Day 3: General Musical Terms, part I (Assessment)

Question 1: Which dynamic marking is most likely written in the music? (excerpt)

A. mf
B. fp
C.
D. dim.

Question 2: Put the following terms in order from quietest to loudest.

ff

mp

pp

mf

fff

p

Questions 3-5: Explain what the following terms stand for and what they mean: fp, rfz, cresc.

Question 6: Which tempo marking is most likely written in the music? (excerpt)

A. Moderato
B. Presto
C. Andante
D. Allegro

Question 7: Put the following terms in order from slowest to fastest.

Allegro

Adagio

Vivace

Allegretto

Largo

Questions 8-9: Define the terms stringendo and rubato.


Explanations are included in some answers.

Answer 1: C. A is wrong because the music is not at a constant volume; it changes. B is wrong because the music never is loud then suddenly becomes quiet. D is wrong because it is the opposite of C. The music, as you should have heard, slowly gets louder and louder, not quieter and quieter.
Answer 2: pp, p, mp, mf, ff, fff
Answer 3: fp stands for forte piano, which means forte then suddenly piano, or loud then suddenly soft.
Answer 4: rfz stands for rinforzando, which means a sudden increase in loudness.
Answer 5: cresc. stands for crescendo, which means to gradually increase in loudness.
Answer 6: D. A and C are wrong because they are too long, and B is wrong because it's too fast. Another way to tell is because the piece is a march, and march tempo generally is around 120 BPM (which this piece happens to be in).
Answer 7: Largo, Adagio, Allegretto, Allegro, Vivace
Answer 8: Stringendo means "to press forward," or to speed up.
Answer 9: Rubato means "to take out of the stated tempo," or play freely.