Thematic Musical Instruments Trivia

1. The word "piano", that English speakers call the musical instrument, is actually shortened from the Italian word for the instrument, which is what?

From Quiz Piano Man

Answer: Pianoforte

The full Italian name for a piano is actually "clavicembalo col piano e forte" which means a harpsicord capable of playing both loud and soft, so "pianoforte" means "softloud".

From Quiz Brassed Off

Answer: Turkey

Tuba is a common girls' name in Turkey and means 'blessedness'. Following the 1998 victory of Israel's Dana International, Eurovision's first transgender winner, the 1999 contest was hosted in Jerusalem. Turkey's entry was 'Dön Artık' ('Come Back Now') by Tuba (also spelled Tuğba) Önal and Grup Mistik, but it sadly only came 16th. Önal released her only album, 'Onun Adı Aşk' ('Its Name is Love'), the same year. After Eurovision, she did film and voice acting work.

From Quiz What's That Instrument?

Answer: Clarinet

Squidward from "Spongebob Squarepants" thinks he can play the clarinet, but no one likes his playing. You may hear the clarinet in swing and jazz or on "Arthur" when Binky plays.

From Quiz With A Banjo On My Knee

Answer: Four or five

Banjos usually have four or five strings. Six string banjos are tuned and played similar to guitars. Banjos with seven strings and up to ten strings have been developed. Banjos come in a variety of forms!

From Quiz The 'Horn' Quiz

Answer: Drake Passage

The Drake Passage is the waterway located between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. The passage is named in honor of Sir Francis Drake who led an expedition in 1578 that discovered that the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans connected south of South America.

From Quiz Different Drums

Answer: Henry David Thoreau

Often paraphrased as "marching to the beat of a different drummer", the admonition comes from the concluding paragraphs of Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" (1854). Ralph Waldo Emerson roundly criticized Thoreau's writings and philosophy, fearing it would lead to social disorder, though he deeply admired Thoreau's ability to write. Robert Frost, Maya Angelou and Elizabeth Alexander are all poets who have written for United States presidential inaugurations.

From Quiz Piano Man

Answer: Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart preferred his own personal piano and brought it with him wherever he performed. His last piano is on display in the Mozarteum in Salzburg and is much smaller and lighter than a typical piano to making moving easier. Mozart Moving is a common name for companies who move pianos and other large musical instruments.

From Quiz Brassed Off

Answer: Swan

The trumpeter swan is North America's largest and heaviest waterfowl species, and the most common species of swan there. Unlike the mute swan, the trumpeter has an entirely black beak. It gets its name from its honking cry. Although populations in the wild had dropped to below 70 in 1933, a population of trumpeters was found around the Copper River in Alaska in the 1950s, and reintroduction and breeding programmes have helped to increase wild populations greatly. There is a large population around the Great Lakes, although they are forced to compete for territory with mute swans. In winter, they have migrated as far south as North Carolina.

From Quiz One to Beat the Band

Answer: "The bandwidths around my cat's paws are white."

In signal processing, bandwidth refers to the measure of width between a range of frequencies, calculated in hertz. In computing, the word is used to refer to the rate of transfer of data. Sometime around the early 1990s, it began appearing to describe people's lack of ability to process information. An early documented use is from Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who would reportedly say "he doesn't have the bandwidth for that" to indicate the employee is not mentally capable of grasping a concept. Currently, it is used as a measure of time or mental space, such as bandwidth is required to complete tasks.

From Quiz What's That Instrument?

Answer: Piano

The title character from "Arthur" is Arthur Read. He plays an instrument often heard in classical music.

From Quiz With A Banjo On My Knee

Answer: Andrew Barton

He was the eldest of seven children born to Andrew Bogle Paterson and his wife Rose. The pen-name "The Banjo" was taken from the name of a station racehorse owned by his family.

From Quiz The 'Horn' Quiz

Answer: Cornucopia & a cornucopia & the cornucopia

The cornucopia is often associated with the holiday of Thanksgiving in North America and it is typically depicted as a horn-shaped basket filled with fruits and vegetables. In Greek mythology, Zeus accidentally broke off the horn of the goat Almathea. Legend has it that whoever was in possession of this horn would have all of their wishes granted to them.

From Quiz Different Drums

Answer: espontoon

The drum major of the "Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps" is the only member of the corps who wears the light-infantry cap and carries an espontoon instead of a traditional mace. With the movement of his espontoon, the drum major issues silent commands to the Corps. The espontoon is about six feet long, made of wood, with a double-edged blade at one end, and an iron tip at the other. During the Revolutionary War the espontoon was carried by infantry officers as a symbol of rank and as a signaling device for directing troop movements. For Lewis and Clark it also served as a walking cane. Lewis killed a rattlesnake with his (May 26, 1805), and Clark killed a wolf (May 29, 1805). A musket is a shoulder gun carried by infantry soldiers; a baton is a slender rod which a band or orchestra leader uses to direct his musicians: a truncheon is a shattered spear.

From Quiz Piano Man

Answer: Big Boo's Haunt

Big Boo's Haunt takes place in the manor and grounds of a haunted house. Boos, ghost-like creatures, are the main enemy but one of the most famous enemies here is the Mad Piano. The Mad Piano is a haunted piano with sharp teeth that will attack Mario and do serious damage. It guards a red coin.

From Quiz Brassed Off

Answer: Zinc

Brass has been used since prehistoric times. The proportions of copper and zinc vary, and can create different hardnesses, colours and so on, but copper usually predominates. It is used to make wind instruments because it has high corrosion resistance (handy when spit gets into them), is malleable and easy to shape, and amplifies sound well. Brass is also used to make doorknobs, locks, hinges and plugs, due to its low friction, and in the past, it was used to make statues in Europe and Africa, coins in the Roman Empire and objects such as fonts and candlesticks in the Low Countries. It also has antimicrobial properties.

From Quiz One to Beat the Band

Answer: A silicone device placed around top of stomach to treat obesity

The more formal term for lap band is laparoscopic adjustable gastric band. By the end of the 1970s, surgeons were working on a way to treat obesity by putting a band around the entry area of the stomach. By the mid-1980s, the procedure had been fine-tuned and included an adjustable band that creates a reservoir at the top of the stomach that holds approximately half a cup of food; typically a whole stomach can hold six cups of food. When the reservoir is full, the stomach sends the message to the brain that the stomach is full and the person is supposed to feel sated.

From Quiz What's That Instrument?

Answer: Accordion

Steve Urkel was a nerdy character on the 1990s sitcom "Family Matters". At times, he would pop in and play the accordion while wearing German clothing. Polka is most associated with Germany, but variations exist across Europe. The accordion is also the main instrument in the Italian dance called the tarantella.

From Quiz With A Banjo On My Knee

Answer: Alabama

"Oh! Susanna" written by Stephen Foster, sold over 100,000 copies. Before that, no song had sold more than 5,000 copies in America.

From Quiz Different Drums

Answer: Tabor

A tabor was a small drum held close to the body with a strap or thong either around the waist or the arm. This allowed the player to simultaneously play the drum and a pipe. The pipe had a ridge along its bottom to assist in support while the player struck the tabor. The player was able to accompany himself, making the tabor and pipe an ideal combination for producing music for dance. A "rebec' was (generally) a three-stringed instrument resembling a fiddle; a "dulcian" was the forerunner of the modern bassoon; a "dulcimer" was a stringed trapezoidal lap instrument played by hitting hammers on the strings.

From Quiz Piano Man

Answer: All in the Family

"All in the Family" has the theme song "Those Were the Days" sung by Archie and Edith Bunker (Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton). The song features the couple reminiscing about past years when they were younger. The show debuted in 1971 and ended in 1979.

From Quiz Brassed Off

Answer: 76

'The Music Man' is a musical about Harold Hill, a conman who travels to a midwestern town in Iowa on the pretext of starting a boys' marching band and selling uniforms and instruments, before skipping town with the money. However, he falls in love with Marian Paroo, the town's librarian, and ends up leading a band for real. 'Seventy-Six Trombones' is Hill's pitch for the marching band, in which he claims to have seen a parade with an exaggerated number of instruments, and even fifty-odd cannons! Several real-life marching bands have added it to their repertoire and in Mason City, Iowa, writer Meredith Willson's home town, one room in the Music Man Square building has 76 donated trombones hanging from the ceiling. 'Family Guy' fans might remember Peter Griffin celebrating a touchdown by getting cheerleaders, players and referees to join in with a rendition of 'Shipoopi', another song from the musical, in 'Patriot Games'.

From Quiz What's That Instrument?

Answer: Guitar

Many rock icons play the guitar, including Eric Clapton, Elvis Presley, and George Harrison. Variations include the acoustic and electric guitars.

From Quiz With A Banjo On My Knee

Answer: Barbara Stanwyck

During a career spanning 59 years, Barbara Stanwyck made 93 movies and made many television appearances.

From Quiz Different Drums

Answer: Carol of the Drum

The words of "The Little Drummer Boy" were written by Katherine Davis in 1941. Following the original recording by the Jack Halloran Singers, musical producer Harry Simeone recorded a second version in 1958 under the 20th Century Fox label. The recording became such a success that Simeone wanted another carol written in a similar vein - a carol describing a young child's remembrance of the original Christmas. In 1962 he recorded "Do You Hear What I Hear, the carol of a shepherd boy's experiences of the first Christmas.

From Quiz Piano Man

Answer: Wladyslaw Szpilman

Władysław Szpilman was a real-life Polish-Jewish pianist and survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto and the Holocaust. Adrien Brody portrayed Szpilman in the film "The Pianist" for which he earned a Best Actor Academy Award. The film is based on Szpilman's memoir "The Pianist" which covered his life during World War II.

From Quiz Brassed Off

Answer: Melanie Sykes

Melanie Sykes got her big break when she appeared in adverts for Boddington's Bitter, a Manchester-based bitter. She started out as a reporter on 'The Big Breakfast', an early morning light entertainment show, before moving on to presenting 'I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!', and 'Today with Des and Mel' with Des O'Connor. As a child, she played the baritone horn in a brass band along with her parents and sisters; she demonstrated her baritone skills as a guest on 'TFI Friday'. She still plays occasionally, according to an interview with Brass Bands England, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, while in lockdown, she started practising the baritone again. (Davina McCall mimes playing a tuba in McFly's 'It's All About You', but that's as far as it goes.)

From Quiz One to Beat the Band

Answer: Acnestis band

A jug band generally includes traditional instruments as well as homemade ones, with at least one jug player. It's a cheap and portable instrument that creates a hoarse sound that complements the higher pitched instruments like the fiddle or a kazoo. Marching bands have been around since ancient times; you're most likely to catch one at college sporting events. Tribute bands are those who specialize in playing the songs of another specific band; they started appearing when the Beatles became popular. I made up the term Acnestis band. Acnestis is a word used to describe an area of your body that you cannot reach yourself, like a spot between your shoulder blades. May not apply to people who are double-jointed.

From Quiz What's That Instrument?

Answer: India

The sitar is plucked similar to a guitar and can have many as 20 strings. Songs from the Beatles and Rolling Stones feature the instrument. Two of the most famous sitar players include Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anoushka.

From Quiz With A Banjo On My Knee

Answer: Billy Connolly

Billy Connolly bought his first banjo at the Barrowland market in Glasgow.

From Quiz The 'Horn' Quiz

Answer: The Horn of Gondor

The Horn of Gondor was created by Vorondil the Hunter during the Third Age. If the Horn of Gondor was sounded, the city of Gondor would come to the aid of the one in possession of it. Faramir, Boromir's brother, discovered the broken horn and knew that his brother had been killed.

This is category 23832
Last Updated Feb 22 2025 5:56 AM

= Top 5% Rated Quiz, Top 10% Rated Quiz, Top 20% Rated Quiz, A Well Rated Quiz
= added recently, = Editor's Pick = FunTrivia Editor = Gold Member
Teachers / educators: FunTrivia welcomes the use of our website and quizzes in the classroom as a teaching aid or for preparing and testing students. See our education section. Our quizzes are printable and may be used as question sheets by k-12 teachers, parents, and home schoolers.

 ·  All questions, answers, and quiz content on this website is copyright FunTrivia, Inc and may not be reproduced without permission. Any images from TV shows and movies are copyright their studios, and are being used under "fair use" for commentary and education.