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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 tempo having slow movement; restful at ease.






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






3. The element of music pertaining to time - played as a grouping of notes into accented and unaccented beats.






4. A combination of two or more staves on which all the notes are vertically aligned and performed simultaneously in differing registers and instruments.






5. A form of writing for vocals that is close to the manner of speech and is rhythmically free.






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






7. The study of forms - history - science - and methods of music.






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






9. Pertains to tone or tones.






10. A line in a contrapuntal work performed by an individual voice or instrument.






11. A Boroque dance with a drone-bass.






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






13. Three notes played in the same amount of time as one or two beats.






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






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






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






17. A composition written for eight instruments.






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






19. A direction to play lively and fast.






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






21. The flats and sharps at the beginning of each staff line indicating the key of music the piece is to be played.






22. A rhythmic succession of musical tones - a melody for instruments and voices.






23. A reprise.






24. A style of singing which is characterized by the easy and flowing tone of the composition.






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






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






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






28. Rapid alternation between notes that are a half tone or whole tone apart.






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






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






31. An extended cantata on a sacred subject.






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






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






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






35. Unmusical - without tone.






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






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






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






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






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






41. Indicating speed.






42. A dance written in triple time - where the accent falls on the first beat of each measure.






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






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






45. Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played very slow and serious.






46. A composition based on previous work. A common technique used in Medieval and Renaissance music.






47. String instruments that are picked instead of bowed.






48. A person with notable technical skill in the performance of music.






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






50. 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.