IB1091037 Insects and music
April 26, 2010
1. Two instrumental methods used to simulate the sounds of insect flight in songs are:
a. Tremolo or a bottle slide
b. high-pitched wind instruments
c. frequent percussion solos
d. short staccato notes
2. “El Grillo” is a song about
a. grasshoppers
b. crickets
c. a longwinded Cardinal
d. b and c
3. Insect imagery has metaphorical significance of various sorts in music as well as
literature. Several popular themes include:
a. minuteness/insignificance as symbol for human condition
b. metamorphosis as symbol for change or growth
c. insect images as representative of lust, desire, or sexual danger
d. insect society as representative of human society
Name a song or poem that incorporates each of these themes:
a. Fly on a Windshield – Genesis- Insignificance as symbol for human condition
b. There is a Mountain – Donova- Metamorphosis
c. King Bee – Sling Harpo and many others – Lust, desire, sexual danger
d. Ants Marching – Dave Matthews Band – Insect Societies
4. Match each insect song with its genre:
a. Emerald Butterfly 3
b. Papillons 4
c. I Know an Old Lady (Who Swallowed a Fly) 1
d. Bugs 2
1. folk
2. rock
3. rap
4. classical
5. The metamorphic transformation that appears most frequently in literature and music
to represent change or growth is that of caterpillar to butterfly.
a. True
b. False
6. Why do you suppose references to stoneflies, dobsonflies, and bark lice rarely appear
in songs, poems, or stories?
a. Nothing rhymes with dobsonfly
b. They are difficult names to sing
c. These are species unfamiliar to the
d. They do appear often, the question is false
general public
7. Folksongs often commemorate actual people or events. Name a folksong that
commemorates an entomological event.
a. Boris the Spider
b. The Moth
c. Ain’t No Bugs on Me
d. Ballad of the Boll Weevil
8. Insects are rarely featured in children's songs and rhymes.
a. True
b. False
9. What kind of insect appears on the cover of the album “Shot” by Jesus Lizard?
a. cockroach
b. crab louse
c. dragonfly
d. scarab beetle
10. The name of “Papa Roach” has been attributed to
a. the lead singer’s stepfather’s geriatric grandfather
b. the legend that the only survivors of a nuclear war will be cockroaches
c. Coby Dick’s collection of pet cockroaches
d. all of the above