JAMB Music past questions and answers

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

JAMB Music: 55 past questions from 2 papers between 2018 and 2025, each with the answer and an explanation. In the UTME you answer 40 Music questions, with Use of English and two other subjects, in 2 hours. Here are ten.

1. 1.Note B in the key of D major is the
   1. A
      mediant
   2. B
      dominant
   3. C
      submediant
      Correct
   4. D
      subdominant
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   Answer: C

   The D major scale is D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D; counting from the tonic D as 1, B is the 6th degree, which is called the submediant.
2. 2.The Romantic period is between
   1. A
      1600 to 1750
   2. B
      1900 to 1950
   3. C
      1820 to 1900
      Correct
   4. D
      1750 to 1820
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   Answer: C

   The Romantic period in Western music history is generally dated from about 1820 to 1900, following the Classical era.
3. 3.I call it love is a hit song by
   1. A
      Sonny Okosun
   2. B
      Oliver De Coque
   3. C
      Victor Uwaifo
   4. D
      Bongos Ikwue
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   'I Call It Love' is a romantic ballad hit credited to Bongos Ikwue, a Nigerian singer-songwriter known for English-language soul/folk love songs.
4. 4.Missa Brevis was composed by
   1. A
      Johann Sebastian Bach
   2. B
      Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
      Correct
   3. C
      Joseph Haydn
   4. D
      Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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   Answer: B

   Missa Brevis ("short mass") is a title closely associated with Palestrina, the leading composer of Renaissance sacred polyphony.
5. 5.The Ars Nova and Ars Antiqua belong to the
   1. A
      Classical period
   2. B
      Baroque period
   3. C
      Renaissance period
   4. D
      Medieval period
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   Ars Antiqua (c.1170-1310) and Ars Nova (c.1310-1377) are successive styles of polyphony belonging to the Medieval period of Western music history.
6. 6.The combination of a string quartet is
   1. A
      Two violins, viola and cello
      Correct
   2. B
      Two violins, cello and double bass
   3. C
      Violin, viola, cello and double bass
   4. D
      Violin, viola, cello and flute
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   Answer: A

   A standard string quartet is made up of two violins, one viola and one cello.
7. 7.Kwaa Mensah was the leader of the
   1. A
      A Hausa praise-singing group
   2. B
      A South African choral group
   3. C
      A Ghanaian palm-wine guitar band
      Correct
   4. D
      A Nigerian highlife band
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   Answer: C

   Kwaa Mensah was a renowned Ghanaian guitarist who led a palm-wine guitar band, a style blending indigenous Akan melodies with guitar technique.
8. 8.Umoja is a traditional dance group from
   1. A
      South Africa
      Correct
   2. B
      Togo
   3. C
      Ivory Coast
   4. D
      Uganda
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   Answer: A

   Umoja is a traditional dance group from South Africa, formed to blend South African music and dance traditions into stage performance.
9. 9.The Eki-gene is a cultural dance among the people of
   1. A
      Igbo people
   2. B
      Yoruba people
   3. C
      Kalabari (Ijaw) people
      Correct
   4. D
      Hausa people
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   Answer: C

   The Ekine dance/masquerade tradition is a well-documented cultural institution of the Kalabari (Ijaw) people of the Niger Delta, combining drama, music, and masked dance.
10. 10.Which of the following instruments are aerophones?
    1. A
       Drum
    2. B
       Flute
       Correct
    3. C
       Guitar
    4. D
       Xylophone
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    Answer: B

    An aerophone produces sound by vibrating a column of air. The flute is a wind instrument and therefore an aerophone, while the guitar (chordophone), drum (membranophone), and xylophone (idiophone) belong to other instrument families.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

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