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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. An instrumental lament with praise for the dead.






2. A chord progression that seems to lead to resolving itself on the final chord; but does not.






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






4. The highest female voice.






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






6. A numeric symbol in sheet music determining the number of beats to a measure.






7. A song of praise and glorification. Most often to honor God.






8. Sliding between two notes.






9. Music of a particular form consisting of four movements. Each of the movements differ in tempo - rhythm - and melody; but are held together by subject and style.






10. A melodic or - sometimes a harmonic idea presented in a musical form.






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






12. The highest female voice.






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






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






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






16. Convenient method of numbering a composer's works where a number follows the word 'opus'.For example - Opus 28 - No. 4.






17. The opening section of a piece of music or movement.






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






19. Atonal and violent style used as a means of evoking heightened emotions and states of mind.






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






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






22. Ability to determine the pitch of a note as it relates to the notes that precede and follow it.






23. A portion of the range of the instrument or voice.






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






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






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






27. A string of chords played in succession.






28. One of two or more parts in polyphonic music. Voice refers to instrumental parts as well as the singing voice.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






37. Ability to determine the pitch of a note as it relates to the notes that precede and follow it.






38. A direction to play expressively.






39. Passage for the entire ensemble or orchestra without a soloist.






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






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






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






43. A chord progression that seems to lead to resolving itself on the final chord; but does not.






44. Tones used to embellish the principal melodic tone.






45. A symbol indicating that the note is to be diminished by one semitone.






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






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






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






49. The performance of either all instruments of an orchestra or voices in a chorus.






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