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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A period in history during the 18th and early 19th centuries where the focus shifted from the neoclassical style to an emotional - expressive - and imaginative style.






2. Pertaining to the sonata form - a fast movement in triple time.






3. One of the two modes of the tonal system. The minor mode can be identified by the dark - melancholic mood.






4. A short piece originally preceded by a more substantial work - also an orchestral introduction to opera - however not lengthy enough to be considered an overture.






5. A mild glissando between two notes for an expressive effect.






6. Music written for chorus and orchestra. Most often religious in nature.






7. A tempo having slow movement; restful at ease.






8. A composition whose style is simple and idyllic; suggestive of rural scenes.






9. Pertaining to the loudness or softness of a musical composition. Also the symbols in sheet music indicating volume.






10. Movement or passage that concludes the musical composition.






11. Short detached notes - as opposed to legato.






12. Refers to the tuning of an instrument.






13. A quick - improvisational - spirited piece of music.






14. Where the musical themes and melodies are developed - written in sonata form.






15. Quick repetition of the same note or the rapid alternation between two notes.






16. Dull - monotonous tone such as a humming or buzzing sound. Also a bass note held under a melody.






17. Curved line connecting notes to be sung or played as a phrase.






18. A successive transposition and repetition of a phrase at different pitches.






19. The tonal characteristics determined by the relationship of the notes to the tone.






20. Sliding between two notes.






21. The range of an instrumental or a vocal part.






22. The major and minor keys that share the same notes in that key.For example: A minor shares the same note as C major.






23. Tones used to embellish the principal melodic tone.






24. A dirge - hymn - or musical service for the repose of the dead.






25. A period in history dating from the 14th to 16th centuries. This period signified the rebirth of music - art - and literature.






26. An extended cantata on a sacred subject.






27. The interval between two notes. Three whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.






28. The playing or singing the upper half of the vocal range. Also the highest voice in choral singing.






29. The first section of a movement written in sonata form - introducing the melodies and themes.






30. Eight full tones above the key note where the scale begins and ends.






31. Successive notes of a key or mode either ascending or descending.






32. An important characteristic of the Romantic period. It is a style where the strict tempo is temporarily abandoned for a more emotional tone.






33. The manner in which tones are produced with regard to pitch.






34. A symbol in sheet music a direction to play energetically.






35. In sheet music - a symbol at the beginning of the staff defining the pitch of the notes found in that particular staff.






36. A direction to play expressively.






37. A chord comprised of three whole tones resulting in an augmented fourth or diminished fifth.






38. Unmusical - without tone.






39. Music written to be sung or played in unison.






40. An instruction in sheet music to play softly. Abbreviated by a 'p'.






41. A hymn sung by the choir and congregation often in unison.






42. Elaborate polyphonic composition of the Boroque and Renaissance periods.






43. Originally an improvised cadence by a soloist. Later it became a written out passage to display performance skills of an instrumentalist or performer.






44. A piece of music written for two vocalists or instrumentalists.






45. Includes all twelve notes of an octave.






46. Creating variation pitch in a note by quickly alternating between notes.






47. The first section of a movement written in sonata form - introducing the melodies and themes.






48. First developed in the 8th century - methods of writing music.






49. The first tone of a scale also known as a keynote.






50. A lighthearted piece - written in several movements - usually as background music for a social function.






Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?



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