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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. To hold a tone or rest held beyond the written value at the discretion of the performer.






2. An instrumental lament with praise for the dead.






3. Introduction to an opera or other large musical work.






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






5. A separate section of a larger composition.






6. A musical scale having five notes.For example: the five black keys of a keyboard make up a pentatonic scale.






7. Unmusical - without tone.






8. A large group of instrumentalists playing together.






9. Refers to the tuning of an instrument.






10. A short light musical drama.






11. String instruments that are picked instead of bowed.






12. A set of four musicians who perform a composition written for four parts.






13. Three to four movement orchestral piece - generally in sonata form.






14. When several strings are tuned to harmonically related pitches - all strings vibrate when only one of the strings is struck.






15. Pertains to tone or tones.






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






17. Time in music history ranging from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th centuries. Characterized by emotional - flowery music; written in strict form.






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






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






20. Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played smoothly.






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






22. A single line of music played or sung. A musical sentence.






23. An extended solo - often accompanying the vocal part of an aria.






24. Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.






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






26. A composition written for three to six voices. Beginning with the exposition - each voice enters at different times - creating counterpoint with one another.






27. A musical form where the principal theme is repeated several times. The rondo was often used for the final movements of classical sonata form works.






28. Made up of five horizontal parallel lines and the spaces between them on which musical notation is written.






29. Sliding between two notes.






30. A composition written for a solo instrument. The soloist plays the melody while the orchestra plays the accompaniment.






31. Pleasing combination of two or three tones played together in the background while a melody is being played. Harmony also refers to the study of chord progressions.






32. A symbol in sheet music that returns a note to its original pitch after it has been augmented or diminished.






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






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






35. Often used in overtures - a composition that uses passages from other movements of the composition in its entirety.






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






37. 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.






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






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






40. A 19th century square dance written for 4 couples.






41. A short and simple melody performed by a soloist that is part of a larger piece.






42. Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played grandly.






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






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






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






46. Arranging a piece of music for an orchestra. Also - the study of music.






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






48. A book of text containing the words of an opera.






49. A composition written for eight instruments.






50. A set of seven musicians who perform a composition written for seven parts.