KNOWLEDGE BLASTER!
Subject Guide:

KNOWLEDGE BLASTER! Guide to Music

You didn't know that last one, but you have to know this one! It goes, “Oh when the sun beats down and warms the tar up on...”

No? Then you, my friend, are in real trouble. I suggest you read KNOWLEDGE BLASTER! Guide to Music and call me in the morning.

Seriously, wouldn't it be great if there was a little book that covered so much information about the diverse world of music? And didn't take forever to read?

See, we were helping a friend study for the contestant quiz of the Jeopardy! Game show when we realized we had accumulated enough material to help out almost anyone. A student, game show contestant, or the person-in-the-street who wants to know more about music.

You are one of those, right?

This little study guide sings the praises of the greatest classical composers, rock bands, country stars, and jazz legends of all time. Here you'll find songs from musicals, real names and spouses of the stars, music terminology, bios of ballerinas, and much more. Songs by sopranos, tidbits on tenors and the bestest of basses.

Think you can live without it? Try these:

Michael Bolton garnered a 1991 Grammy for his rendition of the 1966 Percy Sledge hit...?
Who was the clarinet-playing "King of Swing?"
The most common instrument in a symphony orchestra is...?
Curly, Laura, and "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" are from...?
What was Sammy Davis, Jr.'s only #1 hit?
Who was called "Luke the Drifter?"
What is the jig-like dance of sailors?
What former Beatle garnered a Grammy, in 1989, for his work with the Traveling Wilburys?
Where do we find "The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies?"
Di bravura is one type of...?

No trouble at all? Okey dokey. But do you know the whole book?

The KNOWLEDGE BLASTER! Series compresses a great mountain of available information into easily digestible morsels. You'll find the books are patterned in an efficient question-and-answer mode, stressing simplicity, brevity, and clarity.

You can use this reference work as a launch pad to propel yourself into more in-depth studies. However, if you find this little study guide provides all the information you need, then consider your knowledge...
Blasted!

We wish you the best of luck in your quest for knowledge in this fascinating subject. 'Bye now.
And, oh yes, buy now! on Amazon

Inside KNOWLEDGE BLASTER! Guide to Music

Test yourself now; see if you know the answers that KNOWLEDGE BLASTER! can give you.

Music: Shut Up and Dance!

What musical instruments traditionally accompany the fandango?
— Castanets and guitar.

Mayim mayim is a modern circle dance, a variation of the Israeli... ?
— Hora.

Music: Pop and Rock Music.

What was the first rock'n'roll #1 hit?
— Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock."

This Georgia-based rock quintet hit with the song "Losing My Religion."
— REM.

Both Richard Harris and disco singer Donna Summer sang about this piece of real estate "melting in the rain."
— "MacArthur's Park."

Music: A Little Music Terminology.

In music, this term means radually increasing in volume.
— Crescendo.

Detached, separated.
— Staccato.

Music: A Kaleidoscope of Musicals.

According to Heyward's Porgy and Bess (set to music by George Gershwin), what was the Negro quarter of Charleston, South Carolina called?
— "Catfish Row."

This was the first rock'n'roll musical. It was loosely based on Elvis Presley's joining the army.
— Bye Bye Birdie.

What play included the musical number "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered"?
— Pal Joey.

Music: Pickin' on Country Music.

What country and western musician was called the "Tennessee Plowboy"?
— Eddy Arnold.

Whose country and western hits,"Fire on the Mountain" and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" crossed over onto the rock and roll charts?
— Charlie Daniels'.

Music: The World of Opera.

Di bravura is one type of... ?
— Operatic solo.

The "Bridal Chorus" is from his opera, Lohengrin. "The Ride of the Valkyries" is from his opera The Valkyries, one of four included in The Ring of the Nibelungs. The other three are The Rhine Gold, Siegfried, and Twilight of the Gods (Götterdämmerung). Name the composer of these operas.
— Richard Wagner.

Music: Ballet: A Symphony of Music and Dance.

Catherine de Medici, queen of Henry II of France, was greatly responsible for the development of ballet as a dance form. What French king founded the Royal Ballet Company?
— Louis XIV.

What was Agnes de Mille's profession?
— Choreographer.

How did you do?

KNOWLEDGE BLASTER! Guide to Music is brimming over with information-filled questions and answers, making your quest for musical knowledge quick-and-easy.

KNOWLEDGE BLASTER! Guide to Music
Table of Contents

Pop and Rock

What Do They Play?

Those Crazy Instruments

They Conduct and Direct

Kaleidoscope of Musicals

What musical had the song...

It Rocks; It Rolls; It’s...

Pickin’ On Country

Musical History

Shut Up and Dance

A Little Music Terminology

Their Names Were…

Married... with Music

The Beatles

Song and Symphony: The Classics

Ballet

The World of Opera

The Big Bands Swing

Rock Groups

Jazz Hot, Baby

Music in TV and the Movies

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