American History – Grisanzio American Music History Test 1
1. The earliest music in the colonies consisted of:
a. ballads from England and Scotland.
b. ragtime songs by Scott Joplin
c. musical theater brought from England.
2. The best way to pass on the earliest American music was through:
a. sheet music
b. early phonograph recordings
c. oral tradition
3. Yankee Doodle, a song originally written by the:
a. Colonists as a symbol of pride and independence during the Revolutionary war
b. French as a show of respect for their allies in the French and Indian War.
c. British in the 1740’s-50’s to poke fun at and ridicule the American provisional army.
4. Francis Scott Key was witness to the shelling of Fort McHenry (Baltimore) in 1814 and wrote the stirring poem that was later renamed:
a. Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier
b. The Star Spangled Banner.
c. Battle Hymn of the Republic
5. Music in the post Revolutionary period mainly consisted of military music and musical theater brought from England. Military music was played to:
a. keep soldiers in step and send messages (Field music - drum and fife)
b. elaborate functions such as officer dances and parades (Bands of music
c. both of the above are correct
d. neither of the above are correct
6. The most popular military song in post Revolutionary War period was
a. Yankee Doodle Dandy
b. Over There
c. Washington’s March.
7. Sheet music, which included the instrumentation, began to replace broadsides (just words) in the early 1800’s. Why was this so?
a. the printing press was developed and became more affordable
b. Pianos became more available through the middle 1800’s
c. The country began to look for more ways to entertain themselves.
8. Songs meant to be played while entertaining in the front room were called:
a. parlor songs b. minstrel songs c. patriotic songs
9. Which of the following was not one of the two popular impersonations of blacks in minstrelsy.
a. Jim Crow b. Zip Coon c. Jim Dandy
10. The greatest minstrel performer and writer, Daniel Emmett, came from the circuses and :
a. wrote “Dixie” for the minstrel stage.
b. wrote Yankee Doodle Dandy
c. wrote Oh, Susanna as a parlor song.
11. Which of the following was not a song written by Stephen Foster?
b. Oh, Susanna
c. Daisey Bell
12. Which of the following songs was not a Civil War song?
a. Choice a b. Choice b c. Choice c
13. Which of the following songs was not a slave spiritual?
a. Choice a b. Choice b c. Choice
14. Spirituals borrowed heavily from biblical references such as Moses because of
a. the belief that Moses was the main conductor on the Underground Railroad.
b. the belief that the bible would provide the way to the north and freedom.
c. the belief that Moses freed the Jews from slavery in Egypt.
15. Slave spirituals often mentioned water, such as the Jordan River. This reference could be for the role of baptism, as well as:
a. the Mississippi River as a vehicle to freedom in the North.
b. the Atlantic Ocean, as a vehicle to escape to Africa.
c. the Ohio River, which separated the slaves from the North.
16. The first written collection of spirituals was published 1867. It was called:
a. Slave Songs of the South
b. Spirituals from the Deep South
c. The Folklore of Slave Spirituals
17. After the Civil War, several black colleges were formed under the Freedman’s Bureau. One such college formed a group which toured the country singing spirituals to raise money. They were known as the:
a. Von Trapp Singers
b. Freedman Bureau singers
c. Fisk Jubilee Singers
18. The following song refers to:
Follow the Drinking Gourd – The Weavers
a. the ability of some slaves to live among free people in New Orleans
b. the use of the North star to navigate along the Underground Railroad.
c. the fact that slaves were allowed to live with on the Sea Islands of Georgia.
19. The following song refers to:
Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore – The Weavers
a. the ability of some slaves to live among free people in New Orleans
b. the use of the North star to navigate along the Underground Railroad.
c. the fact that slaves were allowed to live with on the Sea Islands of Georgia.
20. Folklore states that the song Green Grow the Lilacs was so popular in Texas that Mexicans:
a. began to sing the song and put in their own ethnic interpretations.
b. banned the song from being sung to discourage Texans from settling there.
c. began to call the Anglos “gringos” due to their misunderstanding of the first words
21. Sweet Betsy From Pike is a song of the
a. gold rush, particularly to Colorado and Pikes Peak.
b. cattle drives along the Chisholm Trail.
c. Loggers and their beliefs in Paul Bunyan.
22. Patrick Gilmore began giving concerts for the military during and immediately after the war, and then expanded these concerts to the general public. In 1880_____________ became the director of the U.S. Marine Band and took it on tour.
a. John Phillip Sousa
b. George M. Cohan
c. Scott Joplin
23. What city would have been the site of Tin Pan Alley?
a. Chicago b. Boston c. New York City
24. Tin Pan Alley got its name from;
a. the sound of tin pans in the alley as drunk people struggled in the dark night.
b. the sound of musicians playing on their pianos as they wrote songs.
c. the name of the street where most of the music of that era was performed.
25. Raised in a vaudeville family, George M. Cohan made the transition from :
a. vaudeville to Broadway musicals.
b. vaudeville to the minstrel show
c. the minstrel show to Tin Pan Alley.
26. Which of the following choices would not be associated with Tin Pan Alley?
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
27. The story of jazz begins two major population shifts in American History: European
immigration and the importation of West African slaves. The mixing of these cultures led to
an array of new musical traditions, such as jazz. The West African emphasis on_________
would have the greatest effect on jazz.
a. group participation, dancing, improvisation, rhythm and percussion
b. harmonies and the use of brass and woodwind instruments.
c. neither of the above are correct.
28. The open culture of what city for the necessary conditions for many cultures to mix and create jazz.
a. Chicago b. New York City c. New Orleans
29. Ragtime began as music for the:
a. piano, where the music was played “ragged” by altering the syncopation and rhythms.
b. marching band, to keep the soldiers in step.
c. minstrel stage, for blackface singers such as Al Jolsen
30. The most successful ragtime composer was
a. John Phillip Sousa
Match the following songs with the appropriate choice.
b. Take Me Out to the Ballgame
31. Tin Pan Alley
32. Manifest Destiny and the movement westward.
33. Ballads and the early settlement of the colonies.
34. American patriotism in the early 1900’s.
35. Slave spirituals
36. Ragtime and New Orleans
Match the following songs with the appropriate choice.
37. Texan War of Independence
38. American Revolution
39. World War 1
40. Civil War
41. War of 1812
Match the following songs with the appropriate choice.
a. Scott Joplin
b. John Philip Sousa
c. Stephen Foster
d. George M. Cohan
42. Click here for song number 42
43. Click here for song number 43
44. Click here for song number 44