Classifying Musical Instruments Quiz

Answer: Percussion

The novel is called 'The Tin Drum', the first in what became the 'Danzig Trilogy'. The plot involves a boy who manages never to grow up and the story is told from his point of view while he is in an asylum for the insane. His treasured possession is a tin drum, which gives the novel its title. The other two novels in the trilogy are 'Cat and Mouse' (1961) and 'Dog Years' (1965).

The drum belongs in the percussion section of the orchestra, with various types being available. These range from the tambourine, which is classed as a drum, to large bass drums.

Answer: Percussion

The legend refers to the Bermuda Triangle, a region in the Atlantic Ocean where ships and aircraft are alleged to have disappeared in mysterious circumstances. The region, which lies roughly between the south-eastern USA, Cuba and Bermuda, is not officially recognised as a region nor are the boundaries universally agreed upon. The name was coined in the 1960s and has passed into popular usage although the area has no more than the expected and average number of incidents.

The musical instrument called the triangle is, you'll have guessed, triangular in shape. It is made from one piece of metal (various types are used) with one end left open. It is struck with a piece of metal, called a beater, and can create various tones and notes due to the gap in the corner. The triangle looks deceptively simple to play and is classed as a percussion instrument.

Answer: Percussion

Founded in 1937 by a man named J Arthur Rank, the company became the Rank Organisation before leaving the film business in 2006. Their famous symbol, seen at the beginning of many of the films they made and distributed, was a man striking a gong, which is a percussion instrument. The company reinvented itself as a gambling company running casinos and bingo halls. It retains the Gongman logo as part of its new identity.

The gong is used for dramatic effect in orchestras and is sometimes known as tam-tams. The gong struck with a big mallet to produce a loud crash or low rumbling sound.

Answer: Percussion

Bob Dylan wrote 'Mr Tambourine Man' in 1965 and recorded it himself on numerous occasions. However, it is the version by The Byrds, led by Roger McGuinn, which is likely to be best remembered by most of us. They took it to number one in several countries, including the USA and UK. For their next single, they took another Dylan song - 'All I Really Want to Do' into the charts with 'Turn!, Turn!, Turn!', this time written by Pete Seeger, also being a huge hit for the band.

The tambourine is a small percussion instrument with a skin stretched over a circular frame in most versions. Around the sides are zills, small cymbals which create a jingling sound.

Answer: Brass

The 'Last Post' is a military call which can be played either on the bugle or trumpet, both of which are brass instruments. Which is used depends largely on the regiment involved. The Last Post is often played at military funerals and during remembrance services for those who have died in battle.

The bugle is a simple brass instrument with no valves; it has a limited range of notes, produced by varying the mouth position and air intake. The trumpet does have valves, but these are not normally used when playing the 'Last Post'.

Answer: Brass

Hardy's only attempt at an historical novel, 'The Trumpet-Major' is set during the Napoleonic Wars with the location being Wessex, the author's favourite region. The plot involves Anne Garland, who is pursued by three men. One is the nephew of the local squire while the other two are brothers, one of whom is an army officer and the character for which the book is named. In typical Hardy style, the supporting characters are just as interesting and colourful as the main ones.

The trumpet is, of course, a brass instrument and one that is among the most popular. It features in both classical and popular music with famous players being Louis Armstrong, Herb Alpert and, more recently, Alison Balsom.

Answer: Brass

The question refers to the song 'Brass in Pocket', written by lead singer Chrissie Hynde based on a guitar lick written by the band's lead guitarist James Honeyman-Scott. The band was an interesting mix as the male members came from Hereford, a relatively rural area of England, while Hynde was American. 'Brass in Pocket' was a successful single for The Pretenders reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart and number fourteen on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Of course, the brass in the song is nothing to do with musical instruments directly as it refers to small change, cash or money, however you want to describe it. As the word 'brass' appears in the title it should have been easy enough to identify.

Answer: Brass

The song from the film, and original stage show, is 'Seventy-Six Trombones'. The show was created by Meredith Willson with the film version starring Robert Preston as the con man, Harold Hill, who pretends to be a musical director keen to set up a town band. His ploy is to collect money to create the band before absconding with the cash. Hill is exposed as a fraud by a visitor from a previous town where he had pulled the same trick, but is saved by the love of the town librarian, played by Shirley Jones.

The trombone belongs in the brass family, and is unusual for having a slide to change the pitch rather than the valves in most other brass instruments. The trombone is popular in jazz and swing bands with well known players including Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey.

Answer: Strings

Both Casals and Ma are renowned cellists, so they belong in the Strings category. Pablo Casals was born in Spain in 1876 and died in 1973. He played for Queen Victoria in 1899 and also for US President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 at the White House. Yo-Yo Ma is much more recent, born in Paris in 1955 with Chinese parentage. Ma is known for playing a wide variety of music, from classical to folk, and for collaborating with performers from various genres.

The cello is one of the four main stringed instruments in a classical orchestra, with the violin being the smallest followed by the viola, cello and double bass. Because of its size, the cello is played by a seated performer and is supported by a tail piece.

Answer: Strings

'Adagio for Strings' is a popular piece of music written by the American composer Samuel Barber in 1936 and first performed two years later. It's probably the only one of his works most of us could name. The music is poignant and is frequently played at funerals, including those of Albert Einstein and Princess Grace of Monaco, formerly the actress Grace Kelly.

As the name implies, the music was written for string orchestras, beginning with the violins before the cellos join in. Arrangements for other instruments have been created, but Barber wrote it for strings.

Answer: Strings

This refers to the role of Tevye from 'Fiddler on the Roof', the story of a Jewish family in Imperial Russia in the early twentieth century. Tevye is keen to arrange 'good' marriages for his five daughters. The show, and film, have several well known songs in them such as 'Sunrise, Sunset', 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker' and 'If I Were a Rich Man'.

A fiddler is someone who plays the violin, the smallest of the stringed instruments commonly used in orchestras. It is usually played by moving a bow across the strings. The violin is certainly not restricted to classical music, though, and is often used in folk, country and pop music.

Answer: Strings

The novel is called 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' ('Corelli's Mandolin' in the USA) and is set during the Italian (later German) occupation of the Greek island of Cephalonia during the Second World War. A Greek girl, named Pelagia, eventually falls in love with the Italian captain billeted with her family. He plays the mandolin, giving the book its title. Corelli narrowly escapes being executed by the Germans when the former allies fall out, and leave his mandolin with Pelagia when he is repatriated. In the book, the two only meet again when they are both old. The 2001 film adaptation starred Penelope Cruz and Nicolas Cage as the two main characters and, in true Hollywood fashion, the ending was changed.

The mandolin is a stringed instrument similar to a lute - the Neapolitan version has a rounded body. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries whole orchestras were created consisting of mandolin players.