Ultimate Music Terms Quiz

Given by the definition, name all the musical terms!

Some of these come from the "Musical Direction Words Quiz" by Quizmaster.

These are US terms rather than UK terms, but I still try to be lenient with type-ins.

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Last updated: January 4, 2019

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First submitted	November 2, 2018
Times taken	175
Average score	47.3%
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Definition

Term

Very slow

Largo

Slow and stately

Adagio

At a walking pace

Andante

Moderately

Moderato

Fast, quick, and bright

Allegro

Very fast

Presto

Speeding up

Accelerando

Slowing down

Ritardando

Continuous slide upward or downward between two notes (especially harp)

Glissando

Play with the mute (string instruments)

Con Sord

A quavering or vibratory sound, especially a rapid alternation of sung or played notes

Trill

Play only on the G string

Sul G

Very soft

Pianissimo

Soft

Piano

Somewhat soft

Mezzo Piano

Somewhat loud

Mezzo Forte

Loud

Forte

Very loud

Fortissimo

Getting louder

Crescendo

Getting softer

Diminuendo

Sweetly

Dolce

Bowing term played louder or more forcefully than the surrounding music

Marcato

Dot that indicates notes should be detached

Staccato

Notes should be smooth and connected

Legato

For strings, plucked rather than bowed

Pizzicato

To be played with the bow, usually after plucking

Arco

Birdseye that means a note should be held

Fermata

Chord played in series like a harp

Arpeggio

Played by just one person

Solo

Played by all together

Tutti

Played with the wood of the bow

Col Legno

Two players reading the same musical staff to divide into two or more voice parts

Divisi

Two notes played on two different strings at the same time

Double Stop

Words sang by a vocalist.

Lyrics

A beat in music held for four beats

Whole Note

A beat in music held for two beats

Half Note

A beat in music held for one beat

Quarter Note

A beat in music held for 1/8 beat

Eighth Note

A beat in music held for 1/16 beat

Sixteenth Note

A period of silence between notes

Rest

To perform two different notes in one bowing (legato)

Slur

Two notes of the same pitch connected by a curve indicating that they are to be played for the combined duration of their time values

Tie

A term marked by two lines and two dots implicating that you have to play the given measure again

Repeat

Any of the sections, typically of equal time value, into which a musical composition is divided, shown on a score by vertical lines across the staff; bar

Measure

A set of five parallel lines and the spaces between them, on which notes are written to indicate their pitch

Staff

Any of several symbols placed at the left-hand end of a staff, indicating the pitch of the notes written on it

Clef

The clef that violins play

Treble

The clef that violas play

Alto

The clef that cellos and basses play

Bass

A singing range between baritone and alto

Tenor

A singing range between tenor and bass

Baritone

A time signature indicating 2 or 4 half-note beats in a bar; alla breve

Cut Time

Two numbers divided by a bar after a clef noting what rhythm the piece is played in

Time Signature

Sharps or flats on a staff indicating what key the piece should be played in

Key Signature

An extra note added as an embellishment and not essential to the harmony or melody

Grace Note

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3 Comments

Level 99

Nov 2, 2018

Nice quiz! You might make it clear in the instructions that these are US rather than UK terms (we usually talk about semibreves, minims, crotchets etc. rather than whole, half, quarter notes). Also there's a typo: it is Col legno (col, rather than con - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col_legno)

Level 61

Nov 3, 2018

Thank you! Will fix =)

Level 66

Nov 25, 2021

I never do well with terms involving string instruments even though my son plays the cello! And I am a piano teacher.

A couple of corrections- 8th notes receive 1/2 beat, not 1/8th. 16th notes receive 1/4 beat (in common time). The reason they are called by those fractions is because it takes 8 8th notes to equal a whole note, and 16 16th notes to equal a whole note. All of the divisions (half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth) are named by their relation to a whole note.

Grateful to find your quizzes. Thanks.