Question

Which of the following is not a characteristic of African music?

Answer 1

#1: The first three choices describe African music. Three notable characteristics of African music include the use of their indigenous instruments, strong harmonic structures, as well as complex rhythms. While this music is also used for dances, a dance is not a characteristic of a music since they work as separate entities.

Answer: D. A vast number of dances.

#2: A minimalist music is defined as the music where the technique of expanding on a certain chord to utilize it's various harmonic potentials is used. This definition is close to that of the Indian raga, where the musicians doing the type of music are given five notes or more to which they are supposed to improvise on. Both types of music rely on a certain base chord thus Indian raga could have influenced minimalist composition.

Answer: A. Indian ragas

#3: Metallophones are any musical instruments that consist of metals which are struck to form a sound. Among the options, metallophones fall under the category of idiophones which is defined as any instrument that vibrates to form a sound after being struck (or any method used to make it move).

Answer: A. Idiophones

#4: John Cage studied the I Ching before becoming interested in chance music. The I Ching is a Chinese text that deals with random numbers and chances. This relates to chance music in a way that a chance music is a composition wherein some of the parts are literally "left to chance".

Answer: D. The I Ching

Answer 2

Answer 1:

(D) A vast number of dances

The traditional music of Africa, given the extent of the continent, is historically ancient, deep and distinct, with several regions and nations of Africa having many distinct musical traditions. Music in Africa is very significant when it occurs to religion. Songs and music are practiced in rituals and spiritual ceremonies, to pass down stories from generation to generation, as well as to sing.

Answer 2:

(A) Indian Ragas

It is a melodic structure for discovery akin to a melodic mode in Indian classical music. While the raga is a striking and convenient feature of the ancient music tradition, it has no direct interpretation of concepts in the traditional European music. Each raga is an arrangement of melodic compositions with musical motifs, reflected in the Indian tradition to have the capacity to "color the mind" and affect the emotions of the audience.

Answer 3:

(A) Idiophones

An idiophone is a musical instrument that generates sound primarily by the device as a whole vibrating—without the application of series or membranes. It is the beginning of the four central divisions in the original Hornbostel–Sachs scheme of harmonious instrument classification.

Answer 4:

(D) The I Ching

John Milton Cage Jr. was an American musician and music philosopher. An explorer of indeterminacy in music, electro-acoustic music, and non-standard usage of musical instruments, Cage was one of the best figures of the post-war avant-garde. Experts have lauded him as one of the most important composers of the 20th century. He was also helpful in the development of modern dance, mostly through his cooperation with choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was also Cage's passionate partner for most of their lives.