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History of Rock and Roll – Unit 1 Assessment

Name:___________________________________

1) What was one of the precursors to “The Blues”?

a. West-African music
b. Dixieland Jazz
c. Country music
d. Folk songs
2) Ma Rainey was most known for what style/genre of singing?
a. Chicago Jazz
b. Dixieland Jazz
c. The Blues
d. Ragtime
3) Who was best known for his piano compositions that featured syncopation and a “oom-pah” feel?
a. Scott Joplin
b. Fats Domino
c. Louis Armstrong
d. Paul Whiteman
4) The term “ragtime” came from the fact that it had a “______________” feel to it

Matching: Match the iconic songs to the musical style it is most associated with

A) Ragtime Rhapsody in Blue _______

B) Blues In The Mood _______

C) Dixieland Jazz The Entertainer _______

D) Chicago Jazz Jelly Roll Blues _______

E) Tin-Pan Alley Jazz Me and the Devil Blues _______

F) Harlem Renaissance Jazz Strange Fruit _______

G) Swing Saints Go Marching In _______

5) Louis Armstrong was most famous for playing which instrument? _____________________

6) Define the term “improvisation.”

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7) What is the term when a player emphasizes the off-beats in a piece of music?
a. Polyrhythm
b. Syncopation
c. Harmony
d. Marking Time

8) Name at least two instruments you might find in a Dixieland Jazz band.
a. ____________________________
b. ____________________________

9) Where did jazz music really get its start?

a. Kansas City
b. Chicago
c. Corinth
d. New Orleans

10) True or False: Blues music is a mixture of African-American spirituals and Caribbean rhythms.

11) True or False: Blues music began and was popularized in the early 1900s.

12) True or False: Most jazz musicians use a swinging rhythm rather than a strict rhythm.

13) True or False: Swing music was primarily used for dancing.

14) Who popularized scat singing?

a. Benny Goodman
b. Ella Fitzgerald
c. John Coltrane
d. Lady Gaga

Matching: Match the style to the artist that they are most famous for popularizing.

A) Ragtime Bessie Smith _______

B) Blues Scott Joplin _______

C) Dixieland Jazz Glenn Miller _______

D) Chicago Jazz George Gershwin _______

E) Tin-Pan Alley Jazz Jelly Roll Morton _______

F) Harlem Renaissance Jazz Louis Armstrong _______

G) Swing Billie Holiday _______

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15) Briefly explain the difference between the two styles of Jazz, Harlem and Tin-Pan Alley, happening
in New York City during the 1920s
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16) Langston Hughes was a famous _____________ during the Harlem Renaissance.

17) The Blues style tends to follow what structure

a. ABA
b. AABB
c. AAB
d. ABACABA

18) The “Great Migration” refers to what event in history?

a. Musicians moving from New Orleans to Chicago for better jazz opportunities
b. African-Americans moving from the South to the North in search of better jobs
c. African-Americans moving from Harlem to upstate New York
d. Musicians moving from Europe to America for better music opportunities

19) In our poems we read in class, there were several “misspelled” words. Why did the author
intentionally misspell certain words?
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20) Name two songs we listened to in class. How are they similar? How are they different? Use
terminology we used in class such as tempo, syncopation, improvisation, rhythms, etc.

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