Music Test — Study Guide

5th Grade · River Ridge / Frilot

Music terms · Beethoven · Mozart · Gershwin

1. Music Terms (5 terms)

1

symphony

A large, long musical piece written for orchestra. It usually has 3 or 4 sections called movements.

Tip: Beethoven's 5th Symphony and 9th Symphony are symphonies.

2

requiem

A piece of music written for a funeral mass.

Tip: Mozart's Requiem is on the listening list.

3

concerto

An orchestral work where a solo instrument is featured. Example: piano concerto.

Tip: Concerto = orchestra + one star soloist.

4

opera

A large, dramatic piece of music that is all sung, with an orchestra.

Tip: Opera is like a play where everything is sung.

5

rhapsody

A freeform piece of music that goes through different moods, styles, and tempos.

Tip: Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is a rhapsody.

2. Composers

Ludwig van Beethoven

Lived 1770–1827
German conductor, composer, and pianist
Gradually went deaf
Was completely deaf when he wrote the 9th Symphony
One of the greatest composers of all time

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Lived 1756–1791
Child prodigy
Wrote his first symphony when he was a young child
Born in Austria
One of the greatest composers of all time

George Gershwin

Lived 1898–1937
American composer
Fused (mixed) the styles of jazz, popular, and classical music
Wrote Rhapsody in Blue

3. Listening Links

Listen to these

Beethoven’s 5th Symphony — watch
Rhapsody in Blue — George Gershwin — watch
Mozart’s Requiem — watch

Quick memory tricks

Who went deaf? Beethoven (German).
Who was the child prodigy? Mozart (Austria) — born first, in 1756.
Who mixed jazz with classical? Gershwin (American) — lived in the 1900s.