Music Theory for Beginners Quiz for Experts | Other Music

Answer: How many beats per measure

The top number of a time signature is easy to remember for all my students. But getting them to count it out is the hard part!

Answer: The value of each beat

This is the harder part to understand. The bottom number tells you which note gets one beat. If, for example, the number is eight, then the eighth note gets one beat. The quarter note in this example would get two beats, and so on.

Answer: The end of a section

The double bar line means you are at the end. The double bar line with two dots means to go back and repeat. It's the repeating that I can't seem to get my students to do. They're happy just to get through it once!

Answer: Legato

Staccato means to play the note short and detatched. Legato means to play smoothly and connected. Allegro and Andante are tempo marks, allegro means fast and Andante means a walking tempo. Crescendo means to gradually get louder.

Answer: True

The full name of the piano is Pianoforte. Meaning soft/loud. The piano was created by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1709 and was the first keyboard instrument that could be played gradually louder or softer. The only other keyboard insturments at the time were the clavichord and harpsichord.

Answer: a half step down from the natural

The black keys on a piano are actually two notes at the same time. It is the sharp of the white key to the left of it and a flat of the white key to the right of it. To me, sharps are harder to play than flats.

Answer: treble clef

The Treble Clef is called the G clef because the circle part of the Treble clef circles around the G line. The brace holds the treble and bass clefs together to make the Grand Staff.

Answer: bass clef

The Bass Clef is sometimes called the F clef because the two dots of the clef sign straddle the F line.

Answer: Yes

All rests equal the notes. For example, a quarter note gets one beat, so the quarter rest gets one beat. A half note gets two beats, so a half rest gets two beats.

Answer: very loud

Fortissimo, very loud, is marked by ff. The same thing with p, piano, which means soft and pp, pianissimo, very soft. I ask my Primer students that after learning forte and piano and every one of them get it. I hope you got it too. Oh, and, never bang on the piano, this is not good for the instrument.

There is a difference between playing 'fff', very very loud and banging on it. Please be careful!

Answer: Legato

A slur groups notes into a musical phrase. A dot over or under a note means to play Staccato. Accents tell you to play notes louder or softer. Slurs, especially long ones, have the best affect when you use the damper peddle. It holds the tone longer and you're better able to play the notes connected.

Answer: E, G, B, D, F

There are little sayings to remember the notes to each clef and I'll give them to you one at a time. This one is one of two. Either, "Every Good Boy Does Fine" or "Elvis's Guitar Broke Down Friday" Either way it's E, G, B, D, F. Take the first letter of each word and that's the note. Remember, always go from bottom ro top when reading notes on a staff.

Answer: F, A, C, E

It spells Face, so there is no need for a saying to remember that one.

Answer: G, B, D, F, A

Great Big Dogs Fight Animals. G, B, D, F, A.

Answer: A, C, E, G

All Cows Eat Grass. A, C, E, G.