What's covered
Key facts
Pop, blues and song structure
A typical pop band has vocals, guitar, bass and drums.
World music and rhythms
West African drumming often uses polyrhythm and call and response.
Pop, blues and song structure
The 12-bar blues is built on chords I, IV and V.
World music and rhythms
Bhangra is an upbeat Punjabi dance music driven by the dhol drum.
Pop, blues and song structure
The bridge is a contrasting section that breaks up verse and chorus.
World music and rhythms
Gamelan is a tuned percussion ensemble from Indonesia.
Pop, blues and song structure
The chorus is the catchy part that repeats and carries the hook.
World music and rhythms
Polyrhythm is two or more different rhythms played at once.
Pop, blues and song structure
The hook is the catchiest, most memorable part of a song.
World music and rhythms
In Indian classical music, the raga is the set of notes used as a melody.
Sample questions
A taste of the 20 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
Which two sections does a pop song usually alternate?
- •Exposition and coda
- •Intro and cadenza
- •Raga and tala
- ✓Verse and chorus
Where does samba music come from?
- ✓Brazil
- •Egypt
- •Japan
- •Sweden
What is the job of a song's chorus?
- ✓The catchy part that repeats
- •The longest part by far
- •The quietest part to sing
- •The slowest part to play
What is a polyrhythm?
- •A long silent pause in the music
- •A single steady repeating beat
- •One single very fast drum roll
- ✓Several different rhythms at once
What is the bridge in a pop song?
- ✓A contrasting section
- •The final repeated line
- •The name of the singer
- •The opening drum count
In Indian classical music, what is the raga?
- •The name of the drummer
- •The price of a ticket
- ✓The set of notes for the melody
- •The size of the hall
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