Music Appreciation Final Exam Study Guide
Composer Timeline:
Renaissance Era
Josquin Desprez
Henry Purcell
Baroque Era
Johann Sebastian Bach
George Frederic Handel
Classical Era
Antonio Vivaldi
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Franz Joseph Haydn
Ludwig van Beethoven
Instrument Families:
Brass: make sound by blowing air through a
mouthpiece, creating a “buzzing” sound.
Trumpet
French Horn
Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Woodwind Family: make sound EITHER by
blowing air on a reed, which vibrates and creates
sound, OR by blowing air across a tone hole.
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
Clarinet
Saxophone
Romantic Era
Ludwig van Beethoven
Frederic Chopin
Claude Debussy
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Johannes Brahms
Modern Era
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Arnold Schoenberg
Igor Stravinsky
George Gershwin
Aaron Copland
String Family: make sound by plucking or rubbing
(with a bow) a tightened string.
Violin
Viola
Violoncello
String Bass
Guitar
Percussion Family: make sound by being struck,
hit, shaken, or rubbed.
Snare Drum
Bass Drum
Tom-tom
Conga Drums
Cymbals
...and many more!
Time Signatures and Meters
Time signatures contain two numbers, as in below. The top number tells us HOW MANY beats are in a
measure of music. The BOTTOM number tells us WHAT KIND of note gets one beat. Example: in 4/4
time, there are 4 (top number) beats in a measure, and a quarter note (bottom number) gets one beat.
Simple meters have TWO eighth notes per beat. They also almost always have a “4” as the bottom
number in their time signature. Examples: 4/4, 3/4, 2/4.
Compound meters have THREE eighth notes per beat. They also almost always have an “8” as the
bottom number in their time signature. Examples: 6/8, 9/8, 12/8.
Musical Symbols
Be sure you can identify the symbols for: Quarter Note, Half Note, Eighth Note, Quarter Rest, Half Rest, Eighth
Rest. We will go over these symbols in class. You can also find them by searching online.
Lines and Spaces
Music notes are placed on a staff. A staff is made up of five lines and four spaces, as shown below:
Two clef signs are commonly used in music: the treble clef and the bass clef. The note names change depending
on which clef is used.
Note Names (Bottom to top):
Treble clef lines: E-G-B-D-F
(Remember: Every Good Boy Does Fine)
Treble clef spaces: F-A-C-E
(Remember: spells FACE)
Bass clef lines: G-B-D-F-A
(Remember: Great Britain Did Fight America)
Bass clef spaces: A-C-E-G
(Remember: All Cows Eat Grass)
Decibels
The loudness of sound is measured in decibels. Sounds can range from a decibel level of 0 to 195. The bigger
the number, the louder the sound is. Some examples:
10 decibels – softest sound you can hear
60 decibels – normal conversation with someone 5 ft away
110 decibels – rock 'n roll concert
130 decibels – military jet taking off from close up
If you are exposed to a sound of 125 decibels or higher and are not wearing earplugs, your hearing will be
immediately damaged!
Miscellaneous
In music history, John Phillip Sousa is known as the “March King” because he popularized marches played by
military bands. He also wrote the official march of the United States, “The Stars and Stripes Forever”.
During the Renaissance Period, instrumental parts became increasingly important.
Bill Haley wrote “Rock Around the Clock” considered to be the first ever Rock 'N Roll song.
When soul music first began in the 1970s, each city has its own instrumentation (types of instruments used) for
its soul music songs.