KS3 musical cycles - a melody as part of a tune

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Music Quiz - Musical Cycles 01 (Questions)

In KS3 music you will look at musical cycles, but what exactly are they? Well, as a music student, you should know that we are not talking about tuneful bikes when we mention musical cycles!

Cycle means 'going around' or 'repeating' so it comes as no surprise that musical cycles often feature repeating melodies, rhythms, harmonies and chord progressions.

Musical cycles are an important part of music and so we've written two quizzes on the subject for you to try. This first quiz explores the fundamentals of cyclical music and its use by musicians across the globe, particularly in Ghana and India. Take your time and read each question carefully before choosing your answers. And don't forget the helpful comments - these can help to explain anything you are unsure of. Good luck!

Musical cycles often feature repeated .......

[ ]	rhythms
[ ]	melodies
[ ]	harmonies
[ ]	All of the above

A linear progression is a chord progression that .......

[ ]	arises from step by step movements in one or more voices
[ ]	features a crescendo hairpin to indicate volume increase
[ ]	hasn't been used in music since the 5th century AD
[ ]	is inaudible to the natural human ear

What is a 'Rag' or 'Raga'?

[ ]	A cleaning cloth used for instruments with silver keys
[ ]	A predecessor to the rise of jazz in the 1920s
[ ]	A type of horn which produces a 'raging' growl
[ ]	An important melodic mode in Indian classical music

A melorhythm is .......

[ ]	the series of note-values of a melody/tune
[ ]	a mellow toned rhythmic guitar backing
[ ]	a musical passage with multiple rhythms played together
[ ]	All of the above

Two or more rhythms sounding simultaneously is called .......

[ ]	dual rhythmic
[ ]	multirhythmic
[ ]	polyrhythmic
[ ]	quad rhythmic

'Tala' roughly corresponds to what in western music?

[ ]	Composer dedication
[ ]	Composition and Composer titles on sheet music
[ ]	Dynamics
[ ]	Metre

A Tihai is a rhythmic formula that is repeated .......

[ ]	Once. It is used at the beginning of Italian operas
[ ]	Twice. It marks the end of sections in African music
[ ]	Three times. It marks the end of sections in Indian music
[ ]	Four times to bring out the endings of western concertos

Mnemonic devices are used in music .......

[ ]	as a memory aid, e.g. for notation or cyclic passages
[ ]	as an alternative to playing harmonics on an instrument
[ ]	to increase the sound of acoustic instruments
[ ]	to increase the volume on an electric instrument

A chord progression moving .......

[ ]	around in circles repetitively is linear progression
[ ]	by step with one or more voices is a cyclic pattern
[ ]	by step with one or more voices is a linear progression
[ ]	to a crescendo usually means the piece is about to end

10.

Repeated harmonies, melodies and rhythms are .......

[ ]	a feature of musical cycles
[ ]	exclusively representative of early 16th century music
[ ]	hardly used in any form of modern music
[ ]	only found in Indian classical compositions

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Music

Music Quiz - Musical Cycles 01 (Answers)

Musical cycles often feature repeated .......

[ ]	rhythms
[ ]	melodies
[ ]	harmonies
[x]	All of the above

Either, any or all of these may be repeated

A linear progression is a chord progression that .......

[x]	arises from step by step movements in one or more voices
[ ]	features a crescendo hairpin to indicate volume increase
[ ]	hasn't been used in music since the 5th century AD
[ ]	is inaudible to the natural human ear

Linear progressions can be abbreviated as prg (eg 3-prg. = third progression). You might also see progressions abbreviated as Zg. from the German word Zug

What is a 'Rag' or 'Raga'?

[ ]	A cleaning cloth used for instruments with silver keys
[ ]	A predecessor to the rise of jazz in the 1920s
[ ]	A type of horn which produces a 'raging' growl
[x]	An important melodic mode in Indian classical music

Often made of five notes from which a melody is formed

A melorhythm is .......

[x]	the series of note-values of a melody/tune
[ ]	a mellow toned rhythmic guitar backing
[ ]	a musical passage with multiple rhythms played together
[ ]	All of the above

Think of melorhythm as melody and rhythm - the two factors which make a tune

Two or more rhythms sounding simultaneously is called .......

[ ]	dual rhythmic
[ ]	multirhythmic
[x]	polyrhythmic
[ ]	quad rhythmic

Remember 'poly' = many

'Tala' roughly corresponds to what in western music?

[ ]	Composer dedication
[ ]	Composition and Composer titles on sheet music
[ ]	Dynamics
[x]	Metre

Tala illustrates rhythmic patterns in Indian music

A Tihai is a rhythmic formula that is repeated .......

[ ]	Once. It is used at the beginning of Italian operas
[ ]	Twice. It marks the end of sections in African music
[x]	Three times. It marks the end of sections in Indian music
[ ]	Four times to bring out the endings of western concertos

A tihai, as well as ending a section of music, also creates a transition into the next section

Mnemonic devices are used in music .......

[x]	as a memory aid, e.g. for notation or cyclic passages
[ ]	as an alternative to playing harmonics on an instrument
[ ]	to increase the sound of acoustic instruments
[ ]	to increase the volume on an electric instrument

The word mnemonic comes from the Greek goddess of memory, Mnemosyne

A chord progression moving .......

[ ]	around in circles repetitively is linear progression
[ ]	by step with one or more voices is a cyclic pattern
[x]	by step with one or more voices is a linear progression
[ ]	to a crescendo usually means the piece is about to end

Think of linear as a line - it only goes one way. A cycle goes round in a circle

10.

Repeated harmonies, melodies and rhythms are .......

[x]	a feature of musical cycles
[ ]	exclusively representative of early 16th century music
[ ]	hardly used in any form of modern music
[ ]	only found in Indian classical compositions

Memorise how cycles differ to linear progressions