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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 3 of 12 covers seven completed UTC days.

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Daily round

  1. Which voice part sits immediately below soprano?

    Answer: alto

    It sits above alto in a typical SATB choir.

  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. How are its bars arranged?

    Answer: like a keyboard

    Xylophone bars are arranged like a keyboard.

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

    Answer: 88

    A standard modern piano has 88 keys.

  5. Which voice part sits immediately above bass?

    Answer: tenor

    It sits below tenor in a typical SATB choir.

Daily round

  1. Which clef normally appears in trumpet parts?

    Answer: treble clef

    It usually reads music in treble clef.

  2. What abbreviation commonly stands for crescendo?

    Answer: cresc.

    Its abbreviation is often cresc..

  3. From which language does allegro come?

    Answer: Italian

    The tempo word allegro comes from Italian.

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

    Answer: the fourth staff line

    The bass clef dots surround the fourth staff line.

Daily round

  1. Which metal traditionally forms an orchestral timpano’s bowl?

    Answer: copper

    Orchestral timpani traditionally use bowl-shaped copper kettles.

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

    Answer: Diminuendo

    Diminuendo is the instruction for a gradual decrease in volume.

  3. Which two chord qualities are especially common?

    Answer: major and minor

    Major and minor are common qualities.

  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. What does the sustain pedal do?

    Answer: lets notes continue sounding

    Its sustain pedal lets notes continue sounding.

Daily round

  1. How does adagio’s typical tempo compare with allegro?

    Answer: slower

    It is slower than allegro in ordinary usage.

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

    Answer: Bass voice

    Bass voice is the lowest standard choral voice part.

  3. 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.

  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. 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.

Daily round

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

    Answer: Melody

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

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

    Answer: the second staff line

    The treble clef curls around the second staff line.

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

    Answer: twelve

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

  4. What two broad methods can perform a melody?

    Answer: singing or playing

    It may be sung or played.

  5. Which marking is louder than forte?

    Answer: fortissimo

    Fortissimo is louder.

Daily round

  1. Does an orchestral flute use a reed?

    Answer: No

    An orchestral flute makes sound when air crosses its embouchure hole, without a reed.

  2. Which instrument family was patented by Adolphe Sax?

    Answer: Saxophone

    Saxophone is the conical instrument patented by Adolphe Sax.

  3. How does a cello’s usual register compare with a viola’s?

    Answer: below a viola

    Its pitch range lies below the viola.

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

    Answer: Soprano

    Soprano is the highest standard choral voice part.

  5. Which clef normally appears in xylophone music?

    Answer: treble clef

    Its written music commonly uses treble clef.

Daily round

  1. 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.

  2. What skill does metronome practice develop?

    Answer: steady timing

    Musicians use it to develop steady timing.

  3. 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.

  4. What organizes durations, rests, and accents in music?

    Answer: Rhythm

    Rhythm is the organization of note lengths, rests, and accents.

  5. What do a trumpet’s valves change when pressed?

    Answer: the effective length of its tubing

    Pressing trumpet valves reroutes air through extra tubing and changes the instrument’s sounding pitch.