Shared quiz
Instruments and the Sounds They Make
Ten questions about how instruments actually produce a note, and where the familiar ones came from.
- Questions
- 10
- Time to play
- about 6 min
- Category
- Music
- Language
- English
- music
- instruments
- sound
- classroom
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The questions
Correct answers are shown below, so you can check the quiz before you use it.
What raises the pitch of a guitar string?
- Tightening itcorrect
- Loosening it
- Using a thicker string
- Letting more of it vibrate
Why
A tighter string vibrates faster, and a higher frequency sounds as a higher note. Shortening the string with a finger does the same.
20 seconds to answer
A piano is a percussion instrument as well as a string instrument.
- Truecorrect
- False
Why
A piano makes its sound with strings, but the strings are struck by felt hammers. So it is often classed both as a string and as a percussion instrument.
15 seconds to answer
How many strings does a standard violin have?
Accepted answers
4 · four
Why
A violin has four strings, tuned G, D, A and E from lowest to highest.
30 seconds to answer
Order these singing voices from highest to lowest.
Correct order
- Soprano
- Alto
- Tenor
- Bass
Why
Soprano is the highest usual singing voice, then alto, then tenor, with bass the lowest.
45 seconds to answer
What is a conductor actually controlling?
- Tempo and dynamics, keeping the players togethercorrect
- The tuning of each section
- Which instruments carry the melody
- The volume in the hall
Why
A conductor sets and holds the tempo, shapes the loudness, cues entries and keeps a large group together. They also decide how the piece is interpreted.
20 seconds to answer
A trombone changes pitch using valves.
- True
- Falsecorrect
Why
A standard trombone changes pitch with a slide that lengthens or shortens the tube. Valve trombones exist, but they are the exception.
15 seconds to answer
Which instrument would you learn if you could start tomorrow?
Poll — no right answer, players just vote.
- Piano
- Guitar
- Drums
- Violin
20 seconds to answer
Why does a larger drum sound lower than a small one?
- A bigger membrane vibrates more slowlycorrect
- Thicker skin absorbs the high notes
- More air inside muffles the sound
- It is always tuned looser
Why
A larger drumhead has more mass to move and vibrates more slowly, and a lower frequency sounds as a lower note. Tension matters too: a tighter head sounds higher.
20 seconds to answer
Which Italian word on a score marks a passage to be played quietly?
Accepted answers
piano
Why
Piano means "softly" in Italian and is written p on a score; forte means loudly. The instrument's full name, pianoforte, means soft-loud.
30 seconds to answer
A saxophone is made of brass. Why is it counted as a woodwind?
- It makes its sound with a reedcorrect
- It was originally carved from wood
- Its fingering matches the flute
- It only ever plays in the woodwind section
Why
Instrument families are defined by how the sound is made, not by the material. A saxophone uses a single reed, like a clarinet, so it is a woodwind, even though its body is brass.
20 seconds to answer