Fractured Instruments! Trivia Quiz

Answer: violin

The violin is one of the main instruments in the Orchestral string family - the others being viola, cello and double bass. A violin is made of wood glued together with a hollow inside that allows the instrument to give a resonating sound. Four strings are attached to the body and a bow is then drawn across the strings to get different notes.

The bow is usually made of wood and horse hair. A violin is played by holding it under the chin and resting it on your shoulder while the other hand uses the bow to produce the sound.

Answer: saxophone

The saxophone is the only woodwind instrument that is made of brass. It is classed as a woodwind instrument as it is played using a reed (similar to a clarinet). Saxophones are often mistaken for brass instruments but these are played using mouthpieces rather than reeds.

Answer: Tuba

All brass instruments are played by the player making a buzzing sound through a cup shaped mouthpiece. A brass instrument is made up of tubing. If a brass instrument has a lot of tubing it is usually a big instrument with a low sound. If it has only a few feet of tubing is will be a smaller instrument with a higher sound.

A tuba is one of the biggest brass instruments. It has around sixteen feet of tubing yet just four valves. You can find tubas in orchestras, marching bands and in brass Bands.

Answer: Flute

A flute is usually made from silver or gold and is around two feet in length. It looks like a narrow tube with holes covered by keys along one side of it. The player then blows across (not into!) the mouthpiece to make the instrument vibrate and create a sound.

Answer: Piccolo

The piccolo is exactly the same as the flute except that it is much smaller and has a higher pitch than the flute. A piccolo is usually made of silver or wood.

Answer: Piano

The sound of a piano is made when a small hammer inside the piano strikes a string when you press a key.

Answer: Guitar

These are used in pop music a lot and also in country and western. Nowaday guitars can be made of all different types of material. Some people who play a guitar use a plectrum rather than their fingers in order to strum the strings.

Answer: Xylophone

A xylophone is made of a lot of wooden bars, all different sizes, sitting on a metal frame. When the bars are struck, they produce a sound. The larger the bar, the larger the sound. The word 'xylophone' is actually Greek and means 'wood sound.'

Answer: Oboe

The oboe is made of wood and has metal keys, similar to the clarinet. The differences between the two are that the oboe is smaller and is played using a double reed. This is where two reeds are tied together and by placing them between the lips the reeds vibrate and produce a sound.

Answer: Trombone

Another member of the brass family (like the tuba). The trombone is one of the few members of the brass family not to have any valves to create the different pitches of notes. The trombone uses a slide rather than valves. The slide can make the tubing of the trombone longer or shorter.

The more tubing that is being used, the lower the sound the trombone produces. Hope you have learnt something about the instruments, and remember, whatever you play, music should always be fun!