BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Musicology 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 'New Musicology' movement of the 1990s, associated with scholars like Susan McClary, emphasized which approach?
- Cultural, feminist, and ideological critique of music (Correct answer)
- Empirical acoustic analysis
- Restoration of original performance conditions
- Systematic classification of instruments
Correct answer: Cultural, feminist, and ideological critique of music
New Musicology brought gender studies, cultural criticism, and postmodern theory into music scholarship, challenging the field's traditional positivist methods.
Question 2: Which term describes the systematic classification of musical instruments by their sound-producing mechanism?
- Organology (Correct answer)
- Acoustics
- Lutherie
- Taxonomy
Correct answer: Organology
Organology is the scholarly study and classification of musical instruments, including the Hornbostel-Sachs system.
Question 3: The Hornbostel-Sachs classification system divides instruments into how many primary categories?
- 5 (Correct answer)
- 3
- 4
- 7
Correct answer: 5
The system originally identified four categories (chordophones, aerophones, membranophones, idiophones), with electrophones added later as a fifth.
Question 4: Which branch of musicology focuses specifically on the physical properties of sound, including frequency and timbre?
- Acoustics (Correct answer)
- Semiotics
- Paleography
- Hermeneutics
Correct answer: Acoustics
Musical acoustics studies the physical nature of sound waves, resonance, and how instruments produce and modify sound.
Question 5: The term 'cantus firmus' refers to which compositional technique?
- A pre-existing melody used as the basis for a polyphonic composition (Correct answer)
- A type of plainchant for Holy Week
- A fixed rhythmic pattern in the bass voice
- An unaccompanied solo vocal line
Correct answer: A pre-existing melody used as the basis for a polyphonic composition
A cantus firmus is an existing melody—often Gregorian chant—around which other voices weave new counterpoint.
Question 6: Which scholar's concept of 'imagined communities' has been applied by musicologists to study nationalism in music?
- Benedict Anderson (Correct answer)
- Edward Said
- Stuart Hall
- Raymond Williams
Correct answer: Benedict Anderson
Benedict Anderson's 'Imagined Communities' (1983) theory about nationhood has been widely adopted in musicology to analyze how music constructs national identity.
Question 7: The 'affections' (Affektenlehre) doctrine in Baroque music theory held that music should primarily do what?
- Arouse specific emotional states in the listener (Correct answer)
- Follow strict contrapuntal rules
- Imitate natural sounds
- Express the composer's personal emotions
Correct answer: Arouse specific emotional states in the listener
The Doctrine of the Affections held that each piece or movement should embody and arouse a single, specific emotional state (affection) in the audience.
BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Musicology 4
The 'New Musicology' movement of the 1990s, associated with scholars like Susan McClary, emphasized which approach?