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Quiz about You Can Play Music on That
Quiz about You Can Play Music on That

You Can Play Music on That? Trivia Quiz


There are no normal orchestral instruments in this quiz. See if you can identify some of the, shall we say, "unusual" music makers here.

A photo quiz by CmdrK. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
CmdrK
Time
4 mins
Type
Photo Quiz
Quiz #
377,663
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
1102
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 70 (5/10), Guest 23 (7/10), gogetem (8/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Benjamin Franklin thought this was a wonderful musical instrument, but then, he should have - he invented it. What name did he give it? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Country and folk music fans might recognize this instrument on sight; can you name it? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The instrument in the foreground is reminiscent of an alpine horn but it has been around much longer. By what name do we know it? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Crank this up and play it! You might be asked to sing "songs of love" while you do so. What are we looking at here? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. To a musicologist this is a type of lyre. What would someone from Wales call it? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Well, rootie-toot-toot! It won't cost a fortune to buy one of these. If you can hum, you can play it. But what is it? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Likely of European origins, this instrument blossomed in America. By what name is it known? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. The painting in this picture is a representation of someone playing what is known as a musical saw.


Question 9 of 10
9. If you're not in the mood to play an instrument, that's okay, this one plays itself. What is this lazy person's instrument? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Orchestras have the triangle; string players have this triangular instrument, which is known as what? Hint



Most Recent Scores
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 70: 5/10
Mar 13 2024 : Guest 23: 7/10
Mar 08 2024 : gogetem: 8/10
Mar 07 2024 : Kat1982: 5/10
Feb 27 2024 : Guest 47: 0/10
Feb 26 2024 : Guest 73: 4/10
Feb 25 2024 : Guest 107: 2/10
Feb 15 2024 : Guest 59: 5/10
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Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Benjamin Franklin thought this was a wonderful musical instrument, but then, he should have - he invented it. What name did he give it?

Answer: glass armonica

Musical tones can be achieved by rubbing a wet finger around the rim of a glass; glasses filled to different levels produce different notes. Franklin took the idea to a different level by having glass discs (bowls) of various diameters put on a horizontal shaft.

A treadle was used to spin the shaft and the wet fingers produced the notes. There is a convincing YouTube video showing "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" being played on one.
2. Country and folk music fans might recognize this instrument on sight; can you name it?

Answer: autoharp

It is called a harp but it is really a chorded zither. Pressing down on the white keys dampens some of the strings while the instrument is being strummed. Some players use a finger-picking style of playing. The Carter family brought it to prominence in American country music.
3. The instrument in the foreground is reminiscent of an alpine horn but it has been around much longer. By what name do we know it?

Answer: didgeridoo

At least 1,500 years old, the didgeridoo was devised by aboriginal Australians and is still popular today. Trees that have been attacked by termites (which eat the dead heartwood) are the easiest to convert to an instrument. Generally, the longer the length, the lower the tone. Special lip and breathing techniques are essential to playing the didgeridoo.
4. Crank this up and play it! You might be asked to sing "songs of love" while you do so. What are we looking at here?

Answer: hurdy gurdy

The hurdy gurdy works by having the crank turn a rosined wheel which rubs against the strings. The tone is similar to a violin. Pressing the keys changes the pitch of the strings. In the song "Hurdy Gurdy Man", Donovan sang that the "hurdy gurdy man came singing songs of love".
5. To a musicologist this is a type of lyre. What would someone from Wales call it?

Answer: crwth

It might look like the name of this instrument came from a Fun Trivia Brain Teasers quiz where all the vowels had been removed from a word, but it is a Welsh word likely related to the instrument's bulging appearance. No one really knows how it should be tuned.

The old instruments used cat gut and the highest string was often tightened as much as possible (without breaking) and the others tuned to be melodic with it.The crwth is played with a bow and has been around for 1,000 years or so.
6. Well, rootie-toot-toot! It won't cost a fortune to buy one of these. If you can hum, you can play it. But what is it?

Answer: kazoo

A favorite of jug bands and kids' bands, the kazoo is simply a metal tube with three holes in it. A thin membrane covers one of the holes and vibrates when the player hums into it. The device is probably of African origin; the kazoo as we know it was invented in the United States. They are now made of plastic as well as metal.
7. Likely of European origins, this instrument blossomed in America. By what name is it known?

Answer: Appalachian dulcimer

This dulcimer's origins were among Scottish-Irish settlers in America's southern Appalachian mountains. It is often just called a dulcimer, unless one wants to differentiate it from the hammered dulcimer, which is an unrelated instrument. It owes its current popularity among bluegrass and folk musicians to folk/roots players Jean Ritchie and Richard Farina, who popularized the instrument during the folk music revival of the 1960s.
8. The painting in this picture is a representation of someone playing what is known as a musical saw.

Answer: yes

Proving that people can make music from almost nothing, the musical saw is played by gripping it between the legs, bending it into an S-curve and stroking it with a bow or tapping it with a hammer. Those who play it are known as "sawcerors". Either a regular steel saw or one made just for playing can be used.
9. If you're not in the mood to play an instrument, that's okay, this one plays itself. What is this lazy person's instrument?

Answer: aeolian harp

The aeolian harp is named for Aeolus, the Greek god of wind. The harp is placed in front of a slightly opened window and air moving through the instrument produces sounds. The strings are tunable so different pitches are possible. it dates back to the early 17th century. Samuel Taylor Coleridge used it as the basis for his poem "The Eolian Harp".
10. Orchestras have the triangle; string players have this triangular instrument, which is known as what?

Answer: balalaika

It only has three strings so it can't be very hard to play, right? The balalaika traces its ancestry to the domra, which comes from the Caucasus region of Russia. Early balalaikas had two to six strings. Nowadays, three strings is the norm. Besides the guitar-sized version there are contrabass balalaikas, some of which can be over a meter on each side.
Source: Author CmdrK

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
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