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Strings Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Strings Quizzes, Trivia

Strings Trivia

Strings Trivia Quizzes

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30 Strings quizzes and 420 Strings trivia questions.
Sub-Categories:
Cello Cello (9 quizzes)
String Bass String Bass
Viola Viola (4)
Violin Violin (6)
1.
  Ukulele Mania   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Welcome to my quiz on one of the world's greatest, and zaniest, instruments: the ukulele. Good luck and have fun!
Average, 10 Qns, lordprescott, Nov 19 24
Recommended for grades: 9,10,11,12
Average
lordprescott
Nov 19 24
168 plays
2.
The String Family
  The String Family   great trivia quiz  
Photo Quiz
 10 Qns
There are lots and LOTS of different stringed instruments out there. Here are just a few of the family members for you to identify.
Easier, 10 Qns, reedy, Dec 15 14
Easier
reedy gold member
1329 plays
3.
  The String Orchestra    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is a quiz about the string orchestra, and basic stuff about the instruments (bass, cello, viola, and violin).
Easier, 10 Qns, h_s_potter2002, Jul 13 24
Easier
h_s_potter2002
Jul 13 24
1398 plays
4.
  How well do you know your Orchestral Strings?    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
How well do you know your typical string orchestra? Here are some basic facts that a string-savy person should know.
Average, 10 Qns, jackster626, Nov 30 09
Average
jackster626
739 plays
5.
  Strings and Things    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Anything connected to the violin and other orchestral string instruments.
Average, 10 Qns, Sparksister, Jun 19 20
Average
Sparksister
Jun 19 20
658 plays
6.
  Uncommon Bowed String Instruments    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is all about the unusual string instruments that require a bow. Some common ones are the violin and the cello, but they won't be mentioned here.
Tough, 10 Qns, AW3404, Jan 05 09
Tough
AW3404
418 plays
7.
  Swing to the Sounds of the Mandolin in Songs    
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
The mandolin is string instrument which is a member of the lute family. This quiz is about rock and pop songs featuring the mandolin.
Average, 15 Qns, workisboring, Jun 08 21
Average
workisboring gold member
Jun 08 21
180 plays
8.
  Contrabass Conundrums    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
For string enthusiasts, this is a quiz about the oddball of the string section - the double bass!
Average, 10 Qns, buscarela, Feb 12 18
Average
buscarela
153 plays
9.
  The Arpeggione    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I gave myself the screenname "arpeggionist" as an allusion to this mysterious instrument, which disappeared from the earth soon after its invention. But what else could we know about the instrument?
Average, 10 Qns, Arpeggionist, Aug 09 23
Average
Arpeggionist
Aug 09 23
236 plays
10.
  Instrument Families: The Wires    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This will test your knowledge of the orchestral strings. (Guitarists get extra points for any correct answers!)
Average, 10 Qns, notwilbur, Dec 01 07
Average
notwilbur
518 plays
trivia question Quick Question
Which famous astronaut was a fan of the ukulele, and spent his post-space quarantine playing one? Don't take too big of a step for this question!

From Quiz "Ukulele Mania"




11.
  String Instrument Terminology    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is about the termonology of the string instruments. These instruments include the violin, viola, cello, and string bass.
Average, 10 Qns, Disney101, May 01 18
Average
Disney101
552 plays

Strings Trivia Questions
1. Dash Crofts played the mandolin on hits such as the 1972 song "Summer Breeze" and the 1973 song "Diamond Girls". What was name of the group for which Dash Crofts performed?

From Quiz Swing to the Sounds of the Mandolin in Songs

Answer: Seals and Crofts

Seals and Crofts were a soft rock duo who released thirteen studio albums between 1969 and 1980. The duo had three singles reach the top ten on the United States Billboard Hot 100. These songs were the 1972 song "Summer Breeze", the 1973 song "Diamond Girls" and the 1976 song "Get Closer".

2. In what interval are the strings of the double bass tuned?

From Quiz Contrabass Conundrums

Answer: fourths

While all of the other string instruments (with the exception of harp, obviously) are tuned in fifths, the bass is tuned in fourths. For example, violin strings are tuned G-D-A-E, whereas bass is tuned E-A-D-G.

3. The women of which tribe play this single stringed instrument with a gourd base called the anzad?

From Quiz Uncommon Bowed String Instruments

Answer: Tuareg

The anzad is usually played at evening ceremonies called 'Takket' by elderly women. It is a monochord violin played in the Tuareg region. Its variations of name include 'Imzad', 'Mzad' and 'Amzad'.

4. How many different string instruments make up a string orchestra?

From Quiz How well do you know your Orchestral Strings?

Answer: four

They are the Violin, the Viola, the Cello, and the Bass. The Harp, as beautiful as it sounds, is rarely found in a typical orchestra. They can be found in at least some professional orchestra.

5. How many strings do the following instruments usually have: violin, viola, cello, bass?

From Quiz Strings and Things

Answer: 4

All of these have four strings but only the ones of viola and cello are tuned to the same pitches. The others are tuned higher (violin) or lower (bass).

6. Tempo: What term means very slow and broad?

From Quiz String Instrument Terminology

Answer: largo

Largo is usually used for songs with long notes like the half note, the whole note, and the quarter note.

7. A ukulele is an instrument similar to a guitar, but one key difference is in the number of strings. How many strings does a standard, Hawaiian ukulele have?

From Quiz Ukulele Mania

Answer: 4

All ukuleles have 2 strings less than a guitar, which has 6 strings. The notes of the strings of a ukulele are different depending on the type of ukulele you have; soprano, concert, and tenor ukuleles, which are the smallest styles, are tuned to G, C, E, and A. Baritone ukuleles are a little bit bigger and deeper, and are tuned to D, G, B, and E. Bass ukuleles are the deepest and largest, and are tuned to E, A, D, and G.

8. What is produced by lightly touching a string while playing?

From Quiz Instrument Families: The Wires

Answer: a harmonic

Harmonics are the higher notes (overtones) from a principal or fundamental pitch. They have a lighter and sometimes eerie quality to them. Two kinds can be produced: natural and artificial.

9. Bruce Hornsby and the Range hit number four on the United States Billboard Hot 100 in 1987 with which song featuring the mandolin?

From Quiz Swing to the Sounds of the Mandolin in Songs

Answer: Mandolin Rain

The 1987 song "Mandolin Rain" was the third song released from Bruce Hornsby and the Range's album "The Way It Is". The song was about a failed romance between two people who liked to listen to the rain together. David Mansfield played the mandolin on this song.

10. What is the device commonly used to lower the range of the bass to a low C called?

From Quiz Contrabass Conundrums

Answer: An extension

A low C extension is commonly added to the bass of professionals because a lot of orchestral pieces require a larger range than is offered by the standard four string bass. Less commonly used is the low B extension.

11. The baryton is a musical instrument rarely in use today because of the difficulty to play it. Which, you would assume, that it has a lot of strings. On a regular baryton, what is the maximum number of strings?

From Quiz Uncommon Bowed String Instruments

Answer: 31

The baryton has 6 or 7 bowed strings, and 9 to 24 plucked strings, but 12 plucked strings are most common. It was in full use until the 19th century started, when most people gave up thinking that it would be too hard to play. Joseph Haydn was known for composing baryton trios, along with a viola and a cello. He composed 126 of these pieces.

12. Which instrument has the lowest register?

From Quiz How well do you know your Orchestral Strings?

Answer: Bass

The Bass is usually played standing up, but sometimes the Bassist sits on a stool.

13. Who is most famously known for building string instruments (especially violins)?

From Quiz Strings and Things

Answer: Antonio Stradivari

There are still about 540 playable "Strads" left. Niccolò Amati (1596-1684) was Antonio Stradivari's (1644-1737) teacher. Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) was a violinist and composer. Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) was a conductor.

14. Bowings: What term for string instruments means light, bouncing strokes?

From Quiz String Instrument Terminology

Answer: spiccato

The difference between spiccato and staccato is that staccato is with a detached bow and spiccato is not.

15. The arpeggione is best described as a cross between which two instruments?

From Quiz The Arpeggione

Answer: guitar and cello

The arpeggione has six strings, tuned the same way as the guitar. It is the size and shape of a cello, and played with a bow by a cellist (or, rather, by an arpeggionist).

16. In which country, known for its Fado music, beautiful landscapes, and distinctive type of wine, did the instrument we call the ukulele first originate?

From Quiz Ukulele Mania

Answer: Portugal

The Portuguese brought it over to the Hawaiian islands in the late 1800s, shortly after the ukulele was developed in Portugal. Portuguese cabinet makers quickly made the instrument popular! King Kalākaua, the king of the Hawaiian islands from 1874 to 1891, promoted the instrument, as he was a patron of culture and arts for the islands. The ukulele is now practically synonymous with Hawaiian culture; strangely, it is not linked so much with Portugal.

17. What two orchestral string instruments have the same string names but in opposite order?

From Quiz Instrument Families: The Wires

Answer: violin and bass

The violin is tuned in fifths from lowest to highest, G-D-A-E; the bass, in fourths, is E-A-D-G.

18. What are the names of the two bow holds used by bassists?

From Quiz Contrabass Conundrums

Answer: French and German

The bass is the only string instrument with the option of two bow holds. The French bow hold is similar to the other string instruments; the player grips the bow in an overhanded way. The German bow hold is the remnant of how bass players held bows in the Baroque period; this bow hold grips the bow under the frog and from the side.

19. Which instrument has the highest register?

From Quiz How well do you know your Orchestral Strings?

Answer: Violin

Einstein played the violin.

20. What is the typical setup of a string quartet?

From Quiz Strings and Things

Answer: violin - violin - viola - cello

The usual form is a first violin, second violin, viola and cello. If composers want something else, it should be indicated.

21. Expressive Markings: What term is used to describe a excited part of the music?

From Quiz String Instrument Terminology

Answer: Agitato

Agitato is to show excitement in the piece of music.

22. Which group usually plays the melody?

From Quiz The String Orchestra

Answer: 1st violin

In the 16th century, both 1st and 2nd violin played the melody. It was considered to be a duet.

23. What pop star, known for her many hits including "I'm Like a Bird", used to play the ukulele?

From Quiz Ukulele Mania

Answer: Nelly Furtado

Nelly played the uke. Born in British Columbia, Canada, in 1978, she hit stardom as a singer/songwriter with her debut album "Whoa, Nelly!" in 2000. This album contained two of her hits, "I'm Like a Bird" and "Turn off the Light". Her third album, "Loose" (2006), was her biggest hit, containing such tracks as "Maneater" and "Say it Right". In a 2023 interview with Billboard, Furtado mentioned that she plays many instruments, but that the ukulele was her first. Her adoption of the ukulele might have something to do with the fact that both of her parents were from Portugal!

24. Peter Buck of R.E.M. played mandolin on the group's 1991 song that hit number four on the United States Billboard Hot 100. Which R.E.M. song was this?

From Quiz Swing to the Sounds of the Mandolin in Songs

Answer: Losing My Religion

The 1991 R.E.M. song "Losing My Religion" was composed around a mandolin riff written by band member Peter Buck while watching television. The song was nominated for seven Grammy Awards and the video for the song was nominated for nine MTV Video Music Awards. The song reached the top ten in nine countries.

25. How is the bass considered a transposing instrument?

From Quiz Contrabass Conundrums

Answer: Its notes sound an octave lower than written

The bass' notes sound an octave lower than written. So, if a note is the first ledger line above the bass clef staff - a middle C - the bass is actually playing the C an octave lower than middle C.

26. What type of wood are most Serbian gusles, a bowed instrument, made from?

From Quiz Uncommon Bowed String Instruments

Answer: Maple

The Serbian gusles that are made from maple wood and are usually different to other types of gusles because it may have two strings instead of one. It was very popular in the Balkans and in the Dinarides region in southern Europe. It has been said that the gusle was played in the court of King Stephen.

27. How many different string parts are there in a typical piece of orchestral music?

From Quiz How well do you know your Orchestral Strings?

Answer: five

Violins are usually split up into two sections: Violin I and Violin II.

28. Who is NOT a famous 20th century violinist?

From Quiz Strings and Things

Answer: Daniel Barenboim

Barenboim (1942-) is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. Menuhin (1916-1999)was an American violinist and conductor, celebrated also for his teaching methods. Kremer (1947-) is a Latvian violinist and conductor, mostly recorded by Deutsche Grammophon. Oistrakh (1908-1974) is a Jewish Soviet violinist who won the 1937 Queen Elizabeth competition. He's the father of violinist Igor Oistrakh (1931-).

29. Common Terms: What is the term for all together?

From Quiz String Instrument Terminology

Answer: tutti

Tutti is used when there is a solo in the piece. I shows the others who are not playing the solo where to pick up at again.

30. Which section is at the back of the orchestra?

From Quiz The String Orchestra

Answer: bass

All of the other sections sit around the conductor and go back from there. In some string orchestras, there is a harp. They sit in the back, behind the 1st and 2nd violins.

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Last Updated Oct 18 2025 5:49 AM
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