Coming to Terms with Music Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tempo

Tempo is the Italian word for time and, in the context of music, determines the speed at which a piece is performed. Many different tempi exist to suit the type of music being played. Andante, for instance, is roughly the same speed as if you were walking, whereas something like allegro is indicative of a livelier, more upbeat piece. Take a listen to something like Handel's "Water Music" (Suite No. 1 in F Major) and hear the difference between the andante and allegro movements.

Answer: A cappella

Perhaps one of the more easily recognisable forms of a cappella music is the humble barbershop quartet. So melodic and harmonistic is this singing that the singers seem to replicate the roles that instrumentation would have filled (like the bass might have a sort of percussive feel to it).

The term a cappella translates as 'in the chapel style', as much early religious singing was just by chanters or choirs, with their voices resonating around the room.

Answer: Plucking the strings

In a typical orchestra arrangement, string players will play their instrument with a bow (in the arco style), moving back and forth across the strings (roughly perpendicularly). The pizzicato style foregoes the use of the bow and instead utilises the player's fingers in plucking the strings to create a short note.

The pizzicato style is perhaps more evident in a jazz band. Double bass players will by default play by plucking at the strings with their fingers; the thicker, longer strings allow the note to have a much more resonant sound when played this way.

Answer: Arpeggio

In basic terms, a chord is a set of notes played at the same time. An arpeggio is a sort of 'broken' chord, whereby the notes are instead played one after the other. An arpeggiated chord or rolled chord is slightly different - the notes aren't played at the same time but they aren't distinctly separated as in an arpeggio.

As its name suggests, it sounds like the player is rolling across the notes of the chord, and this is denoted on sheet music by a zig-zag line adjacent to the chord.

Answer: Calando

As its name suggests, the diminuendo instruction diminishes the sound, making it quieter, but this has no effect on the tempo. Instead of marking music with both diminuendo and ritardando to soften and slow, calando can be used. This might commonly be found at the end of a piece, though it's not unusual to find it in the middle.

The instruction 'a tempo' could then be used to return to the previous tempo, while a crescendo can ease back into louder playing.

Answer: Fortississimo

A small 'f' indicates forte, and the player should play loudly. Meanwhile, 'ff' is fortissimo and should be even louder. For pieces which should be played even louder than that, 'fff' is used, which means fortississimo. In the other direction, 'p', 'pp', and 'ppp' represent piano (soft), pianissimo (softer) and pianississimo (very soft), respectively. Though not as common these days, older works have contained four or more markings for considerably loud or soft playing.

Answer: Maestro

Though not exclusively reserved for conductors, maestro is, as you'd expect, the Italian word for master and given to those in charge of leading a group of musicians. Maestri have the task of controlling how and when the musicians are playing. Generally, a baton or the maestro's hand moves in a rhythmic pattern in accordance with the beat while they issue instructions to sections or individual players with the other as the piece goes along.

It requires the maestro to know the music practically inside out so they can make sure that every musician is playing correctly and the piece sounds exactly as it should.

Answer: Legato

Legato means 'tied together' and represents a smooth connection between notes, instead of the notes being short and detached from one another (which would be indicative of the staccato style). On sheet music, this is indicated by a curved line or arc (known as a slur) reaching from the first note of a phrase to the last.

Answer: Moderate

Though the actual translation of mezzo is 'half', it's probably best understood by referring to it as moderate. Mezzo-forte and mezzo-piano are your average volumes of music, the former being moderately loud and the latter moderately soft. For female singers, the term mezzo (the shortened form of mezzo-soprano) is a type of voice that sits in the middle of the two extremes of the female vocal range, contralto (low) and soprano (high).

Answer: Falsetto

As its name might imply, falsetto is not so much false singing but singing outside the normal vocal range. If you've ever heard any of the Bee Gee's songs, you'll be familiar with this. Falsetto sounds less like your voice is coming from within your throat and more like it's lighter and airier - your vocal cords aren't vibrating to the same extent, allowing you to go higher than you could normally at the expense of sounding less like you (hence, false).