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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 8 of 12 covers seven completed UTC days.

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Daily round

  1. What skill does metronome practice develop?

    Answer: steady timing

    Musicians use it to develop steady timing.

  2. Which hairpin shape can represent a diminuendo?

    Answer: a closing hairpin

    A closing hairpin represents a diminuendo.

  3. Which practice device produces evenly spaced beats?

    Answer: Metronome

    Metronome is the device that produces evenly spaced beats.

  4. From which language does allegro come?

    Answer: Italian

    The tempo word allegro comes from Italian.

  5. What opening does the player blow across?

    Answer: an embouchure hole

    A flutist blows across an embouchure hole.

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. Which clef normally notates a modern soprano choral part?

    Answer: treble clef

    Modern soprano choral parts are normally written in treble clef.

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

    Answer: Syncopation

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

  4. What other woodwind does its mouthpiece resemble?

    Answer: a clarinet-like mouthpiece

    A saxophone uses a clarinet-like mouthpiece.

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

    Answer: 88

    A standard modern piano has 88 keys.

Daily round

  1. What produces all harmony in a cappella performance?

    Answer: voices

    Voices produce all of the harmony in a cappella music.

  2. Does forte prescribe one exact sound-pressure level?

    Answer: No; it is relative to the instrument and context

    Forte is a relative dynamic instruction, so its actual loudness depends on the instrument, ensemble, and passage.

  3. 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.

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

    Answer: Semitone

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

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

    Answer: Bass voice

    Bass voice is the lowest standard choral voice part.

  2. 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.

  3. Which marking is louder than forte?

    Answer: fortissimo

    Fortissimo is louder.

  4. How many semitones make a whole tone?

    Answer: two

    A whole tone contains two semitones.

  5. Which voice part sits immediately above bass?

    Answer: tenor

    It sits below tenor in a typical SATB choir.

Daily round

  1. Which instrument family was patented by Adolphe Sax?

    Answer: Saxophone

    Saxophone is the conical instrument patented by Adolphe Sax.

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

    Answer: Piano

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

  3. How many strings does a cello normally have?

    Answer: four strings

    A cello normally has four strings.

  4. Which clef normally appears in xylophone music?

    Answer: treble clef

    Its written music commonly uses treble clef.

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

    Answer: Conductor

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

Daily round

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

    Answer: Chord

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

  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 is unaccompanied vocal music called?

    Answer: A cappella

    A cappella is the vocal performance without instrumental accompaniment.

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

    Answer: 100 cents

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

  5. How many different pitch classes form a basic triad?

    Answer: three

    A basic triad contains three different pitch classes.

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. 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 bowed instrument is held upright between the knees?

    Answer: Cello

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

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

    Answer: a pedal

    A pedal commonly adjusts timpani head tension.

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

    Answer: F below middle C

    That line represents F below middle C.