to the study.
C) having a high degree of sensitivity and awareness regarding the unique qualities of
different ethnic and cultural groups.
D) living among the people whose culture is the subject of one’s research investigations
over the course of an extended period of time.
8) The "musical elements" you perceive during a performance of John Cage's piece 4'33" in a
concert hall might include the
A) humming of the air-conditioning system.
B) coughing of someone in the audience.
C) creaking of seats in the audience.
D) All of the choices are correct.
9) Which of the following is not one of the four basic physical properties of a tone?
A) duration
B) frequency
C) amplitude
D) polarity
10) When we speak about pitch in music, we are referring to
A) amplitude.
B) duration.
C) frequency.
D) timbre.
,11) Music is
A) an animal phenomenon.
B) a human phenomenon.
C) performed by birds and whales.
D) All of the choices are correct.
12)
13) Qur’anic recitation
A) is humanly organized sound.
B) is practiced by Muslims.
C) is not considered music by its practitioners.
D) All of the choices are correct.
14) The best way to figure out whether something is or is not music is to
A) ask a music professor or a professional musician.
B) make your decision on the basis of whether it is of high or low musical quality.
C) determine whether there are people who intended it to be music or who perceive it as
music.
D) determine whether it has the requisite types of rhythms, melodies, and harmonies to
qualify as music.
15) The HIP (human intention and perception) approach emphasizes
A) exclusiveness over inclusiveness.
B) inclusiveness over exclusiveness.
16) The song “A Minha Menina” (My Girl) by Brazilian band Os Mutantes was used to
A) start a riot at a song contest.
B) help McDonalds sell hamburgers.
C) challenge listeners’ conception of silence.
D) recite the Qur’an.
17) Which of the following is true of the Japanese gagaku example from your textbook?
A) It is a form of organized sound.
B) It is universally enjoyed by people everywhere.
C) It is not considered music by its practitioners.
D) It includes composers such as John Cage and Pauline Oliveros.
FILL IN THE BLANK. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
18) According to the author of your textbook, music is a product of human intention
and________.
, 19) A sound whose principal identity is a musical identity, as defined by people (though not
necessarily all people) who make or experience that sound is called a________.
20) According to John Blacking, music is a form of “________ organized sound.”
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
21) List the five propositions about music from your textbook. How do these propositions help us
to define and discuss “music?” Provide specific examples that help you explain your answer.
22) What is ethnocentricism, and how does it affect your own perceptions and definitions of
music? Give at least one specific example.
23) Why might some people not have perceived Os Mutantes’ “A Minha Menina” (My Girl) as
music? How might cultural attitudes about national identity contribute to this assessment?
24) What might have John Cage hoped to achieve with his piece 4’33’? Why can 4′33″ be
categorized as a piece of music even though it does not seem to sound like one?
