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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. Repetition of a single tone.






2. Refers to the tuning of an instrument.






3. The major and minor keys that share the same notes in that key.For example: A minor shares the same note as C major.






4. The first violin in an orchestra.






5. 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.






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






7. A sequence of chords that brings an end to a phrase - either in the middle or the end of a composition.






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






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






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






11. Music written for chorus and orchestra. Most often religious in nature.






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






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






14. A 17th century dance written in Quadruple time - always beginning on the third beat of the measure.






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






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






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






18. Harsh - discordant - and lack of harmony. Also a chord that sounds incomplete until it resolves itself on a harmonious chord.






19. Where the musical themes and melodies are developed - written in sonata form.






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






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






22. A composition written for nine instruments.






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






24. A contrapuntal song written for at least three voices - usually without accompaniment.






25. Closing section of a movement.






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






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






28. Slow and stately dance music written in triple time.






29. The voice between soprano and alto. Also - in sheet music - a direction for the tempo to be played at medium speed.






30. One of the two modes of the tonal system. Music written in major keys have a positive affirming character.






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






32. One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo - phrasing - dynamics - and style by gestures and facial expressions.






33. A drama where the words are sung instead of spoken.






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






35. A composition written for eight instruments.






36. The technique of altering the tone color of a single note or musical line by changing from one instrument to another in the middle of a note or line.






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






38. A string of chords played in succession.






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






40. Three note chords consisting of a root - third - and fifth.






41. One or more vocalists performing without an accompaniment.






42. Indicating speed.






43. One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo - phrasing - dynamics - and style by gestures and facial expressions.






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






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






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






47. Direction to performer to play a composition in a brisk - lively - and spirited manner.






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






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






50. The unit of measure where the beats on the lines of the staff are divided up into two - three - four beats to a measure.