Which term describes music that tells a story or depicts a scene?

• A. Absolute Music
• B. Nationalism in Music
• C. Programmatic Music
• D. Blues

Answer: (C)

Programmatic music is music that tells a story or paints a scene. Composers use melodies, harmonies, and orchestration to illustrate narratives, characters, or imagery, often guided by a program that explains the tale or scene. Romantic-era works like Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique or Smetana’s The Moldau illustrate a narrative or landscape directly through musical ideas, with recurring motifs and descriptive textures to convey action and mood. This stands in contrast to absolute music, which aims to stand on its own without an external narrative. Nationalism in Music highlights folk tunes and cultural identity rather than storytelling, and the Blues is a stylistic genre rooted in particular musical forms and emotional expression rather than depicting scenes.