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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 12 of 12 covers seven completed UTC days.

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Daily round

  1. Which letter represents forte in a score?

    Answer: f

    The standard symbol for forte is f.

  2. 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.

  3. What other woodwind does its mouthpiece resemble?

    Answer: a clarinet-like mouthpiece

    A saxophone uses a clarinet-like mouthpiece.

  4. 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.

  5. How are its bars arranged?

    Answer: like a keyboard

    Xylophone bars are arranged like a keyboard.

Daily round

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

    Answer: Semitone

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

  2. Which two saxophone sizes are especially common?

    Answer: alto and tenor

    Alto and tenor are common sizes.

  3. How many semitones make a whole tone?

    Answer: two

    A whole tone contains two semitones.

  4. Which main flute section contains the embouchure hole?

    Answer: the headjoint

    The embouchure hole is cut into the flute’s headjoint.

  5. How many strings does a cello normally have?

    Answer: four strings

    A cello normally has four strings.

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 clef is normally used for lower-pitched staff notation?

    Answer: Bass clef

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

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. Which hairpin shape can represent a diminuendo?

    Answer: a closing hairpin

    A closing hairpin represents a diminuendo.

Daily round

  1. What does the Italian phrase a cappella literally mean?

    Answer: in chapel style

    The Italian phrase a cappella literally means in chapel style.

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

    Answer: bass clef

    Modern bass choral parts are normally written in bass clef.

  3. Which staff line sits between the bass clef’s two dots?

    Answer: the fourth staff line

    The bass clef dots surround the fourth staff line.

  4. 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.

  5. Around which staff line does the treble clef curl?

    Answer: the second staff line

    The treble clef curls around the second staff line.

Daily round

  1. What alternate name does the bass clef take from its reference note?

    Answer: F clef

    The bass clef is also called the F clef because its dots surround the staff’s F line.

  2. Which action can create syncopation without adding a new note attack?

    Answer: tying a note across a beat boundary

    Tying a note across a beat boundary can shift emphasis away from the expected strong beat and create syncopation.

  3. Which dynamic marking means soft?

    Answer: Piano dynamic

    Piano dynamic is the instruction to play softly.

  4. How many equal-tempered semitones make an octave?

    Answer: twelve

    An octave contains twelve semitone steps in twelve-tone equal temperament.

  5. What does a diminuendo require without fixing a final volume?

    Answer: a decrease from the current dynamic

    A diminuendo requires the sound to diminish from its current level; it need not end in silence.

Daily round

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

    Answer: Allegro

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

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

    Answer: Timpani

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

  3. Where does syncopation often place emphasis?

    Answer: weak beats or offbeats

    Syncopation often stresses weak beats or offbeats.

  4. How does notation show different durations?

    Answer: different note values

    Notation shows duration with different note values.

  5. Which adjustable cello part supports the instrument on the floor?

    Answer: the endpin

    A cello’s adjustable endpin carries the instrument’s weight on the floor.

Daily round

  1. What is the violin’s usual tuning from lowest to highest?

    Answer: G, D, A, and E

    Its strings are commonly tuned G, D, A, and E.

  2. What kind of beaters do timpani players use?

    Answer: specialized mallets

    Players use specialized mallets.

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

    Answer: treble clef

    Modern soprano choral parts are normally written in treble clef.

  4. What regular framework supports rhythmic patterns?

    Answer: a pulse or beat

    Rhythm operates within a pulse or beat.

  5. Which direction tells a musician to become gradually louder?

    Answer: Crescendo

    Crescendo is the instruction for a gradual increase in volume.