Test your basic knowledge |

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. Repetition of a single tone.






2. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






8. Vocal composition written for three or more solo parts - usually without instrumental accompaniment.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






16. A complex piece of music. Usually the first movement of the piece serving as the exposition - a development - or recapitulation.






17. A hymn sung by the choir and congregation often in unison.






18. A reprise.






19. Pertains to tone or tones.






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






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






22. A form of Italian opera beginning at the end of the 19th century. The setting is contemporary to the composer's own time - and the characters are modeled after every day life.






23. A direction in sheet music indicating the tempo is to be very fast.






24. 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.






25. 3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in harmony.






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






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






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






29. Combining a number of individual but harmonizing melodies. Also known as counterpoint.






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






31. A symbol indicating the note is to be raised by one semitone.






32. A composition written for nine instruments.






33. A repeated phrase.






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






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






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






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






38. A whole note is equal to 2 half notes - 4 quarter notes - 8 eighth notes - etc.






39. Unmusical - without tone.






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






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






42. A loose collection of instrumental compositions.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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