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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 2 of 12 covers seven completed UTC days.

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Daily round

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

    Answer: Soprano

    Soprano is the highest standard choral voice part.

  2. Which related word also means gradually softer?

    Answer: decrescendo

    Decrescendo is a closely related term.

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

    Answer: in chapel style

    The Italian phrase a cappella literally means in chapel style.

  4. 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.

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

    Answer: Piano

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

Daily round

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

    Answer: the second staff line

    The treble clef curls around the second staff line.

  2. 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.

  3. What kind of beaters do timpani players use?

    Answer: specialized mallets

    Players use specialized mallets.

  4. Which marking is louder than forte?

    Answer: fortissimo

    Fortissimo is louder.

  5. Which marking is softer than piano?

    Answer: pianissimo

    Pianissimo is softer.

Daily round

  1. What vocal technique can supply percussion?

    Answer: beatboxing

    Beatboxing may provide vocal percussion.

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

    Answer: Violin

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

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

    Answer: wood

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

  4. How are its bars arranged?

    Answer: like a keyboard

    Xylophone bars are arranged like a keyboard.

  5. How many keys does a standard modern piano have?

    Answer: 88

    A standard modern piano has 88 keys.

Daily round

  1. What forms the two vibrating blades of an oboe reed?

    Answer: two bound pieces of cane

    Two bound pieces of cane form an oboe reed.

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

    Answer: A

    The orchestra often tunes to an oboe A.

  3. What does a crescendo require without fixing a final volume?

    Answer: an increase from the current dynamic

    A crescendo requires the sound to grow from its current level; it does not prescribe one fixed endpoint.

  4. What alternate name does the treble clef take from its reference note?

    Answer: G clef

    The treble clef is also called the G clef because its curl identifies the staff’s G line.

  5. What harmonic role does bass often provide?

    Answer: the harmonic foundation

    The bass voice often supports the harmonic foundation.

Daily round

  1. How many strings does a cello normally have?

    Answer: four strings

    A cello normally has four strings.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. What opening does the player blow across?

    Answer: an embouchure hole

    A flutist blows across an embouchure hole.

  5. 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.

Daily round

  1. Which dynamic marking means loud?

    Answer: Forte

    Forte is the instruction to play loudly.

  2. Which side-blown woodwind makes sound as air crosses an embouchure hole?

    Answer: Flute

    Flute is the side-blown instrument whose modern orchestral form is usually metal.

  3. What do musicians call notes sounded together as a harmonic unit?

    Answer: Chord

    Chord is the group of notes sounded as a harmonic unit.

  4. Which tempo marking generally asks for a slow pace?

    Answer: Adagio

    Adagio is the marking generally calling for a slow pace.

  5. Which hairpin shape can represent a crescendo?

    Answer: an opening hairpin

    An opening hairpin represents a crescendo.

Daily round

  1. From which language does allegro come?

    Answer: Italian

    The tempo word allegro comes from Italian.

  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 musical element organizes sounds and silences over time?

    Answer: Rhythm

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

  4. What is standard guitar tuning from lowest to highest?

    Answer: E, A, D, G, B, E

    Standard tuning begins E, A, D, G, B, E.

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

    Answer: Crescendo

    Crescendo is the instruction for a gradual increase in volume.