Part 9 Louis Armstrong: An American Original Music Theory Quiz

Are you good at music theory? Not sure? Let’s see.

1. What does the letter “C” stand for in musical notation?

1. doh

2. me

3. sol

2. What country did modern classical guitars originate from?

1. North America

2. Italy

3. Spain

3. What century did the upright piano develop in?

1. 18th

2. 19th

3. 20th

4. What is ‘soul’?

1. a kind of xylophone

2. Mexican jazz

3. a kind of Negro music

5. Which of these instruments is a stringed one?

1. piano

2. clarinet

3. oboe

6. Which of these instruments is a brass one?

1. saxophone

2. xylophone

3. trombone

7. What does the accidental sharp (#) show in musical notation?

1. a semitone lower

2. a semitone higher

3. a tone lower

8. What is syncopation?

1. performance in a smooth flowing manner

2. displacing the beats or accents in (a passage) so that strong beats become weak and vice versa

3. delivery or presentation with each sound or note sharply detached or separated from the others

9. What do they call melancholic music of black American origin, often in a twelve-bar sequence?

1. ragtime

2. blues

3. country

10. Which of these jazz musicians was the winner of thirteen Grammy Awards?

1. Ella Fitzgerald

2. “Duke” Ellington

3. Louis Armstrong

Vocabulary Practice

1. Find synonyms to the following words and word combinations:

• unassuming

• unchallenged leader

• unaffected style

• off beat style

• hot tone

• aggregation

• dough

• tribute

• extended statements

2. Translate the sentences into Russian:

1. But whatever he was called, his trumpet, his gravel-voice, and his ever-present white handkerchief endeared Louis Armstrong to millions the world over.

2. His own rhythmic language became more complex through the first decade of his career but it was never less than direct, it was never less than immediately moving.

3. There is not a jazz musician playing today who does not owe his greatest musical debt to Louis Armstrong.

3. Translate the sentences into English:

1. Она упала на колени, моля о пощаде.

2. Она была лучшим примером элегантности.

3. Она всегда вела себя очень приветливо, как и требовала ее профессия, и это стало ее отличительной чертой.

4. Почти невозможно убедить его есть овощи.

5. Успех этого года – награда за весь ваш тяжелый труд.

As you already know Louis Armstrong was a great jazz musician. Are you aware of what jazz is and where it originated from? Read this text and make sure you are. Then do the tasks below.