FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Drums Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Drums Quizzes, Trivia

Drums Trivia

Drums Trivia Quizzes

  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Music Trivia
  6. »
  7. Percussion

Fun Trivia
8 Drums quizzes and 90 Drums trivia questions.
1.
  The Little Drummer Boy   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Big drums, little drums, soft drums, loud drums- they are all here, even a few cousins of drums.
Average, 10 Qns, ozzz2002, Dec 07 15
Average
ozzz2002 gold member
2017 plays
2.
  Smokin' Those Skins    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Phoenix Rising hope you get the message - you can't beat this quiz!! It's filled with information about drums of all origins, timbres and ages. Rat-a-tat-tat! It's time now to skat!
Average, 10 Qns, VegemiteKid, Jun 15 18
Average
VegemiteKid gold member
Jun 15 18
309 plays
3.
  Drummers Drumming Drums    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Match the type of drum to its definition.
Average, 10 Qns, gme24, Dec 23 17
Average
gme24 gold member
195 plays
4.
  Drum Basics Part 1    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is a fun quiz about the first lessons of drumming. You only have to go through the first techniques of drumming to take this quiz. Have fun!
Average, 10 Qns, Davidfunk, Sep 25 19
Average
Davidfunk
Sep 25 19
890 plays
5.
  Instrument Subfamilies: The Drummers    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Both percussionists and drummers hit things, but a distinction is made reflecting the unique nature of the latter. Here's a short quiz celebrating those who have a great heart for music but march to a different beat!
Easier, 10 Qns, notwilbur, Jan 10 23
Easier
notwilbur
Jan 10 23
1873 plays
6.
  Drum Basics Part 3    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is all about rock drumming. Perhaps my last drum quiz for quite a while. I suggest playing my two earlier quizzes ere this one. Have fun!
Average, 10 Qns, Davidfunk, Dec 02 07
Average
Davidfunk
344 plays
7.
  Modern Rudimental Drumming    
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
This is a quiz on modern rudimental drumming. This quiz will not include any hybrid or 20th century rudiments.
Average, 20 Qns, evaughn2, Jul 30 13
Average
evaughn2
362 plays
8.
  Drums Basics Part 2    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
If you have played my old quiz, "Drum Basics part 1," then you have got down the basic rudiments of the N.A.R.D. This quiz a more advanced look of the N.A.R.D. rudiments. Have fun! And look out for part 3 comin' this summer!
Difficult, 10 Qns, Davidfunk, Feb 19 10
Difficult
Davidfunk
565 plays
trivia question Quick Question
PAS advises you to play all rudiments how?

From Quiz "Modern Rudimental Drumming"





Drums Trivia Questions
1. In an orchestra, how many drums are in a standard set of timpani (kettledrums)?

From Quiz The Little Drummer Boy

Answer: 4

They range in size from 23" diameter up to 32", and most modern tympani, ('tympano' is the singular), are adjustable in tone.

2. According to the Percussive Arts Society (PAS), how many rudiments are there?

From Quiz Modern Rudimental Drumming

Answer: 40

There are fourty standard rudiments recognised by the Percussive Arts Society. They include roll rudiments, flam rudiments, drag rudiments, and paradiddle rudiments.

3. What are the three parts of the drumstick called?

From Quiz Drum Basics Part 1

Answer: The bead, shoulder and shank

The bead is the part of the stick you hit with. The shoulder streches from where the bead ends and it goes all the way to the middle of the stick. The shank goes from the middle to the bottom of the stick.

4. What kind of note gets one beat in 4/4 time?

From Quiz Instrument Subfamilies: The Drummers

Answer: quarter note

A quarter note represents the basic pulse in most music.

5. The hour-glass shaped Janguu drum is important in Korean traditional performance and has two pitches - high and low. Don't tell Bambi, but what animal's hide is often used to create the lower tones?

From Quiz Smokin' Those Skins

Answer: Deer

The Janggu is an ancient drum, whose name probably derived from the yogo (waist) drum. It is traditionally made from wood with animal skins stretched across the hollow centre to create the sounds. The size of the wooden frame affects the sound, as does the type of animal skin used. As far as I have been able to discover, alligator, bear and ostrich skins are not used for the Janguu, but cow and deer hide certainly are for the lower-toned side, as are dog and horse hide for the higher-toned side. Beating sticks are customarily made from birch and bamboo, and sometimes deer antler is employed. This question was tattooed by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid.

6. What is an eighth note triplet?

From Quiz Drums Basics Part 2

Answer: Three notes per every quarter note beat

During a 4/4 time signature, 12 eighth note triplets can fit. During a 6/8 time signature, 6 eighth note triplets can fit.

7. How many are included in the Standard American Drum Rudiments?

From Quiz Modern Rudimental Drumming

Answer: 26

There are 26 Standard American Drum Rudiments that are recognised by PAS. These were some of the first ones and still should be the first to be learned.

8. Where do you hold the stick?

From Quiz Drum Basics Part 1

Answer: 1/3 of the way up from the bottom ( of the shank )

The shank of the stick is the biggest part, so it gives you more control of the stick. The bead strikes the drum, and the shank is the bottom, so it is logical to hold at the butt.

9. Also known as a Tonbak, the Zarb is a drum shaped like which drinking vessel?

From Quiz Smokin' Those Skins

Answer: Goblet

The zarb is a Persian percussion instrument, generally considered to be that culture's principal percussion instrument - so much so that it is not unusual to have talented players conducting solos for as long as ten minutes. However, until the pioneering work of Hossein Tehrani during the 1950s, this was not deemed worthy of being a solo instrument. The zarb stands at about a foot and a half (43 cms) and has a diameter of almost a foot (28 cms), is held across the torso and the drumhead is caressed by either fingers or palm. Players may choose to wear steel rings to add an extra dimension to the sound. This question was banged out by Phoenix Rising team member pollucci19.

10. In a standard drum kit, such as used by most pop music bands, which type of drum is usually played with a foot pedal?

From Quiz The Little Drummer Boy

Answer: Bass drum

The bass drum is usually played with a pedal operated by the right foot of the drummer. It is often decorated with the band's name or logo. A floor tom is a deep drum, played with normal sticks, and the snare is the small drum directly in front of the drummer. It gets its name from the metal wire coils across the bottom skin (the 'snares'). Claves are not drums- they are a pair of thick sticks that are banged together.

11. What is the difference between a swiss triplet and a flam accent?

From Quiz Drums Basics Part 2

Answer: The sticking is different

A swiss triplet strikes two times on the first beat.

12. If R means Right, and L means left, what is the sticking of a single paradiddle?

From Quiz Modern Rudimental Drumming

Answer: RLRR

The single paradiddle is number 16 of PAS's list of rudiments. It is usually meant to be one of the first ones learned, due to its simplicity.

13. What part of the stick strikes the drum?

From Quiz Drum Basics Part 1

Answer: The bead

The bead usually is a round ball on the tip of the stick. For better sound, the shoulder tapers up to the bead. That also helps you control the stick.

14. The bass drum generally plays on which beats in 4/4 time? ____________

From Quiz Instrument Subfamilies: The Drummers

Answer: 1 and 3

You would be amazed how hard this can be.

15. A remarkably talented drummer belted out the beat for 'The Muppets' house band. Most people would recognise him as Animal, but do you know the name of the band?

From Quiz The Little Drummer Boy

Answer: Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem

Animal was allegedly a parody of some of the wilder drummers of the rock era; in fact he gets so carried away that he has to be chained to his drumkit! The Electric Mayhem were part of the Muppets' amazing cover version of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. Rick Dees released 'Disco Duck' in 1976 to cash in on the disco craze. Australia's Captain Matchbox released a few fun songs in the early 1970s, including 'My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes', 'Your Feets Too Big' and 'Wangaratta Wahine'. Strawberry Alarm Clock were part of the 'flower power' movement of the 1960s, with their big hit being 'Incense and Peppermints'.

16. If the bass drum plays on 1 and 3 in a 3/4 time signature and the snare does not play on the same beat as the bass drum but still plays on the beat, what beat does the snare drum play on?

From Quiz Drum Basics Part 3

Answer: two

The snare usually plays on the beat that the bass is not played on, so beat two is the best choice.

17. What is the sticking on a flamicue if the grace notes are tabbed as "g"?

From Quiz Drums Basics Part 2

Answer: gRLRLgR (alternate)

More info you MUST know is that there is an accent on the 2nd stroke.

18. When doing a fill, a good drummer....

From Quiz Instrument Subfamilies: The Drummers

Answer: plays a tasteful but rhythmically and metrically correct solo

Actually, a good drummer should be able to first keep solid time and then add fills as necessary.

19. The taiko is a drum or drum set that is used for a variety of reasons in its native country for such diverse purposes as motivation in warfare and in the theatre to create atmosphere. Which country called this type of drum its own?

From Quiz Smokin' Those Skins

Answer: Japan

The origin of the Taiko is thought to be Korea or China but it has been known in Japan since at least the sixth century BC where it has evolved into a very specific instrument. Whilst outside of Japan it refers to a series of drums, in Japan it refers to a single drum. The drum is lightly tapered at each end with a skin stretched over both ends which is beaten with drumsticks larger than "western" drumsticks. Traditionally, the drum was made from Japanese zelkova trees that were dried over years to prevent splitting and then hollowed out by hand with a chisel. The skins of taiko are made from cowhide, horse skin, and bull skin, with the thinner skins are preferred for small taiko, and thicker skins are used for larger ones. Sometimes, a patch of deer skin is placed in the centre to serve as a target for beating. This question was drummed up by 1nn1.

20. Drumsticks are used to play many types of drum, but which instrument is usually NOT played with them?

From Quiz The Little Drummer Boy

Answer: Dayereh

Dayereh come from Central Asia, and are a very old instrument. They are similar to a tambourine, but are played differently. The fingers are used much more than the palm, and both hands are used to produce the sound. Drumsticks are traditionally made of wood, but can also be made of newer materials such as fibreglass, or with nylon tips.

21. How many times does a single stick strike the drum at one time on a single stroke roll?

From Quiz Modern Rudimental Drumming

Answer: 1

A single stroke roll is just as the name implies: it has single strokes. The single stroke roll masters the rebound stroke, which is being able to hit the drum over and over without making the sticks at the same time, or causing a double stroke.

22. A drum roll occurs when...

From Quiz Instrument Subfamilies: The Drummers

Answer: when you play fast, double bounces of the stick

A good even double stroke roll is hard to do! Triple stroke rolls are also common, and I've seen some can do a roll with one hand.

23. At the end of a hard rock song, what sounds better when playing on the crash cymbals?

From Quiz Drum Basics Part 3

Answer: Do a fading roll on them

It sounds better if you hear a loud sound to a soft sound at the end.

24. What is a ratimacue?

From Quiz Drums Basics Part 2

Answer: A set of 3 triplets followed by a ruff

This is a N.A.R.D. rudiment.

25. When does a grace note hit when you play a flam?

From Quiz Modern Rudimental Drumming

Answer: Right before the beat

A common mistake with this rudiment is that people play the grace note at the same time as the note. This is called "popping" the flam and does not add anything to the note being played.

26. What is a grace note or a Ghost note?

From Quiz Drum Basics Part 1

Answer: A note that is tied to the stroke after it. It is a note that has no value in the time signature.

A flam has a grace note in it. It is simply a grace note with a stroke after it. The grace note is tied to the stroke. It basically sounds like two 64th notes.

27. The drummer is the backbone of the...

From Quiz Instrument Subfamilies: The Drummers

Answer: jazz band

Some drummers could better be described as the funnybone of the band.

28. The kompang, a handheld drum made of goatskin stretched across a frame of jackfruit wood, is a traditional musical instrument of which group of people?

From Quiz Smokin' Those Skins

Answer: Malays

The kompang is shaped like an overturned shallow bowl. It ranges in size from 20 - 40 cm (about 8 - 16 in) in diameter. The membrane is traditionally made from the skin of a female goat. Sound is produced by tapping the drum with the palm or closed fingers. The kompang is of Arabic origin and is believed to have been brought to the Malay community in Southeast Asia by 13th-century traders. The kompang is played at official ceremonies and weddings to announce the arrival of important guests. This question was tapped out by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

29. Not all drums are made just for making music. Slit drums are made from hollow logs in areas of Africa and Asia, but for what purpose?

From Quiz The Little Drummer Boy

Answer: Communication

Different thicknesses of wood in the drum give different tones, and the booming, resonant sound can carry for miles.

30. What cymbal is usually played on the same beat as the bass drum?

From Quiz Drum Basics Part 3

Answer: Crash cymbal

The snare and hihat are often played on the other beats in the measure.

This is category 17567
Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:51 AM
play trivia = Top 5% Rated Quiz, take trivia quiz Top 10% Rated Quiz, test trivia quiz Top 20% Rated Quiz, popular trivia A Well Rated Quiz
new quizzes = added recently, editor pick = Editor's Pick editor = FunTrivia Editor gold = 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.