Instrument Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. Which orchestral woodwind normally produces sound with a double reed?
Saxophone
Clarinet
Oboe
Flute
2. A modern concert flute is usually made of metal. Why is it still classified as a woodwind instrument?
It developed from the same instrument as the modern violin.
It uses wooden pads beneath its keys.
Its lowest notes imitate the tone of wooden instruments.
Its sound begins when air is directed across an opening rather than through buzzing lips.
3. On a trumpet, what usually happens when a valve routes the air through additional tubing?
The note continues without the player’s airflow.
The instrument changes into a non-transposing instrument.
The sounding pitch becomes lower.
The instrument begins using a reed.
4. From lowest to highest, what is the standard tuning of a violin’s four open strings?
G–D–A–E
E–A–D–G
C–G–D–A
A–D–G–C
5. Which percussion instrument can be tuned to specific pitches by adjusting the tension of its drumhead?
Snare drum
Crash cymbal
Bass drum
Timpani
6. A performer needs a keyboard instrument that can sustain a note continuously while a key is held and air remains available. Which instrument best fits?
Pipe organ
Acoustic piano
Celesta
Harpsichord
7. A B-flat clarinet plays a written C. Which concert pitch is heard?
A
C
B-flat
D
8. What is the main acoustic effect of pressing a guitar string down behind a fret?
It increases the thickness of the string.
It shortens the vibrating length of the string.
It makes the guitar body larger.
It causes a second string to vibrate instead.
9. An orchestral player attaches a single reed to a mouthpiece and plays an instrument with a mainly cylindrical bore. Which instrument is it?
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
Clarinet
10. A seated cellist extends a metal support from the bottom of the instrument to the floor. What is this support called?
Tailpiece
Endpin
Bridge
Scroll
11. While tuning a string instrument, a note sounds slightly flat. Which adjustment would normally sharpen it to the target pitch?
Reduce the string tension.
Increase the string tension.
Use a softer bow stroke.
Move the instrument farther from the listener.
12. What creates the initial vibration when a trumpet player produces a normal note?
A reed vibrating against the mouthpiece
A hammer striking the brass tubing
The player’s lips buzzing into the mouthpiece
Air passing across an open embouchure hole
13. A composer wants a bowed orchestral string instrument with a register generally below the cello. Which should be selected?
Double bass
Violin
Viola
Mandolin
14. When a key is pressed on an acoustic piano, what normally produces the note?
Air is pushed through a tuned pipe.
A plectrum continuously plucks a string.
A metal reed vibrates inside a chamber.
A felt-covered hammer strikes a string.
15. A percussionist needs an instrument with wooden bars, graduated resonator tubes, and a characteristically deep, warm sound. Which is the best choice?
Marimba
Glockenspiel
Vibraphone
Tubular bells
16. What is the primary purpose of placing a mute in or over the bell of a trumpet?
To raise every note by exactly one octave
To alter the tone color and often reduce the sound level
To replace the need for tuning the instrument
To add extra notes below the instrument’s normal range