History of Rock Music Quiz

Tests comprehension and vocabulary from EnglishClub's History of Rock Music page. You can do this quiz online or print it on paper.

1. British rock bands the Rolling Stones and the Beatles first formed in

the 1950s
the 1960s
the 1970s
a) the 1950s b) the 1960s c) the 1970s

2. Which instrument did Jimi Hendrix play?

drums
bass guitar
lead guitar
a) drums b) bass guitar c) lead guitar

3. Many rock guitarists press a wah-wah _______ to change the guitar's sound while playing.

box
pedal
button
a) box b) pedal c) button

4. Heavy metal, thrash and death metal are sub-genres of

hard rock
soft rock
psychedelic rock
a) hard rock b) soft rock c) psychedelic rock

5. Mid-70s band the Sex Pistols played a noisy, rebellious kind of rock music called

reggae
funk
punk
a) reggae b) funk c) punk

6. New, unusual and experimental music can be called

avant-garde
mainstream
instrumental
a) avant-garde b) mainstream c) instrumental

7. Post-punk is a late-70s genre that developed _______ punk music.

before
into
from
a) before b) into c) from

8. A music producer's job is to oversee the _______ of an album or single.

recording
marketing
manufacture
a) recording b) marketing c) manufacture

9. A repeated series of guitar chords or notes is called

a set
a power chord
a riff
a) a set b) a power chord c) a riff

10. Kurt Cobain was the lead singer and guitarist of 90s _______ band Nirvana.

Britpop
grunge
emo
a) Britpop b) grunge c) emo

Your score is:

Correct answers:

Contributor: Matt Errey. Matt is the author of several books including 1000 Phrasal Verbs in Context and Common English Idioms for learners, and Matt's ESL Games and Quizzes for teachers.