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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. How does notation show different durations?

    Answer: different note values

    Notation shows duration with different note values.

  2. Which voice part sits immediately above bass?

    Answer: tenor

    It sits below tenor in a typical SATB choir.

  3. What naming feature do octave-separated pitches share?

    Answer: the same note name

    The pitches share the same note name.

  4. What material is named by the Greek root xylon in xylophone?

    Answer: wood

    The name xylophone combines Greek roots referring to wood and sound.

  5. Which orchestral bowed instrument is smaller than a viola?

    Answer: Violin

    Violin is the smallest standard member of the orchestral bowed-string family.

Daily round

  1. Which orchestral drums have bowl-shaped bodies and adjustable pitch?

    Answer: Timpani

    Timpani is the large bowl-shaped drums with adjustable pitch.

  2. How many cents make one equal-tempered semitone?

    Answer: 100 cents

    Pitch measurement divides an equal-tempered semitone into 100 cents.

  3. What happens to a metronome’s click spacing when its BPM setting increases?

    Answer: the clicks move closer together

    A higher beats-per-minute setting places the metronome’s clicks closer together in time.

  4. Where does syncopation often place emphasis?

    Answer: weak beats or offbeats

    Syncopation often stresses weak beats or offbeats.

  5. What rhythmic technique accents normally weak beats or offbeats?

    Answer: Syncopation

    Syncopation is the accenting notes where emphasis is not normally expected.

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 marking is softer than piano?

    Answer: pianissimo

    Pianissimo is softer.

  3. Where does a violinist normally support the instrument while playing?

    Answer: between the chin and shoulder

    A violin normally rests between the player’s chin and shoulder.

  4. Which hairpin shape can represent a crescendo?

    Answer: an opening hairpin

    An opening hairpin represents a crescendo.

  5. 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.

Daily round

  1. What two broad methods can perform a melody?

    Answer: singing or playing

    It may be sung or played.

  2. What abbreviation commonly stands for crescendo?

    Answer: cresc.

    Its abbreviation is often cresc..

  3. 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.

  4. By what interval does one fret normally change a guitar string’s pitch?

    Answer: one semitone

    Adjacent frets on a standard guitar normally divide the octave into semitone steps.

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

    Answer: Soprano

    Soprano is the highest standard choral voice part.

Daily round

  1. How many valves does a common modern trumpet have?

    Answer: three valves

    A common modern trumpet has three valves.

  2. Which pitched percussion instrument has tuned wooden bars?

    Answer: Xylophone

    Xylophone is the instrument with tuned wooden bars.

  3. Which clef normally appears in xylophone music?

    Answer: treble clef

    Its written music commonly uses treble clef.

  4. Does allegro prescribe one universal metronome number?

    Answer: No; style and context shape its actual speed

    Allegro signals a generally quick, lively tempo, but period, style, and context determine its practical speed.

  5. Which clef is normally used for lower-pitched staff notation?

    Answer: Bass clef

    Bass clef is the clef commonly used for lower-pitched notation.

Daily round

  1. From which language does adagio come?

    Answer: the Italian language

    The tempo word adagio comes from Italian.

  2. What is an organized line of pitches heard as a tune?

    Answer: Melody

    Melody is the organized succession of pitches heard as a tune.

  3. What regular framework supports rhythmic patterns?

    Answer: a pulse or beat

    Rhythm operates within a pulse or beat.

  4. Which tempo marking generally asks for a fast, lively pace?

    Answer: Allegro

    Allegro is the marking generally calling for a fast, lively pace.

  5. Which two chord qualities are especially common?

    Answer: major and minor

    Major and minor are common qualities.

Daily round

  1. Which keyboard instrument sounds strings with felt-covered hammers?

    Answer: Piano

    Piano is the keyboard instrument whose strings are struck by felt-covered hammers.

  2. What mechanism commonly adjusts a timpano’s head tension?

    Answer: a pedal

    A pedal commonly adjusts timpani head tension.

  3. Which clef normally notates a modern bass choral part?

    Answer: bass clef

    Modern bass choral parts are normally written in bass clef.

  4. Which clef is normally used for higher-pitched staff notation?

    Answer: Treble clef

    Treble clef is the clef commonly used for higher-pitched notation.

  5. What does melody organize in music?

    Answer: A sequence of pitched notes

    A melody is a perceivable sequence of pitched notes heard as a musical line.