Melodies and Motifs: Classical Pianos Quiz

Answer: Beethoven - "Moonlight Sonata"

Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his "Piano Sonata No. 14" in 1801; it did not get the name "Moonlight Sonata" until after his death. The famous part in this snippet is just the first of three movements.

Answer: Debussy - "Clair de Lune"

"Clair de Lune" is the third movement of four in Claude Debussy's "Suite Bergamasque," published in 1905. This piece is a quintessential romantic piece from the Romantic era of Classical music, which ended around 1910.

Answer: Bach - "Prelude in C Major"

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote this piece sometime in the early 1700s for harpsichord or piano (which was a new instrument at the time), during the Baroque period. One hundred years later, the romantic composer Charles Gounod wrote a new melody to be played or sung over the original, becoming the famous "Ave Maria." Remixing music is hardly a modern practice.j

Answer: Bach - "Toccata"

"Toccata" was written for organ rather than piano. Organs do not have the sustain pedals that pianos do; instead they have more keys that are played with the feet for the lowest notes.

The squiggly lightning bolt symbol over the first note is called a "mordent." It means "quickly trill this note once." If it is just a lightning bolt, then the trill goes one note up. If there is a vertical bar in the symbol (like in "Toccata"), then the trill goes down one note.

Answer: Joplin - "The Entertainer"

Scott Joplin wrote "The Entertainer" in 1902 as a classical ragtime piece (a genre different from other ragtime). While it is a common piece to learn when learning the piano, many children may recognize it as "the ice cream truck song."

Answer: Mozart - "Rondo Alla Turca"

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart published "Rondo Alla Turca" (Turkish March) in 1784. It is the third movement (of three) of his Piano Sonata number 11. It is a piece many young piano students come across. It was also included in the rhythm game "Donkey Konga" for the Nintendo Gamecube.

Answer: Chopin - "Raindrop Prelude"

Frédéric Chopin published "Prelude, OP 28, No 15" in 1839 as part of a collection of commissioned Preludes. There were 24 total preludes in this set: one for each major and minor key. Number 15 in the set, "Raindrop," was the longest.

The persistent eighth notes in the bass line evoke the idea of raindrops. The piece starts off pleasant, but has a darker brooding middle section. The piece was used in the James Bond film "Moonraker," and in promotional material for the Xbox 360 video game "Halo 3."

Answer: Satie - "Gymnopedie"

Erik Satie wrote three "Gymnopédies" in 1888. This snippet is of the first one, the most famous. The music is slow and contemplative, and has been "remixed" many times by both Satie's contemporaries and ours.

Answer: Debussy - "Arabesque No. 1"

Debussy started writing his "Deux arabesques" in 1888, with this snippet being of the first. The melody plays a distinct pattern of descending notes while the bass line is arpeggios. The triplets in the right hand against the straight-eighths in the left create an interesting rhythm, while still being a light and pleasant piece to listen to.

Answer: Beethoven - "Fur Elise"

"Für Elise" ("For Elise") was not published until four decades after Beethoven died, when it was found among his notes. The identity of "Elise" is uncertain.