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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 musical scale having five notes.For example: the five black keys of a keyboard make up a pentatonic scale.






3. A direction to play lively and fast.






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






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






6. Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.






7. Made up of five horizontal parallel lines and the spaces between them on which musical notation is written.






8. A group of 4 instruments - two violins - a viola - and cello.






9. String instruments that are picked instead of bowed.






10. A mild glissando between two notes for an expressive effect.






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






12. The first section of a movement written in sonata form - introducing the melodies and themes.






13. Time signature with three beats to the measure.






14. 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.






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






16. A repeated phrase.






17. Time signature with three beats to the measure.






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






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






20. A symbol in sheet music a direction to play energetically.






21. A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.






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






23. Movement or passage that concludes the musical composition.






24. 3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in harmony.






25. Includes all twelve notes of an octave.






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






27. A piece of music written in triple time. Also an old French dance.






28. A large group of instrumentalists playing together.






29. 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.






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






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






32. The expression the performer brings when playing his instrument.






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






34. Movement in music where the characteristics are crisp and direct.






35. The movement of chords in succession.






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






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






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






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






40. One or more vocalists performing without an accompaniment.






41. The keyboard of a stringed instrument.






42. 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.






43. A string of chords played in succession.






44. Groups of tones that are harmonious when sounded together as in a chord.






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






46. A quick - improvisational - spirited piece of music.






47. Two or three melodic lines played at the same time.






48. Repetition of a single tone.






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






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







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