Seven days of questions and answers

Music Trivia Answers Archive

Review earlier daily rounds, reveal the correct answer, and use the short explanation to learn the fact behind each question. Page 1 of 12 covers seven completed UTC days.

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Daily round

  1. What does syncopation create against a regular pulse?

    Answer: rhythmic tension

    It creates tension against the regular pulse.

  2. From which language does allegro come?

    Answer: Italian

    The tempo word allegro comes from Italian.

  3. Who coordinates an orchestra or choir through visible gestures?

    Answer: Conductor

    Conductor is the musician who coordinates an ensemble’s performance.

  4. Which bowed instrument is held upright between the knees?

    Answer: Cello

    Cello is the large bowed instrument held upright between the knees.

  5. What regular framework supports rhythmic patterns?

    Answer: a pulse or beat

    Rhythm operates within a pulse or beat.

Daily round

  1. Which hairpin shape can represent a diminuendo?

    Answer: a closing hairpin

    A closing hairpin represents a diminuendo.

  2. What does the sustain pedal do?

    Answer: lets notes continue sounding

    Its sustain pedal lets notes continue sounding.

  3. Which interval is the smallest standard step in the chromatic scale?

    Answer: Semitone

    Semitone is the smallest standard step in the Western chromatic scale.

  4. What is unaccompanied vocal music called?

    Answer: A cappella

    A cappella is the vocal performance without instrumental accompaniment.

  5. Which broad wooden piano part amplifies the strings’ vibrations?

    Answer: the soundboard

    The piano’s soundboard converts string vibrations into a much larger movement of air.

Daily round

  1. What do a conductor’s gestures communicate?

    Answer: beat and expression

    A conductor’s gestures communicate beat and expression.

  2. Which letter represents forte in a score?

    Answer: f

    The standard symbol for forte is f.

  3. Which note does the bass clef’s reference line represent?

    Answer: F below middle C

    That line represents F below middle C.

  4. What interval separates adjacent piano keys?

    Answer: a semitone

    Adjacent piano keys are a semitone apart.

  5. How does a melody unfold through time?

    Answer: one note after another

    A melody unfolds one note after another.

Daily round

  1. Which voice part sits immediately above bass?

    Answer: tenor

    It sits below tenor in a typical SATB choir.

  2. Which voice part sits immediately below soprano?

    Answer: alto

    It sits above alto in a typical SATB choir.

  3. Which dynamic marking means soft?

    Answer: Piano dynamic

    Piano dynamic is the instruction to play softly.

  4. What unit appears on a metronome setting?

    Answer: beats per minute

    Metronome speed is measured in beats per minute.

  5. Which marking is louder than forte?

    Answer: fortissimo

    Fortissimo is louder.

Daily round

  1. Which direction tells a musician to become gradually softer?

    Answer: Diminuendo

    Diminuendo is the instruction for a gradual decrease in volume.

  2. Which dynamic marking means loud?

    Answer: Forte

    Forte is the instruction to play loudly.

  3. How many strings does a cello normally have?

    Answer: four strings

    A cello normally has four strings.

  4. Which letter represents piano in a score?

    Answer: p

    The standard dynamic symbol for piano is p.

  5. Which musical element organizes sounds and silences over time?

    Answer: Rhythm

    Rhythm arranges durations, beats, accents, and rests through time.

Daily round

  1. Which woodwind instrument uses a double reed and often gives the orchestra’s tuning note?

    Answer: Oboe

    Oboe is the slender woodwind with a penetrating tone.

  2. Which tuning note does an orchestra often take from the oboe?

    Answer: A

    The orchestra often tunes to an oboe A.

  3. What two broad methods can perform a melody?

    Answer: singing or playing

    It may be sung or played.

  4. Which cylindrical woodwind uses a single reed against a mouthpiece?

    Answer: Clarinet

    Clarinet is the cylindrical woodwind with a flared bell.

  5. Which material normally forms a saxophone’s body?

    Answer: brass

    A saxophone is classed as a woodwind because of its reed, although its body is normally brass.

Daily round

  1. Which clef normally notates a modern soprano choral part?

    Answer: treble clef

    Modern soprano choral parts are normally written in treble clef.

  2. What does a performer do when arpeggiating a chord?

    Answer: plays its notes in sequence

    Arpeggiation presents a chord’s notes in sequence instead of attacking them simultaneously.

  3. Which interval joins pitches whose frequencies have a two-to-one relationship?

    Answer: Octave

    Octave is the interval between one pitch and another at double its frequency.

  4. At which interval does a clarinet naturally overblow?

    Answer: a twelfth

    Because of its cylindrical bore, a clarinet naturally overblows at the interval of a twelfth.

  5. Which voice part is lowest in a standard SATB choir?

    Answer: Bass voice

    Bass voice is the lowest standard choral voice part.