JAMB Music 2018 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 15 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2018 JAMB Music paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 30 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

JAMB Music 2018 questions and answers

1. 1.The classical blues usually consist of
   1. A
      Eight bars
   2. B
      Sixteen bars
   3. C
      Four bars
   4. D
      Twelve bars
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   The classical (12-bar) blues form consists of twelve bars built on a I-IV-V chord pattern with an AAB lyrical structure.
2. 2.The English word for vivace is
   1. A
      Slow
   2. B
      Soft
   3. C
      Loud
   4. D
      Lively
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   The Italian musical term vivace translates to English as 'lively', indicating a brisk, animated tempo.
3. 3.The Ekpo masquerade is common among the
   1. A
      Hausa people
   2. B
      Tiv people
   3. C
      Yoruba people
   4. D
      Ibibio/Annang people
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   The Ekpo masquerade is a prominent traditional institution among the Ibibio and Annang people of Akwa Ibom State, used for social regulation and ancestral veneration.
4. 4.Martellato means
   1. A
      extremely quiet
   2. B
      hammered, strongly accented and detached
      Correct
   3. C
      smoothly connected (legato)
   4. D
      gradually getting slower
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Martellato is Italian for 'hammered', directing the performer to play notes with a sharp, forceful, hammered and detached attack.
5. 5.The song entitled Adara was composed by
   1. A
      Akin Euba
   2. B
      Fela Sowande
      Correct
   3. C
      Samuel Akpabot
   4. D
      Laz Ekwueme
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   'Adara' is attributed to Fela Sowande, widely regarded as the father of modern Nigerian art music, known for choral/vocal settings of Nigerian folk material.
6. 6.The Italian term pizzicato means
   1. A
      Bowed
   2. B
      Plucked
      Correct
   3. C
      Hammered
   4. D
      Struck
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   The Italian term pizzicato instructs string players to produce sound by plucking the strings with the fingers instead of using the bow.
7. 7.The folk symphony is a nationalistic work by
   1. A
      Fela Sowande
      Correct
   2. B
      Akin Euba
   3. C
      Bode Omojola
   4. D
      Ayo Bankole
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   Fela Sowande wrote nationalistic folk-symphony style orchestral works (e.g. the 'African Suite') that fused Western symphonic form with Nigerian/Yoruba folk melodic material.
8. 8.Mamman Shata is associated with
   1. A
      Yoruba talking-drum music
   2. B
      Igbo highlife music
   3. C
      Hausa praise singing
      Correct
   4. D
      Efik choral music
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   Mamman Shata was a celebrated Nigerian musician from Katsina renowned for Hausa praise singing, performing tributes to rulers, farmers, and public figures.
9. 9.Which of the following musicians contributed greatly to the development of reggae music?
   1. A
      Bob Marley
      Correct
   2. B
      Elvis Presley
   3. C
      Louis Armstrong
   4. D
      B.B. King
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   Bob Marley is globally recognized as the most influential figure in popularizing and developing reggae music from its Jamaican roots.
10. 10.The musical form of the Nigerian National Anthem is
    1. A
       Strophic form
       Correct
    2. B
       Ternary form
    3. C
       Through-composed form
    4. D
       Rondo form
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: A

    The Nigerian National Anthem, 'Arise, O Compatriots', has multiple stanzas sung to the same repeated melody, which defines strophic form.

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

Spotted a wrong answer? Tell us from the app or on the contact page and we check it.

Practise all 30 questions we hold from the 2018 paper, on a timed CBT screen

Every question has the answer and an explanation, in the Skolra app.

Download for WindowsDownload for Mac

About the app · Skolra for Windows · Skolra for Mac