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Test your basic knowledge |
Trivia: Musical Terms
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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 symbol in sheet music a direction to play energetically.
Chord
Energico
Scherzo
Quintet
2. A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.
Etude
Staccato
Musette
Libretto
3. Three note chords consisting of a root - third - and fifth.
Voice
Triad
Chant
Renaissance
4. Convenient method of numbering a composer's works where a number follows the word 'opus'.For example - Opus 28 - No. 4.
Whole-tone scale
Recitative
Opus
Romantic
5. A mild glissando between two notes for an expressive effect.
Refrain
Drone
Portamento
Symphony
6. Refers to the tuning of an instrument.
Orchestra
Temperament
Twelve-tone music
Glissando
7. The major and minor keys that share the same notes in that key.For example: A minor shares the same note as C major.
Modulation
Ensemble
Choir
Relative major and minor
8. Movement in music where the characteristics are crisp and direct.
Octet
Fourth
Neoclassical
Glissando
9. In sheet music - an instruction to repeat the beginning of the piece before stopping on the final chord.
Waltz
Parody
Da Capo
Chorale
10. A musical scale having five notes.For example: the five black keys of a keyboard make up a pentatonic scale.
Musicology
Orchestra
Pentatonic Scale
Natural
11. One of the two modes of the tonal system. The minor mode can be identified by the dark - melancholic mood.
Minor
Instrumentation
Rigaudon
Whole note
12. 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.
Staff
Tempo
Notation
Scordatura
13. 3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in harmony.
Movement
Duet
Chord
Allegro
14. Groups of tones that are harmonious when sounded together as in a chord.
Development
Waltz
Monotone
Consonance
15. 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.
Gregorian Chant
March
Romantic
Root
16. A string of chords played in succession.
Development
Unison
Chord progression
Cadenza
17. 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.
Sharp
Root
Renaissance
Prelude
18. A composition whose style is simple and idyllic; suggestive of rural scenes.
Whole-tone scale
Chorale
Measure
Pastoral
19. A direction in sheet music indicating the tempo is to be very fast.
Classical
Stretto
Canon
Presto
20. 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.
Recapitulation
Opus
Classicism
Gavotte
21. A symbol indicating to play loud.
Modulation
Tonal
Chorus
Forte
22. Group of singers in a chorus.
Whole-tone scale
Motif
Whole note
Choir
23. Elaborate polyphonic composition of the Boroque and Renaissance periods.
Key signature
Courante
Ricercar
Symphony
24. A composition based on previous work. A common technique used in Medieval and Renaissance music.
Parody
Fifth
Partita
Glissando
25. The playing or singing the upper half of the vocal range. Also the highest voice in choral singing.
Quadrille
Galliard
Treble
Stretto
26. A musical scale having five notes.For example: the five black keys of a keyboard make up a pentatonic scale.
Contralto
Tonality
Pentatonic Scale
Clavier
27. A melodic or - sometimes a harmonic idea presented in a musical form.
Tremolo
Choir
Pizzicato
Theme
28. A short light musical drama.
Chorale
Chromatic scale
Beat
Operetta
29. A system of notation for stringed instruments. The notes are indicated by the finger positions.
Tablature
Sonata form
Interlude
Prelude
30. Introduction to an opera or other large musical work.
Triad
Overture
Polyphony
Chorale
31. A line in a contrapuntal work performed by an individual voice or instrument.
Part
Nocturne
Twelve-tone music
Stretto
32. To shift to another key.
Quartet
Modulation
Cadenza
Castrato
33. Music written for chorus and orchestra. Most often religious in nature.
Cantata
Fermata
Grave
Stretto
34. An extended solo - often accompanying the vocal part of an aria.
Key
Finale
Obbligato
Maestro
35. Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played very slow and serious.
Partial
Octet
Grave
Clavier
36. The interval between two notes. Three whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.
Leitmotif
Progression
Fifth
Elegy
37. A set of six musicians who perform a composition written for six parts.
Gregorian Chant
Grazioso
Sextet
Classical
38. A piece of music written for two vocalists or instrumentalists.
Ligature
Key
Duet
Rhythm
39. Tones used to embellish the principal melodic tone.
Modes
Ornaments
Time Signature
Cantabile
40. The seventh note of the scale where there is a strong desire to resolve on the tonic.
Duet
Intermezzo
Concert master
Leading note
41. To hold a tone or rest held beyond the written value at the discretion of the performer.
Orchestration
Fermata
Impromptu
Opus
42. A melodic or - sometimes a harmonic idea presented in a musical form.
Orchestra
Grave
Theme
Tritone
43. Time signature with three beats to the measure.
Octave
Reed
Polyphony
Triple time
44. Music written for a lively French dance for two performers written in triple time.
Galliard
Major
Opera
Da Capo
45. An important characteristic of the Romantic period. It is a style where the strict tempo is temporarily abandoned for a more emotional tone.
Rubato
Minuet
Glissando
Form
46. A group singing in unison.
Chorus
Fugue
Song cycle
Sequence
47. One or more vocalists performing without an accompaniment.
Choir
Theme
A cappella
Minor
48. 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.
Pitch
Finale
Presto
Sonata
49. Harsh - discordant - and lack of harmony. Also a chord that sounds incomplete until it resolves itself on a harmonious chord.
Presto
Dissonance
Triad
Courante
50. 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.
Round
Stretto
Conductor
Orchestra