The Roots of Rhythm Quiz | Other Music

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A chanting style of music was named after a sixth century Roman Catholic pope and became the dominant form of singing in the Western Roman Catholic Church. Can you name it?

Answer: Gregorian chant

Though named after Pope Gregory I, he did not devise it. Gregorian chant was a blend of several plainchants (monophonic singing) developed around the ninth century. It was generally sung a cappella and could be voiced by priests who were not good singers.

2. A French-Creole style of music that developed in the U.S. state of Louisiana frequently has an accordion as a lead instrument. What kind of music is it?

Answer: zydeco

The origins of the name zydeco to indicate a certain type of Creole and Cajun music are disputed and lost to time; it appears to be very idiomatic and there were many alternate spellings. The one we now recognize was used by musicologist Robert McCormick in album liner notes he wrote for "A Treasury of Field Recordings" in 1960.

It is normally of a fast tempo and originated at family socials.

3. Grateful Dead fans used to record all the songs the band performed at every concert and passed the lists around. Long before them, someone not only wrote down a list of songs but the lyrics to them as well. It wasn't kid's play (or was it?)! Do you think you know who chronicled old English and Scottish ballads?

Answer: Francis Child

Modeling his work on that of Dane Svend Grundtvig, Francis Child collected 305 English and Scottish ballads, their variations and American versions. Beginning in 1857, Child published several editions of his works, some almost encyclopedic in their nature.

They are still referred to and the songs are included, in whole or in part, in modern singing. In the 1950s it wasn't uncommon for folk musicians at a concert to preface one of the Child's ballads by referring to its number, such as "I'm going to do Child's number 84." The erudite audience knew that "Bonny Barbara Allen" would be played next.

4. What was the musical style that got the Catholic Church in an uproar in the Middle Ages?

Answer: ars nova

Meaning "new technique" in this instance, ars nova was a polyphonic music in France and the Low Countries in the late Middle Ages. Considered secular in nature and altering the preferred monophonic chant, it was firmly rejected by Pope John XXII in the early 1300s but his second successor, Pope Clement VI favored it.

5. Formed by musicians with more talent than money, what is the name of the musical groups which originated in America's South in the early 20th century?

Answer: jug bands

Homemade instruments, including guitars with the body made from a dried gourd and banjos using a pie plate, were just some of the instruments used by jug bands. Washboards, comb and tissue paper, harmonicas as well as stoneware or glass jugs were used as accompaniment to singers.

The Memphis Jug Band and Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers were popular jug bands of the 1930s. The genre became popular again in the 1960s when a Boston University student named Jim Kweskin gathered some area musicians together and formed a jug band as part of the folk music revival.

The band's 'good-timey' music served as a counterpoint to some of the darker songs of the time.

6. Brazil is home to a form of jazz that spread around the world in the 1950s and '60s. What is this "trendy" music?

Answer: bossa nova

Literally meaning "new trend' bossa nova originated as a fusion of jazz and samba. "The Girl from Ipanema" by Astrud Gilberto was one of the first bossa nova songs to achieve international prominence; it sold over one million records.

7. A type of singing originated in Italy in the late 16th century, outside of a religious setting. What is the name of this combination of a dramatic work and music?

Answer: opera

Opera had its beginnings in the late Renaissance Period in Italy and quickly spread across Europe. Operas combine singing, acting, stagecraft and costumes. Operas are still being written today and "Star Trek" fans know that even the Klingons got into the act.

8. The Baroque era of music lasted from 1600 to 1750. Which of these was a noted baroque composer?

Answer: Handel

Baroque is a Western art music. Its name comes from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning misshapen pearl. It described the ornateness and embellishments of the music of the period following the Renaissance. There was much experimentation with tonality, techniques and musical notation. Besides Handel, J.S. Bach, Vivaldi and Lully were noted composers of the era.

9. An upbeat, syncopated musical style spread from Jamaica in the 1960s. Can you name it, mon?

Answer: reggae

Reggae combines elements of jazz, rhythm and blues, mento, calypso, and others, in a form that accents off-beat rhythms. Experimented with in the late 1960s, it achieved its most recognizable form from the band The Wailers (Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh). Marley, especially, was recognized as a popularizer of reggae in the 1970s.

10. A musical style from Germany started with 12th century troubadour songs and extended to 20th century protest songs. Tell me, liebling, can you name this most-adaptable music?

Answer: lieder

Lieder (singular Lied) are often romantic German poems set to music, mostly with just piano accompaniment but occasionally with orchestration. Mozart and Beethoven are identified as progenitors of the form but Franz Schubert was the first to artfully balance poetry and music. Schubert wrote over 600 lieder. Brahms, Strauss and Mahler were also proponents of the genre.

Source: Author CmdrK

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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The Roots of Rhythm Trivia Quiz

The first music might have been a caveman pounding two rocks together. We've come a long way from that, mostly. See if you can identify the types and styles of music in this quiz.

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