Jazz Jive Jam

What instrument does Lina play?

• a.  the saxophone
• b.  the trumpet
• c.  the piano
• d.  the drums

Throughout the story, Lina asks her parents lots of questions about jazz music.  What motivates Lina's questions?

• a.  Lina wants to learn something new.
• b.  Lina is preparing for a music history test.
• c.  Lina's homework is to interview her parents.
• d.  Lina needs help with her piano homework.

Lina is anxious to learn a different type of music. What evidence from the passage best supports this conclusion?

• a.  "Old and crinkled sheet music sat in front of her, the black notes blankly staring at her.  She stared at them for so long, her vision started to blur."
• b.  "She loved the piano; she always had, ever since she starting playing at the age of six. But something was beginning to bother her."
• c.  "Lina had been working on this piece for the past week, trying to master the tricky rhythm and memorize the movements required by her long fingers."
• d.  "They were all classical music pieces, and even though Lina loved them, she was itching to try something new."?

What conclusion can be made about Lina's family and their relationship to jazz?

• a.  Lina is the first person in her family to be interested in jazz.
• b.  Jazz has been important to many people in Lina's family.
• c.  Lina's family used to like jazz, but now they think it is too popular.
• d.  Lina is the only person in her family who doesn't like jazz.

What is this story mostly about?

• a.  Lina learns about jazz and her family's ties to the music.
• b.  Lina is tired of playing the piano and wants to learn something new.
• c.  Lina learns how to play jazz piano and improvise new melodies.
• d.  Lina discovers that both of her parents enjoy jazz music.

Read the following sentences:  "Lina thought about improvising.  She could hardly imagine just siting down at the piano and playing anything that came to her mind, just piecing together notes in a way that would captivate her listeners.  She remained silent for a while, concentrating hard on what she could possibly play off the top of her head."

• a.  performing from sheet music
• b.  making something better
• c.  inventing new music while performing
• c.  playing music for an audience

Choosing the answer that best completes the sentence below.  _________, swing music was played in African-American communities before it became popular in ballrooms across America.

• a.  However
• b.  Finally
• c.  Obviously
• d.  Initially

What is swing music?

• a.  It is music with a lot of drum beat.
• c.  Swing music is a type of jazz style with a strong beat that really makes you want to dance.
• c.  Music that makes you want to dance.
• d.  It is a type of rock and roll music.

Where did swing music originally come from?

• a.  It came from the Netherlands.
• b.  Swing music originally came from the African-American community.
• c.  It comes from different places in South America.
• d.  It comes from New Orleans.

How was music passed down through generation in Lina's family?  

• a.  A song inspired Lina to play jazz music.
• b.  Lina heard jazz on the radio and she knew she wanted to play it.
• c.  The love of jazz music and the talent to play it were passed down through different generations in Lina's family.
• d.  Lina's family forced her to play jazz music.