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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 short or brief sonata.






2. Music that is easy to listen to and understand.






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






4. Music written for a lively French dance for two performers written in triple time.






5. A canon where the melody is sung in two or more voices. After the first voice begins - the next voice starts singing after a couple of measures are played in the preceding voice. All parts repeat continuously.






6. Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played gracefully.






7. The period of music history which dates from the mid 1800's and lasted about sixty years. There was a strong regard for order and balance.






8. A set of six musicians who perform a composition written for six parts.






9. The seventh note of the scale where there is a strong desire to resolve on the tonic.






10. 3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in harmony.






11. A musical theme given to a particular idea or main character of an opera.






12. Pertaining to the fugue - the overlapping of the same theme or motif by two or more voices a few beats apart.






13. Two notes that differ in name only. The notes occupy the same position.For example: C sharp and D flat.






14. The retuning of a stringed instrument in order to play notes below the ordinary range of the instrument or to produce an usual tone color.






15. A symbol indicating to play loud.






16. Primary theme or subject that is developed.






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






18. A direction to play expressively.






19. In sheet music - an instruction to repeat the beginning of the piece before stopping on the final chord.






20. Either of the two octave arrangements in modern music. The modes are either major or minor.






21. A musical style characterized as excessive - ornamental - and trivial.






22. The principal note of a triad.






23. Pertaining to the fugue - the overlapping of the same theme or motif by two or more voices a few beats apart.






24. Initially an improvised cadence by a soloist; later becoming an elaborate and written out passage in an aria or concerto - featuring the skills of an instrumentalist or vocalist.






25. A musical composition that has a romantic or dreamy character with nocturnal associations.






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






27. The piece of cane in wind instruments. The players cause vibrations by blowing through it in order to produce sound.






28. Three note chords consisting of a root - third - and fifth.






29. A system of notation for stringed instruments. The notes are indicated by the finger positions.






30. Singing or chanting in unison without strict rhythm. Collected during the Reign of Pope Gregory VIII for psalms and other other parts of the church service.






31. A short piano piece - often improvisational and intimate in character.






32. The expression the performer brings when playing his instrument.






33. The frequency of a note determining how high or low it sounds.






34. System of notes or tones based on and named after the key note.






35. One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo - phrasing - dynamics - and style by gestures and facial expressions.






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






37. 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.






38. A system of notation for stringed instruments. The notes are indicated by the finger positions.






39. Lowest female singing voice.






40. Includes all twelve notes of an octave.






41. A form of music written for marching in two-step time. Originally the march was used for military processions.






42. A reprise.






43. The raising and lowering a pitch of an instrument to produce the correct tone of a note.






44. A repeating phrase that is played at the end of each verse in the song.






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






46. The technique of altering the tone color of a single note or musical line by changing from one instrument to another in the middle of a note or line.






47. A set of five musicians who perform a composition written for five parts.






48. Arrangement of music for a combined number of instruments.






49. Movement in music where the characteristics are crisp and direct.






50. A musical form where the melody or tune is imitated by individual parts at regular intervals. The individual parts may enter at different measures and pitches. The tune may also be played at different speeds - backwards - or inverted.