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Quiz about Your Knowledge is Instrumental
Quiz about Your Knowledge is Instrumental

Your Knowledge is Instrumental Quiz


Remember that time you walked through that store filled with musical instruments and said you could identify each one by name? Well, you've just been hired there. Hope you can remember the items for sale!

A photo quiz by kyleisalive. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
kyleisalive
Time
5 mins
Type
Photo Quiz
Quiz #
350,537
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
5121
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 72 (2/10), Guest 82 (9/10), Pradamom (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. A man who looks suspiciously like Christopher Walken enters the store and asks you for this percussion instrument with a farm-themed name. What instrument are you required to find? Hint


photo quiz
Question 2 of 10
2. An Italian woman walks into the store looking for a stringed instrument but she can't remember the name. She knows she doesn't want a lyre or a lute; she wants the item in the picture and she wants it to be tuned like a violin. What is it? Hint


photo quiz
Question 3 of 10
3. "Here's an obscure one," the next customer says as he walks up to you. "I need the instrument in this picture."
"The bassoon?" you ask.
"No-- the other one. The one on the right."

He's referring to which second instrument, normally an octave lower than its standard version?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 4 of 10
4. There's a lull in customers so you browse around the store for your own sake until you come across this instrument, an electrical device which makes sci-fi-esque noises and which was created in Russia. What is its name? Hint


photo quiz
Question 5 of 10
5. "For the last time," an irate customer says to you, "I'm not looking for a trumpet. I'm looking for this." He takes out a picture of the brass device he's looking for.
You look at the additional bends in the instrument and deduce that if it's not a trumpet, it's which of these?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 6 of 10
6. "Hey! Kids! Get off of that-- it's not a toy!" You're not too thrilled that these kids have been left without supervision in the percussion department.
"We'll stop playing this," they say, "if you can name it."

Stinkin' kids. They think they've got you now. Luckily, you know that this isn't a xylophone. It's actually which of these?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 7 of 10
7. "I want a piano I can play with my mouth."
Your next customer doesn't mince words. You opt to show him the device pictured which doesn't have the hammers and strings of a regular piano. Instead, it's played much like a woodwind. What is the one-word name of this instrument?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 8 of 10
8. "I'm looking for something obnoxiously festive." This customer is decked out in World Cup gear but it's nowhere near the time for that event. There's really only one option-- this plastic horn. Popularized during the FIFA World Cup in 2010 (in South Africa), what is this instrument? Hint


photo quiz
Question 9 of 10
9. The next customer is looking at the woodwinds with a clueless look on his face. You ask what he's looking for.
"A good potato."

They must be referring to the potato version of this instrument known by what name?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 10 of 10
10. Just as you're about to close for the day you receive a customer with a difficult request.
"I'm looking for the instrument in this picture. I haven't seen one since my trip to Indonesia...four years ago. Do you have one?"

You do. It's in the back. What's the name on its box?
Hint


photo quiz

Most Recent Scores
Oct 05 2024 : Guest 72: 2/10
Sep 03 2024 : Guest 82: 9/10
Sep 02 2024 : Pradamom: 9/10
Sep 01 2024 : krajack99: 10/10
Sep 01 2024 : redwaldo: 8/10
Sep 01 2024 : Soxy71: 9/10
Sep 01 2024 : Croatian51: 4/10
Sep 01 2024 : Gumby1967: 10/10
Sep 01 2024 : Buddy1: 10/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. A man who looks suspiciously like Christopher Walken enters the store and asks you for this percussion instrument with a farm-themed name. What instrument are you required to find?

Answer: Cowbell

Cowbells are so named because they're virtually identical to the types of bells fastened around the neck of a cow in order to locate it in a field. While those types of cowbells are shaken by the cow, the musical instrument version is hit with a drumstick or baton as a member of the percussion family. Frequently used in rock music and in certain (yet differing) regional styles (eg. Alpine and Latin). Occasionally they can be seen attached to drum sets. Cowbell rose in notoriety after a famous sketch on "Saturday Night Live" in which Christopher Walken, that episode's host, asked Will Ferrell for "more cowbell".

The sketch aired in 2000.
2. An Italian woman walks into the store looking for a stringed instrument but she can't remember the name. She knows she doesn't want a lyre or a lute; she wants the item in the picture and she wants it to be tuned like a violin. What is it?

Answer: Mandolin

The mandolin is a small, stringed instrument played like a ukulele in the sense that both are held in the same position as a guitar and strummed. The mandolin differs, however, since it is tuned like a violin and often contains more strings. The ukulele, meanwhile, is tuned almost like a guitar (though there are several variations).

The ukulele is best-known for being popularized in Hawaii-- not Italy. The mandolin has made its way into different regions of the world, however. While the dulcian and the zither are Italian instruments, neither are similar to the mandolin.

The former is a woodwind and the latter, while a stringed instrument, is built on a horizontal sounding box.
3. "Here's an obscure one," the next customer says as he walks up to you. "I need the instrument in this picture." "The bassoon?" you ask. "No-- the other one. The one on the right." He's referring to which second instrument, normally an octave lower than its standard version?

Answer: Contrabassoon

The contrabassoon is also known as a bass or double bassoon and, because it's so large it needs to perch on the floor. This instrument is extremely low for a woodwind and is rarely found in concert/orchestral settings because the deep, resonant noises it creates are often better performed by a tuba or another low brass instrument. Nevertheless, the contrabassoon holds a special slot in the woodwind collection...right at the bottom of the range. This is a double reed instrument.
The other instrument depicted is a regular bassoon.
4. There's a lull in customers so you browse around the store for your own sake until you come across this instrument, an electrical device which makes sci-fi-esque noises and which was created in Russia. What is its name?

Answer: Theremin

While this creation sounds a lot like a singing saw in some regards (you know...that eerie singing saw) it's actually much different when it creates sound. Signals move off the antennas so that the player doesn't actually touch the device in order to play it.

The result is an electronic response generated by the feedback you input controlling volume on one side and frequency on the other. The theremin has been used in countless science fiction soundtracks, mostly due to its otherworldliness-- you'd be hard-pressed to find a conventional instrument to make this sound.

It's also known as an etherphone, almost as though the sound comes straight from the ether.
5. "For the last time," an irate customer says to you, "I'm not looking for a trumpet. I'm looking for this." He takes out a picture of the brass device he's looking for. You look at the additional bends in the instrument and deduce that if it's not a trumpet, it's which of these?

Answer: Cornet

What's the difference between a trumpet and a cornet, one may ask. You don't need to because now you remember that a cornet has more bends in its brass piping than a typical trumpet. In addition, the cornet features a broader cone while the trumpet is longer in its cylinder. Because of their construction, the cornet is a softer instrument than a trumpet. In some cases, the cornet can also have its bends oriented to make it look similar to the rounder French Horn, another well-known brass instrument.
Louis Armstrong played the cornet, perhaps even more than the trumpet.
6. "Hey! Kids! Get off of that-- it's not a toy!" You're not too thrilled that these kids have been left without supervision in the percussion department. "We'll stop playing this," they say, "if you can name it." Stinkin' kids. They think they've got you now. Luckily, you know that this isn't a xylophone. It's actually which of these?

Answer: Glockenspiel

You remember playing this thing back in grade school-- as an alternative to the xylophone, of course. The glockenspiel has its origins in Europe and differs from the xylophone because its tuned slats are made of metal, not wood. While these instruments can be configured to play with a set of keys, they're mostly seen with padded mallets.
In some countries, larger-scale percussion instruments known as carillons are also types of glockenspiels through they're made with large bells, not metal slats. They function in the same way though-- you hit them; they make noise.
7. "I want a piano I can play with my mouth." Your next customer doesn't mince words. You opt to show him the device pictured which doesn't have the hammers and strings of a regular piano. Instead, it's played much like a woodwind. What is the one-word name of this instrument?

Answer: Melodica

All of the other answers are of the hammer and string/plucking string variety; the melodica is the only one on the list that you'd find in someone's mouth. To play this unique device, you blow into the hole at the top and control the pitch by playing the keys, much like a piano. In fact, some people use air hoses attached to the reed device to play the instrument like they would a piano...only blowing into it.
The instrument is also the only one of the four to be portable. Long gone are the days of lugging your piano from gig to gig.
8. "I'm looking for something obnoxiously festive." This customer is decked out in World Cup gear but it's nowhere near the time for that event. There's really only one option-- this plastic horn. Popularized during the FIFA World Cup in 2010 (in South Africa), what is this instrument?

Answer: Vuvuzela

The vuvuzela is simple in its construction. A horn designed to be loud and made to be heard, it was mass produced in 2010 during and following the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The instrument was originally modeled on the traditional Iepatata Mambu. While most vuvuzela players only make a single note (which is close, but just off from middle C) in a resounding, obnoxious burst of air, some more skilled players can manipulate the device to their liking. Due to its volume it's been banned in many different venues, not only for its distractions but for the noise pollution it creates in greater numbers.
9. The next customer is looking at the woodwinds with a clueless look on his face. You ask what he's looking for. "A good potato." They must be referring to the potato version of this instrument known by what name?

Answer: Ocarina

The ocarina is a simple woodwind creation which can come in many shapes and sizes. Perhaps the most popular is the potato ocarina though they can be created in several versions, each with different amounts of holes in different spots on the body of the instrument.

This device is so old that it's hard to pinpoint which culture it originally came from. The potato/sweet potato version of the ocarina is also known as a 'transverse'. The xun, while similar, is not referred to as a potato in any sense-- it more resembles an egg. The ocarina became popular in a contemporary sense thanks to the "Legend of Zelda" video game series-- if you're a Nintendo fan, you know the impact of a single ocarina.
10. Just as you're about to close for the day you receive a customer with a difficult request. "I'm looking for the instrument in this picture. I haven't seen one since my trip to Indonesia...four years ago. Do you have one?" You do. It's in the back. What's the name on its box?

Answer: Gamelan

While all of the others are percussion instruments from around the world (as timbales are from Cuba, the cabasa is from Latin America, and the shekere is from Africa), only the gamelan is from Indonesia.
The gamelan is unique in that it's actually a set of instruments all created together. While the percussion component, specifically the metallophones, are the most recognizable and unique, the gamelan can also include woodwinds, drums, and singers. Its popularity is mostly restricted to Southeast Asia-- you'd be unlikely to find a gamelan elsewhere (though they do exist)!
Source: Author kyleisalive

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