Music Theory Trivia

1. Presto, largo, allegro - these terms, amongst many others, relate to what property of music?

From Quiz Coming to Terms with Music

Answer: Tempo

Tempo is the Italian word for time and, in the context of music, determines the speed at which a piece is performed. Many different tempi exist to suit the type of music being played. Andante, for instance, is roughly the same speed as if you were walking, whereas something like allegro is indicative of a livelier, more upbeat piece. Take a listen to something like Handel's "Water Music" (Suite No. 1 in F Major) and hear the difference between the andante and allegro movements.

From Quiz Simple Music Theory

Answer: Soft

When Bartolomeo Cristofori built his first instrument in 1700, he named it 'un cimbalo di cipresso di piano e forte' which is quite a mouthful. The literal translation was 'a keyboard of cypress with soft and loud', which was shortened to 'pianoforte', or 'soft-loud'.

From Quiz Make it Music

Answer: Seven

A diatonic, or heptatonic, scale starts and finishes on notes with the same name, the higher one having twice the frequency of the lower one. The notes in any scale follow a specific pattern, depending both on the starting note and on the type of scale used. The C Major scale, for example, uses the notes C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. Pentatonic scales, with five notes, are based on five notes spaced in frequency like the black keys on a piano. Chromatic scales, which use all the white and black keys on a piano, have twelve notes. A scale with 20 notes per octave would need to use frequency intervals that are not used in Western instruments.

From Quiz "All About That Bass"

Answer: F, C, G

The key of A major consists of the notes A, B, C# (sharp), D, E, F#, G#, and A. Its relative minor is F# minor.

From Quiz M.U.S.I.C. Theory

Answer: Third

The third note of the scale is called the "mediant". It is halfway between the tonic and the dominant, and the second note of an arpeggio. In C major, the tonic is "C". "D" (second note) is the supertonic. "E" is the mediant. "F" is the subdominant. "G" is the dominant. "A" is the submediant. "B" is the leading note.

From Quiz I Hear You're Trying to Write Music

Answer: E

There is a little way of remembering where the notes on the Treble Clef staff are. The notes on the lines go EGBDF reading up. And the notes in the spaces spell FACE reading up.

From Quiz Music Technicalities

Answer: Staff notation

The staff is the set of horizontal lines (5) on which those "dots with sticks" are printed. Standardization of staves at five lines began in the 16th century.

From Quiz Form in Music Theory

Answer: Two

As implied by its name, the binary form consists of two main parts, often called reprises.

From Quiz The Language of Keys

Answer: F minor

French and Italian key nomenclatures both rely on a fixed-do system, where C is do or ut, D is ré or re, E is mi, etc. Fa is F, a fourth away from Do (C). Mineur is French for minor.

From Quiz Basic Music Theory

Answer: Subdominant

The fourth scale degree is called the subdominant, from Latin "sub" meaning under, and the dominant, the fifth note of the scale. It is called the subdominant as it is the dominant five degrees under the tonic. The submediant is the 6th note of the scale, and the supertonic is the 2nd.

From Quiz Music Theory-First Grade!

Answer: slowly

When the term 'adagio' is seen you must play slower so every beat can be heard.

From Quiz Musical Theory - Do You Have The Knowledge?

Answer: Five

The notes which are on the staves from bottom to top are E, G, B, D, F. Notes can be either on the line of the stave or in the space on a stave.

From Quiz Mixed Music Theory

Answer: A staff or stave

A staff is made up of five horizontal lines and four horizontal spaces.

From Quiz Music Theory

Answer: sharp

Every note on the piano keyboard has two or more letter names, including double sharps and double flats.

From Quiz Fun with Musical Terms

Answer: at a walking pace, moderately paced

The music term "andante" is used when you are play a jolly song where the tempo is not too fast or not too slow.

From Quiz Music Nomenclature

Answer: little by little

This term is often used when a composer wishes to dictate a gradual dynamic increase or decrease. For example: poco a poco crescendo - increase volume little by litte -or- poco a poco accelerando - little by little increase speed.

From Quiz Music Theory For Beginners

Answer: The G Clef

It is named this because of where the treble clef is located in position to the staff. I learned that on Blue's Big Musical!

From Quiz Name That Interval!

Answer: Major Third

Usually associated with any major mode (obviously), the major third is an interval of 2 whole steps.

From Quiz Musicianship Grades 1 and 2

Answer: Smooth and well connected

Legato in music is often shown as a slur which is placed above or below the noteheads depending which way it is pointing to.

From Quiz Major Scales in Music!

Answer: C# or Cb scales

An F major scale has 1 flat (Bb), a G major scale has 1 sharp (F#), and a Bb major scale has 2 flats (Bb and Eb).

From Quiz Musical Terms

Answer: Cadence

There are four main types of cadences: Plagal, Interrupted, Perfect and Imperfect.

From Quiz A Musical Alphabet

Answer: Andante

Andante comes from the Italian word meaning "going". Adagio is slower than andante, and allegro is faster.

From Quiz Basic Music

Answer: 13 & thirteen

There are 8 notes in an octave (not chromatically), C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C- or do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, and do.

From Quiz Music Theory for Dummies

Answer: hemiola

Handel is noted for using the hemiola throughout his music.

From Quiz Music Vocabulary

Answer: Tempo

Different tempos are andante (walking tempo), largo (slow), and allegro (lively).

From Quiz 1st Semester Freshman Music Theory Final

Answer: Augmented 6th

Since C up to A is a Major 6th, adding an A# makes the interval one half step larger and it becomes an Augmented 6th.

From Quiz Not Another Music Theory Quiz

Answer: G-B-D or G-B-D-F

Ah yes, the infamous Cadential 6-4. Why do we call it the cadential 6-4? Because it is most often found in Cadences. Therefore, you would expect the second inversion tonic triad to be followed by a dominant of some sort.

From Quiz Music Theory for Beginners

Answer: How many beats per measure

The top number of a time signature is easy to remember for all my students. But getting them to count it out is the hard part!

From Quiz Music Theory for the true Music Theorist

Answer: 659 CPS

The pitch E2 is a perfect fifth above A1. The CPS of 659 may be found by multiplying 440 by 2^(7/12).

From Quiz Easy Vocal Music

Answer: Soprano

Gotta' love those high notes! Sarah Brightman from the original cast of "Phantom of the Opera" is a dynamic soprano singer. Her range is phenomenal!

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