It's Not a Tuba Trivia Quiz

Answer: Trombone

The trombone is played by putting your lips against the mouthpiece and vibrating them. Some people liken it to blowing a raspberry. The air inside the instrument vibrates and you make music! It's not as easy as it sounds though. The note you end up playing is determined by the position of the slide tube, so you need to move this in and out to change the note you play.

The trombone is quite an old instrument. They started to evolve from the very basic trumpet in the 1400s. From its birth to the early 1700s, the trombone was dubbed a 'sackbut'. The word 'trombone' comes from the Italian language and means 'large trumpet'.

Answer: Clarinet

The clarinet is a reed instrument meaning you use a reed in the mouthpiece to help create the sound. The black "stick" is fairly straight until the end of the instrument when it flares out a little to a bell-like shape. Cheaper clarinets are made from resin these days but the more expensive ones used by professional musicians are made from a dark wood.

Why can a clarinet be called a licorice stick? It's because of its colour which is generally black like licorice. Other clarinets which you rarely see such as the contrabass and contra-alto clarinets are made of metal but the most common clarinet is the black one.

Answer: Piccolo

A piccolo is a small flute. The keys used to play various notes are the same on the flute and the piccolo, but the piccolo has a higher pitch. The word 'piccolo' comes from the Italian word for 'small'. That is why you can have other instruments such as the piccolo trumpet, piccolo clarinet, and even the piccolo heckelphone.

Answer: Triangle

Picture a triangle with all equal sides (an equilateral triangle) and then chop one of the corners off. That is the shape of the modern musical triangle. When the triangle was first used as a musical instrument back in the 16th century, the shape was a little different, more like an isosceles triangle. The triangle is played by hitting it with a small metal baton.

Answer: French horn

Take about twelve feet of metal tubing. Now twist it into a circular shape with lots of smaller twists in the middle. Finally, flare out the end of the tubing into a bell shape and attach a mouthpiece. Congratulations, you've made a French horn. It's called the French horn but it was really developed in Germany. For that reason, many musicians refer to it simply as the 'horn' but the term 'French horn' is still heard in many places.

Answer: Kettle drum

Kettle drums are also called 'timpani'. They can be of various sizes ranging from 30cm (12 inches) to 84cm (33 inches) in diameter. You'll see kettle drums in many orchestras and bands. To make a traditional kettle drum, you'd take a large copper bowl and stretch an animal hide tightly across the top.

Modern materials such as aluminium or fibreglass, and plastic membranes rather than animal skins are now often used when making kettle drums as they have a price advantage. Traditionalists prefer the original combination of materials though, feeling it delivers a richer tone.

Answer: Bassoon

A bassoon may be about 1.34 metres (4' 5") tall but there is an amazing 2.5 metres (over eight feet) of tubing doubling back on itself making up the bassoon's total length. The bassoon is played with a double reed. Maple is the most common wood used to manufacture the best quality bassoons but other materials such as polypropylene and ebonite (a hard rubber) can be used to make beginners' instruments.

Answer: Cymbals

Cymbals are made with a flat disc of metal, often an alloy such as bronze. The middle of the disc is raised and a hole drilled into it to allow the fitting of straps (if played by hand) or the fitting of the cymbal onto a stand. The types of cymbals you hold in your hands and bang together are called clash cymbals. Different tones and noises can be created by rubbing them together, passing one over the other, or for a dramatic clash, you can bang them together for a show stopping finale! Other types of cymbals include hi-hat, crash and ride which are often seen on drum kits.

Please do not try to hit any of the other answers together!

Answer: Glockenspiel

A glockenspiel looks similar to a xylophone but is made of metal rather than wood. Different lengths of metal are laid out on a frame in much the same way as piano keys are organised. The tubes are then struck with a mallet, the head of which is usually made of plastic or metal. A glockenspiel's tone is similar to a bell, much more highly pitched than a xylophone.

Answer: Flute

The flute is a very old instrument dating back at least 30,000 years with early examples being made of bone with holes drilled into them. Today, a flute you'll see in a Western orchestra will most likely be made of metal and probably silver plated. These flutes were developed from a 19th century German flute.

There are many types of flutes out there though and they can be made of different materials. The panpipes are a type of flute, as is an ocarina, a recorder, and a fife.