Songwriting: Writing the Music Quizzes & Answers

Unlock the magic of musical creation with our enriching quizzes and expert answers on Writing the Music in the art of songwriting. Dive into the heart of melody and harmony as we explore the essential elements that bring a song to life. These quizzes are a gateway to understanding the subtleties of creating music that resonates with your audience, from chord progression to instrument choice.

Whether you’re a budding songwriter looking for inspiration or a seasoned musician looking to hone your craft, this collection is designed to ignite your creativity and improve your music composition skills. Join us on a melodic journey as we dive into the world of songwriting, where every question and answer is a stepping stone towards creating captivating pieces of music. Together, let’s harmonize creativity and technique in music writing as we uncover the secrets to creating unforgettable songs.

Quiz 1: What Are Your Goals?

Q1. What are your goals for this course? What do you hope to accomplish? What skills do you hope to improve and what are you hoping to learn more about?

What do you think?

Q2. If you achieve your goals, where would that leave you? What would be the best, most positive outcome? How would accomplishing your goals make you feel?

Identify your best outcome and take a moment to imagine it as fully as you can.

What do you think?

Q3. What do you believe might be your biggest internal obstacle in achieving your goals? What is it within you that holds you back? It might be an emotion, an irrational belief, or a bad habit. Think more deeply—what is it really?

Identify your main inner obstacle and take a moment to imagine it fully.

What do you think?

Q4. Finally, what can you do to overcome your obstacle? Identify one action you can take or one thought you can think to overcome your obstacle.

Make the following plan for yourself:

“If… (obstacle), then I will … (action or thought).”

What do you think?

Quiz 2: Choosing Emotive Chords

Q1. True or False: A triad is made up of 3 notes.

True
False

Q2. What are the three primary chords in a major key?

I, IV, V
I, II-, V
V, VI-, I
IV, VI-, III-

Q3. True or False: The IV chord is the “home” chord in a major key.

True
False

Q4. What are the primary chords in the key of C major? (Select all that apply)

C major
D minor
E minor
F major
G major
A minor
B diminished

Q5. Which of the following are secondary chords in the key of C major? (Select all that apply)

C major
D minor
E minor
F major
G major
A minor
B diminished

Q6. Which of the following is NOT a common chord progression? (Examples have been given in the key of C major)

I, IV, VI-, V (C, F, Amin, G)
IV, V, I, VI- (F, G, C, Amin)
I, #IVdim, IV, IV- (C, F#dim, F, Fmin)
I, V, VI-, IV (C, G, Amin, F)

Q7. What are two non-diatonic chords in the key of C major? (Select two)

II (D major)
V (G major)
III- (E minor)
IV- (F minor)

Q8. What seven notes make up the A natural minor scale? (Select all that apply)

Q9. What are the diatonic chords in A natural minor? (Select all that apply)

A minor
A major
B diminished
B minor
C major
C minor
D diminished
D minor
E minor
E major
F minor
F major
G major
G diminished

Q10. What are two common chord progressions introduced in this lesson for minor keys? (Select two)

I-, V-
I, IV-, bIII
I-, IV major
I-, bIII, bVII, bVI

Quiz 3: Self-Assessment: Add Chords to a Verse

Q1. Did you record yourself playing or write out your verse with a chord progression?

Q2. Did you share a link to your .mp3 or an image of your work in the discussion forums?

Q3. Based on the following criteria, was your verse the appropriate length?

	Beginner (1 Point)	Developing (2 Points)	Proficient (3 Points)	Exceptional (4 Points)
Verse Length	Your verse is less than 4 measures long.	Your verse is less than 8 measures long.	Your verse is 8 measures long.	Your verse is more than 8 measures long.

Beginner
Developing
Proficient
Exceptional

Q4. Based on the following criteria, how would you assess the chord progression you used in your verse?

	Beginner (1 Point)	Developing (2 Points)	Proficient (3 Points)	Exceptional (4 Points)
Chord Progression	Your verse does not use one of the provided chord progressions.	Your verse uses one of the suggested chord progressions half of the time.	Your verse uses one of the suggested chord progressions throughout.	Your verse uses one of the suggested chord progressions and includes at least one non-diatonic chord that was demonstrated in the lesson.

Beginner
Developing
Proficient
Exceptional

Q5. Based on the following criteria, how well does your chord progression support your lyrics?

	Beginner (1 Point)	Developing (2 Points)	Proficient (3 Points)	Exceptional (4 Points)
Lyrical Support	The chosen progression does not adequately support the feeling of the lyrics.	The chosen progression somewhat supports the feeling of the lyrics.	The chosen progression appropriately supports the feeling of the lyrics.	The chosen progression perfectly supports the feeling of the lyrics and incorporates non-diatonic chords when necessary to match the lyric.

Beginner
Developing
Proficient
Exceptional

Songwriting: Writing the Music Week 02 Quiz Answers

Quiz 1: Create Contrast with Harmonic Rhythm

Q1. What is harmonic rhythm?

The tempo of the song
The groove of the song
The length of time you play a chord before changing to the next chord
The length of time you continue singing one of your lyrics

Q2. True or False: You can create a major 7th chord by adding a major third on top of a major triad.

True
False

Q3. What notes make up a D minor 7th flat 5 chord? (Select 4 answers)

Q4. True or False: You can create a Major 7th chord by adding the note that is a half step below the first note of your triad.

True
False

Q5. True or False: A dominant seventh chord is the same as a major seventh chord.

True
False

Q6. True or False: To add a tension 9 to your chords, add the note a whole step above the first note of your 7th chord.

True
False

Q7. What 4 notes are used to make a G dominant 7th chord?

Submit your answer in the following format:

Use all capital letters
Do not put spaces between the note names
Use a lower case “B” for flats and “#” for sharps (e.g. F# or Bb for F sharp and B flat)

Example of a correctly formatted answer:

DF#AbC

Enter answer here

Q8. What 5 notes are used to make a C major 7th add 9 (CMaj9) chord?

Submit your answer in the following format:

Use all capital letters
Do not put spaces between the note names
Use a lower case “B” for flats and “#” for sharps (e.g. F# or Bb for F sharp and B flat)
Write the 9th last, after the first four note names

Example of a correctly formatted answer:

DF#AbCE

Enter answer here

Quiz 2: Self-Assessment: Create Contrasting Song Sections

Q1. Did you record yourself playing or write out a verse and chorus?

Q2. Did you share a link of your .mp3 or an image of your work to the discussion forums?

Q3. Based on the following criteria, was your verse and chorus the appropriate length?

Beginner (1 Point)	Developing (2 Points)	Proficient (3 Points)	Exceptional (4 Points)
Section Length	Your verse and chorus together are less than 8 measures long.	Your verse and chorus together are less than 12 measures long.	Your verse and chorus together are 16 measures long.	Your verse and chorus together are more than 16 measures long.

Beginner

Developing

Proficient

Exceptional

Q4. Based on the following criteria, how would you assess the chord progression you used for your verse and chorus?

Beginner (1 Point)	Developing (2 Points)	Proficient (3 Points)	Exceptional (4 Points)
Chord Progression	Your two song sections do not include 7th or 9th chords.	Your two song sections use one of the suggested chord progressions and one 7th or 9th chord.	Your two song sections use one of the suggested chord progressions and two 7th or 9th chords.	Your two song sections use one of the suggested chord progressions or an original chord progression and three or more 7th and 9th chords.

Beginner
Developing
Proficient
Exceptional

Q5. Based on the following criteria, how well did you create contrast between your two song sections?

Beginner (1 Point)	Developing (2 Points)	Proficient (3 Points)	Exceptional (4 Points)
Contrasting Sections	Your harmonic rhythm does not change between sections.	Your harmonic rhythm changes for one measure between sections.	Your harmonic rhythm changes between sections.	Your harmonic rhythm changes between sections and at specific points to highlight your lyrics.

Beginner
Developing
Proficient
Exceptional

Q6. Based on the following criteria, how well does your harmony support your lyrics?

Beginner (1 Point)	Developing (2 Points)	Proficient (3 Points)	Exceptional (4 Points)
Lyrical Support	The chosen progression does not adequately support the feeling of the lyrics.	The chosen progression somewhat supports the feeling of the lyrics.	The chosen progression appropriately supports the feeling of the lyrics.	The chosen progression perfectly supports the feeling of the lyrics and incorporates non-diatonic chords when necessary to match the lyric.

Beginner
Developing
Proficient
Exceptional

Songwriting: Writing the Music Week 03 Quiz Answers

Quiz 1: Developing Interesting Melodies

Q1. What is the most stable note in the key of C major?

Q2. What are the four unstable notes (written as scale numbers below) in a major key? (Select 4)

Note: In the C major scale, C would be 1.

Q3. What is the least stable note in the key of C major?

Q4. What are the four unstable notes in the key of C major?

Q5. True or False: The four types of melody are simple, stable, steps, and leaps.

True
False
Q6. True or False: You can repeat a melody 2 or 3 times in a row before you need to change it in some way to keep your audience entertained.

True
False

Q7. Retrograde is a developmental technique that:

involves inverting the melodic idea.
involves playing a recorded song in reverse.
involves flipping the melodic contour upside down.
involves taking a melodic idea and playing it backwards.

Q8. True or False: Repetition is a melodic developmental technique where you repeat the lyrics 4 times in a row.

True
False

Q9. True or False: Rhythmic Sequencing is when the rhythm remains the same, for a lyric but the melody changes slightly.

True
False

Q10. How do you use the developmental technique inversion?

Change the melody slightly but keep the rhythm the same.
Repeat the melody in reverse.
Invert the shape or direction of the melody.
Repeat the melody exactly.

Quiz 2: Self-Assessment: Developing Melodies

Q1. Did you record yourself playing or write out your verse and chorus?

Q2. Did you share a link to your .mp3 or an image of your work in the discussion forums?

Q3. Based on the following criteria, is your verse and chorus the appropriate length?

	Beginner (1 Point)	Developing (2 Points)	Proficient (3 Points)	Exceptional (4 Points)
Section Length	Your total project (both sections) is less than 8 measures long.	Your total project (both sections) is less than 12 measures long.	Your total project (both sections) is 16 measures long.	Your total project (both sections) is more than 16 measures long.

Beginner
Developing
Proficient
Exceptional

Q4. Based on the following criteria, how well have you created contrast between your sections?

	Beginner (1 Point)	Developing (2 Points)	Proficient (3 Points)	Exceptional (4 Points)
Contrasting Sections	There is no change between your song sections.	There is minimal change between your song sections.	There is appropriate contrast between your verse and chorus created with either harmonic or melodic rhythm.	There is appropriate contrast between sections using both harmonic and melodic rhythm and contrast is used to highlight specific lyrics.

Beginner
Developing
Proficient
Exceptional

Q5. Based on the following criteria, how interesting is your melody?

	Beginner (1 Point)	Developing (2 Points)	Proficient (3 Points)	Exceptional (4 Points)
Melodic Development	The melody uses only stable tones and mostly static melody with no melodic variation. There are no obvious developmental techniques.	The melody uses mostly stables tones and a few unstable tones and one developmental technique is used. There is minimal variation in melodic contour.	The melody includes both stable and unstable tones and two developmental techniques are used. The melody includes an interesting combination of melody types.	The melody uses stable and unstable tones in the melody and a combination of melody types that support the lyrical narrative. Several developmental techniques are apparent and the chorus has an intriguing melodic hook.

Beginner
Developing
Proficient
Exceptional

Q6. Based on the following criteria, how well have you used prosody in your melody?

	Beginner (1 Point)	Developing (2 Points)	Proficient (3 Points)	Exceptional (4 Points)
Prosody (Lyrical Support)	The harmony and melody does not adequately support the feeling of the lyrics.	The harmony and melody somewhat support the feeling of the lyrics.	The harmony and melody appropriately support the feeling of the lyrics.	The harmony and melody perfectly support the feeling of the lyrics and incorporates non-diatonic chords when necessary to match the lyric.

Beginner
Developing
Proficient
Exceptional

Songwriting: Writing the Music Week 04 Quiz Answers

Quiz 1: Telling a Story with the Music

Q1. True or False: A chord tone is a tone that is in the chord.

True
False

Q2. Which notes are chord tones of the G major chord?

G, D, F
G, A, C
G, B, D
G, B, E

Q3. Which of the following notes would be considered non-chord tones for a G major 7th chord? (Select all that apply)

Q4. What is the strongest beat in a measure of 4/4?

Beat 1
Beat 2
Beat 3
Beat 4

Q5. What is the second strongest beat in a measure of 4/4?

Beat 1
Beat 2
Beat 3
Beat 4

Q6. What is the most unstable note in a minor key scale?

Q7. What are the three most stable tones in a minor key scale? (Select three)

Q8. True or False: A dependent melody is a melody that does not need harmony to sound good.

True
False

Q9. What is a non-chord tone?

A tone that is used in the notated triad
A tone that is in the chord
A tone that is not in the chord

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