1. World War I ended in 1918. Between 1918 and 1939, the year Hitler invaded Poland beginning World War II, a number of very unsettling events happened. What were some of these events and how did artists respond to them? (If you mention events that happened after 1939, you will get this question wrong. Be careful!)

2. After World War I, what new sound materials did composers seek?

3. What is electronic music? What technical innovations opened up ever-increasing possibilities for electronic music?

4. What is aleatoric music? John Cage's 4'33" for piano or any number of performers, is, for many people, classical music's equivalent of Ozzie Osbourne eating a bat on stage. But Cage was neither trying to be funny nor outrageous. The following link is a performance of this piece http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTEFKFiXSx4 With as much detail as you can, describe what you're hearing. What do you think Cage's intent was? (Keep in mind that Cage's philosophy would later influence punk rock in the 70s).

5. After World War II ended in 1945, there were present two major tendencies in music. One was serialism, which was mainly a European development, and the other was Minimalism, a style that originated in America and that appeared during the mid 1960s. The two tendencies could not have been more different from each other. Please briefly outline the main differences between these two styles in terms of: melody, harmony, rhythm, repetition, and contrast. Which of the two styles do you think would be more accessible to today's listeners?

6. Please listen to Kaija Saariaho's "From the Grammar of Dreams." In your own words, what do you hear? Is this music based on traditional notions of melody + harmony? The story in the words have to do with a woman who is slowly dying of suffocation. What is the effect of "delivering the sounds of individual letters and word fragments with distorted emphasis" in Song 1?? Or another way of asking this, why did the composer not choose to have the singers sing in a traditional manner?


7. What is New Orleans Jazz? Please listen to the Sippie Wallace tune, "If you ever Been Down." This is an example of what genre? The instrumental solo is taken by a young Louis Armstrong. Briefly summarize the career of this jazz icon.

8. How is Swing different from New Orleans Jazz? Please listen to Duke Ellington's recording of "Conga Brava." There is something in the song that continually gets varied. What exactly is this (hint: it isn't the rhythm), and why would one say that the song is based on "continuous variation"??

9. In what ways was Bebop a reaction against Swing? When asked, most people who say they like jazz mean they like New Orleans or Swing. Please listen to "Out of Nowhere." Why do you think Bebop never enjoyed the popular following of Swing?

10. Briefly summarize the history of rock from its genesis in the 1950s through the contemporary styles of rap and hip-hop.