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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. The principal note of a triad.






2. Piece of instrumental music played between scenes in a play or opera.






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






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






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






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






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






8. Two notes that differ in name only. The notes occupy the same position.For example: C sharp and D flat.






9. Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played smoothly.






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






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






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






13. Male singers who were castrated to preserve their alto and soprano vocal range.






14. Creating variation pitch in a note by quickly alternating between notes.






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






16. Elaborate polyphonic composition of the Boroque and Renaissance periods.






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






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






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






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






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






22. A song or hymn celebrating Christmas.






23. A group singing in unison.






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






25. Music written to be sung or played in unison.






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






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






28. A direction to play lively and fast.






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






30. A loose collection of instrumental compositions.






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






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






33. Eight full tones above the key note where the scale begins and ends.






34. Piece of instrumental music played between scenes in a play or opera.






35. 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.






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






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






38. A repeating phrase that is played at the end of each verse in the song.






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






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






41. A separate section of a larger composition.






42. When several strings are tuned to harmonically related pitches - all strings vibrate when only one of the strings is struck.






43. A group singing in unison.






44. Singing in unison - texts in a free rhythm. Similar to the rhythm of speech.






45. Sliding between two notes.






46. A harmonic given off by a note when it is played.






47. A large group of instrumentalists playing together.






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






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






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