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Quiz about A Musical Alphabet
Quiz about A Musical Alphabet

A Musical Alphabet Trivia Quiz


Anyone for musical alphabets? Each answer will be either a musical term or an instrument.

A multiple-choice quiz by ertrum. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
ertrum
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
184,468
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
25
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
19 / 25
Plays
10327
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 130 (21/25), Bowler413 (21/25), genoveva (22/25).
- -
Question 1 of 25
1. What would you call an easy, strolling tempo? Hint


Question 2 of 25
2. Which instrument, a trumpet's cousin, makes its appearance at
American funerals and bedtimes?
Hint


Question 3 of 25
3. What is another word for a round? Hint


Question 4 of 25
4. What term is used to indicate that the music should get gradually
softer?
Hint


Question 5 of 25
5. What word describes how a player's lips and mouth are shaped to
form the sounds on a woodwind or brass instrument?
Hint


Question 6 of 25
6. If an Italian asked you if you play the "flauto dolce", which
instrument would he be referring to?
Hint


Question 7 of 25
7. Which percussion instrument has metal bars which are laid out in a similar pattern to the keys of a piano? The sound it makes is like bells. Hint


Question 8 of 25
8. What is another name for the mouth organ? Hint


Question 9 of 25
9. What term is used for music played "in the middle" -- between acts
of an opera, for example?
Hint


Question 10 of 25
10. What French word gives us the English word "juggler", and was
used to describe wandering "one man bands" in medieval times?
Hint


Question 11 of 25
11. This instrument produces its sound by the player humming into one end, which causes tissue paper to vibrate, giving a buzzy sound. (You probably won't find these at your next Philharmonic concert.)
Hint


Question 12 of 25
12. What's the name of the instrument which was played both by Orpheus and David? Hint


Question 13 of 25
13. What do we call the machine invented to keep a steady tempo? Hint


Question 14 of 25
14. What do we call music which is written to give a dreamy, pensive,
almost sleepy feeling?
Hint


Question 15 of 25
15. What is the double-reed woodwind instrument used by Prokofiev for
the duck in "Peter and the Wolf"?
Hint


Question 16 of 25
16. What is the Italian word for "soft", and the name of Van Cliburn's
instrument of choice?

Answer: (5 letters)
Question 17 of 25
17. What kind of dance did Lewis Carroll write about in "Alice in Wonderland"? Hint


Question 18 of 25
18. What does "ritard" mean? Hint


Question 19 of 25
19. What do we call this woodwind? Its body is made of metal, it
comes in many sizes, and it uses a single reed to produce its sound.
Hint


Question 20 of 25
20. Which clef has the notes FACE in its spaces? Hint


Question 21 of 25
21. This instrument was made (in)famous by Tiny Tim singing to Miss
Vickie.
Hint


Question 22 of 25
22. Which does not belong? Vivace, Vif, Violin, Vitamente Hint


Question 23 of 25
23. What do we call the instrument family which includes flute, oboe,
clarinet and saxophone?

Answer: (eight letters)
Question 24 of 25
24. What is the name for the bamboo saxophone? Hint


Question 25 of 25
25. This is a style of music, associated with the bayous and backwaters of Louisiana. Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 28 2024 : Guest 130: 21/25
Mar 27 2024 : Bowler413: 21/25
Mar 25 2024 : genoveva: 22/25
Mar 25 2024 : Guest 161: 6/25
Mar 25 2024 : Guest 202: 22/25
Mar 24 2024 : Guest 113: 12/25
Mar 24 2024 : Guest 121: 25/25
Mar 24 2024 : Guest 115: 23/25
Mar 24 2024 : Guest 115: 23/25

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What would you call an easy, strolling tempo?

Answer: Andante

Andante comes from the Italian word meaning "going". Adagio is slower than andante, and allegro is faster.
2. Which instrument, a trumpet's cousin, makes its appearance at American funerals and bedtimes?

Answer: Bugle

The bugle has no valves, and can play a more limited number of notes
than a trumpet can. The Baritone Horn, or euphonium, sounds in the
same range as a trombone. The bassoon is a woodwind. Ernest Bloch
wrote "Baal Shem", a suite for violin and piano.
3. What is another word for a round?

Answer: Catch

Many English composers have written catches, some of which would be
unsuited to a family web site. The chalumeau is the low register of
the clarinet. Cavatina is a term for a song, but does not describe a round, and a cacho is a Salvadoran percussion instrument made from an animal's horn.
4. What term is used to indicate that the music should get gradually softer?

Answer: Diminuendo

Diminuendo comes from the Italian, meaning lessening. Divisi
describes when players who would usually play the same note (unison)
play different notes. Da Capo means repeat from the beginning of the
music. Donatello was either a Renaissance artist or a Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtle.
5. What word describes how a player's lips and mouth are shaped to form the sounds on a woodwind or brass instrument?

Answer: Embouchure

Brass and woodwind players spend lots of time getting their
embouchures right. While getting the embouchure right may POSE an
enigma for the player, enigma means mystery. An epicedium is a
dirge. Encore means play it again. I doubt that you would encore an
epicedium.
6. If an Italian asked you if you play the "flauto dolce", which instrument would he be referring to?

Answer: Recorder

In the Renaissance, and through the time of J. S. Bach, if a
composer requested that a part be played by the flute, he probably
meant the recorder. The modern, transverse, flute would be specified
by "flauto traverso" or "German flute"
7. Which percussion instrument has metal bars which are laid out in a similar pattern to the keys of a piano? The sound it makes is like bells.

Answer: Glockenspiel

The name is German, and means "play of bells". A gong is an
oriental type of cymbal. Benjamin Franklin invented, and Mozart wrote
music for, the glass harmonica. Glissando is the technique of sliding
from one note to another, while playing all the notes in between.
8. What is another name for the mouth organ?

Answer: Harmonica

The harmonica, beloved of blues players, Bob Dylan, and many others
is really a small reed organ which uses the player's breath instead
of a bellows or other source of moving air to make its sound. The
hurdy-gurdy is a stringed instrument in which a rosin covered wheel
rubs against the strings, to make them sound. The Heckelphone is a
bass oboe.
9. What term is used for music played "in the middle" -- between acts of an opera, for example?

Answer: Intermezzo

In the 18th Century, intermezzos might be short, comic, operas performed between the acts of longer, serious, operas. I suspect that going to the opera was more time consuming then than now.
10. What French word gives us the English word "juggler", and was used to describe wandering "one man bands" in medieval times?

Answer: Jongleur

Jouer is the French verb meaning to play. Journeyman is a title for someone employed in a trade, and a Jester is a clown. Jongleurs might be associated with a court, or might wander from town to town.
11. This instrument produces its sound by the player humming into one end, which causes tissue paper to vibrate, giving a buzzy sound. (You probably won't find these at your next Philharmonic concert.)

Answer: Kazoo

There have been marching kazoo bands, and it might appear as a novelty
instrument in an orchestra. Konzert is the German word for concert.
Klezmer is a style of music. I don't know what a kiddytune is, but it
should exist if it doesn't.
12. What's the name of the instrument which was played both by Orpheus and David?

Answer: lyre

The lyre was an ancestor of the harp. David's lyre playing soothed King Saul, and Orpheus was supposed to be such a fine player that he charmed the Greek god of the dead!
13. What do we call the machine invented to keep a steady tempo?

Answer: Metronome

The metronome was invented in 1812. Beethoven wrote the second
movement of his Eighth Symphony to poke fun at it and its inventor
Malzel. Beethoven, however, also used it, and gave metronomic tempo
markings in many of his works.
14. What do we call music which is written to give a dreamy, pensive, almost sleepy feeling?

Answer: Nocturne

Niente is the Italian word for nothing. Nerveux, French for
"nervously", would not give a dreamy quality to music. Nachtanz is
a German word for the second of two dances, usually a fast dance
following a slower one.
15. What is the double-reed woodwind instrument used by Prokofiev for the duck in "Peter and the Wolf"?

Answer: Oboe

The Ocarina is an egg-shaped flute. The Odono and Oja are both
African instruments; a drum and a whistle, respectively.
16. What is the Italian word for "soft", and the name of Van Cliburn's instrument of choice?

Answer: piano

The instrument's full name is "pianoforte", meaning it can play both loudly and softly.
17. What kind of dance did Lewis Carroll write about in "Alice in Wonderland"?

Answer: Quadrille

The "Lobster Quadrille" was danced for Alice by the Mock Turtle,
and the Gryphon. "Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you
join the dance?"
18. What does "ritard" mean?

Answer: Gradually slow down.

Starting over from the beginning is da capo. Rehearsals are where
you find out when the conductor wants a ritard -- and you hope he
doesn't add one in the concert!
19. What do we call this woodwind? Its body is made of metal, it comes in many sizes, and it uses a single reed to produce its sound.

Answer: Saxophone

Adolph Sax invented the Saxophone in the 1840's. The Sarrusophone
was invented about the same time, and is also of metal, but is a
double-reed, and is obsolete. Sousaphones are tubas used in marching
bands. The Saz is a Turkish lute.
20. Which clef has the notes FACE in its spaces?

Answer: Treble

The lines of the treble clef are EGBDF, which led to the mnemonic
"Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" when I was taking piano. There is a
tenor clef, with middle C on the fourth line of the staff.
21. This instrument was made (in)famous by Tiny Tim singing to Miss Vickie.

Answer: Ukulele

The Uilleann pipes are a kind of bagpipes. The Ud is an Arabic lute. Umore is the Italian word for humor.
22. Which does not belong? Vivace, Vif, Violin, Vitamente

Answer: Violin

The other three are all terms meaning "quick" or "lively" and
referring to tempo
23. What do we call the instrument family which includes flute, oboe, clarinet and saxophone?

Answer: woodwind

Not all woodwinds are made of wood. The flute and saxophone are made of metal. Flutes, recorders, whistles, etc have no reed. Clarinets and saxophones have a single reed. Bassoons and oboes have double reeds.
24. What is the name for the bamboo saxophone?

Answer: Xaphoon

It was invented by Brian Wittman, and is pronounced zafoon. See
www.xaphoon.com for more.
25. This is a style of music, associated with the bayous and backwaters of Louisiana.

Answer: Zydeco

Bring out the accordion and washboard! Thanks to www.dolmetsch.com and to "A New Dictionary of Music" for references.
Source: Author ertrum

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ralzzz before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
Related Quizzes
This quiz is part of series ertrum's music quizzes:

Here are my quizzes from the music category. You'll find anything from bassoon solos to green tambourines. You might even find a cannon!

  1. A Musical Alphabet Average
  2. Famous Bassoon Solos Average
  3. Percussionists Have the Most Fun Average
  4. Now Listen While I Play My Green Tambourine Tough
  5. Iconic Guitars Tough
  6. Another Musical Alphabet Average

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