Piano (bits and) Pieces Trivia Quiz

Answer: No

Some smaller pianos have only 85 keys. There are also pianos that have more keys, like the Bosendorfer "Imperial" model which has a full eight octave range, 97 keys.

Answer: A minor

If you drop a piano down a mine shaft you may well land up with A flat miner. Sorry, I know that's cringe-worthy but couldn't resist. A minor is relative to C major and therefore has the same key signature. B minor is relative to D major and therefore has 2 sharps (F & C). C minor is relative to E flat major and therefore has 3 flats (B, E & A). D minor is relative to F major and therefore has just one flat (B).

Answer: Bartolomeo Cristofori

Cristofori was born in Padua, Italy and worked for Prince Ferdinando de Medici as caretaker of the prince's large collection of instruments. The job required him to have technical knowledge of the instruments and the ability to carry out repairs when necessary.

He built several different types of harpsichords, two of which he actually invented before building his first piano in about 1700. Baldwin, Bechstein and Steinweg (Steinway) are all famous piano makers.

Answer: Damper

The sustain or damper pedal raises all the dampers from the strings at the same time so that the played notes are sustained. The Una Corda and Soft pedal are one and the same thing. This pedal literally shifts the inner workings of the piano so that the hammer only hits one string.

The Sostenuto pedal is generally only found on grand pianos while some upright pianos have a middle pedal called a practice pedal, which causes the sound to be muted.

Answer: No

Pianos with smaller ranges, like my Zimmermann, have an A as the highest note. While the lowest note is usually an A, there are some models of piano that have an F or even a C as their bottom note.

Answer: A4 = 440Hz

In standard concert pitch, A3 (below Middle C) = 220Hz, C4 (Middle C) = 261.626Hz and C5 (8ve above Middle C) = 523.251Hz.

Answer: three

While the lower notes only have two strings, the majority of the hammers hit 3 strings simultaneously. This is what gives the piano a much 'fuller' sound than a harpsichord or clavichord where a single string is plucked or struck.

Answer: All of these

Paul Wittgenstein was an Austrian pianist who lost his right arm in World War I. After losing his arm, he continued to play the piano with his left hand. He commissioned Ravel's "Piano Concerto for the Left Hand" as well as works by Britten, Saint-Saens, and Hindemith. Prokofiev wrote his 4th Piano Concerto for him but Wittgenstein never performed it publicly.

Answer: Chromatic

A chromatic scale is a progression of semitones. In a major scale there are only two semitones, one from the mediant to the sub-dominant and the other from the leading note to the octave. In a natural minor scale, the 3rd, 6th & 7th notes are flattened. If you then raise the 7th note you will get a harmonic minor scale. For a melodic minor scale, you raise the 6th & 7th notes going up the scale but revert to the natural minor coming down.

A pentatonic scale consists of only 5 notes.

Answer: A collection of 48 Preludes and Fugues

In 1722, Johann Sebastian Bach published a set of 24 Preludes and Fugues, one in each of the 24 major and minor keys. Twenty years later he published another book of this kind. They are now commonly known as Book I and Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier (Das Wohltemperirte Clavier). Both Haydn and Mozart are known to have studied this volume of work and Beethoven regularly included one or more of Bach's Preludes and Fugues in his early performances.