Early Music and Instruments Quiz

A musical instrument made from an animal's toe bone, often used for creating sounds. These whistles were discovered at ancient human settlements, indicating their significance in early music.

A flute carved from an animal bone, discovered in a cave in Slovenia. Considered one of the oldest surviving musical instruments, dating back to 40,000 BCE.

An instrument used by shamans in the Altai Republic, Russia. The rattle, shaped like a raven, may have been employed for spiritual healing and communication with spirits.

A musical instrument used by First Nations Australians for communication over long distances. It produces a loud, buzzing sound when swung.

A type of throat singing originating from the Inuit culture in North America. It typically involves two women singing in a duet, creating complex sounds and harmonies.

The top bar that supports the strings of a lyre. It was typically crafted from wood and often adorned with carvings or inlays.

A type of ancient writing system used by the Sumerians. They used cuneiform to record music, dating back to 2600 BCE.

The ancient Greek practice of performing poetry while accompanying oneself on a lyre. This type of performance was a prominent feature of ancient Greek culture.

Ancient Greek thinkers developed a system to write down music, capturing melodies and harmonies. This system helped to preserve and transmit musical knowledge.

Instruments like the veena, crafted from gourds, played a significant role in ancient Hindu musical traditions. These instruments provided unique sounds and textures.

A type of ancient Greek music that involved the study and understanding of tones, melodies, and harmonies.

A type of wind instrument commonly used in the ancient world. They typically consisted of a bag made of animal skin and one or more reed pipes.

A type of early organ that produced sound by blowing air through pipes. It could create a variety of musical sounds and was an impressive instrument for its time.

A long, hollowed-out eucalyptus branch used as a musical instrument by First Nations Australians. It produces a low-pitched drone sound when blown into.

The traditional belief among some First Nations tribes that only men should play the yidaki.

A pair of sticks clapped together to create rhythm, often used with the yidaki for songs and dances.

A rattle made from dried seeds of plants and trees, used by First Nations Australians for singing and dancing.

A drum made from a hollowed-out eucalyptus log with a skin made from lizard, snake, or kangaroo skin.

A simple instrument made from a single eucalyptus leaf. It's played by holding the leaf against the lips and blowing air across it.

To play the yidaki, players place their lips against the mouthpiece and vibrate them as they blow a steady stream of air down the long tube.

Instruments played by blowing into or across holes in a tube, or on a single or double reed attached to a mouthpiece. The pitch is determined by the tube's length and the number of open holes.

A prehistoric instrument from Polynesian communities, believed to produce a purer sound than mouth instruments, used to accompany traditional songs and chants.

A 19th-century instrument from Austria, used in blues, American folk music, and jazz.

A single-reed instrument with a clarinet reed placed in a metal holder on the mouthpiece, with the player's mouth overlapping the reed.

An Egyptian instrument, circa 2700 BCE, a double clarinet with two parallel pipes, each with a single reed.

A Mongolian instrument, pre-13th-century, a loud folk oboe characterized by seven holes and a thumb hole.

A 16th-century French instrument, popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, is used to accompany dances and is comprised of either a single or double pipe.

A late 13th-century German instrument, a medieval musical instrument made of a single piece of wood. The modern oboe is a development of the shawm.

Skilled musicians and storytellers who preserve their tribe's history through songs and stories in Western Africa.

A 21-string barp lute played by Griots in Western Africa.

Indigenous people of North Africa known for their regional variations of music featuring drums, pipes, and stringed instruments.

A clay drum used by the Igbo people of Nigeria, traditionally made by women and played with hand slapping and finger tapping.

Broad-keyed wooden xylophones used by the Chopi tribe of Southern Mozambique, known for their complex, syncopated rhythms.

Drums used by Bantu people across central, eastern, and southern Africa, where each clan has its own unique beat.

Stringed instruments with curved wooden bows extending from a hollow resonator, used by tribal groups in Uganda and Sudan.

A type of vocal music used by the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania, using a call-and-response pattern.

A small thumb piano used by the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe, often played at religious ceremonies with a rattle.

A musical instrument played by the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe, often used in religious ceremonies accompanying the Mbira.

Skilled musicians and storytellers who travel between villages in Western Africa, preserving their tribe's history through songs and stories.

A 21-string harp lute played by Griots in Western Africa.

Indigenous people of North Africa whose music often features drums, pipes, and stringed instruments.

A clay drum used by the Igbo people of Nigeria, traditionally made by women and played with hand slapping and finger tapping.

Broad-keyed wooden xylophones used by the Chopi tribe of Southern Mozambique, known for their complex, syncopated rhythms.

Drums used by Bantu people across central, eastern, and southern Africa, each clan with its own unique beat.

Stringed instruments with curved wooden bows extending from a hollow resonator, used by tribal groups in Uganda and Sudan.

A type of vocal music used by the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania, using a call-and-response pattern.

A small thumb piano used by the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe, often played at religious ceremonies with a rattle.

A musical instrument played by the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe, often used in religious ceremonies accompanying the Mbira.

A four-stringed pear-shaped instrument similar to a lute; one of the world's oldest instruments, dating back over 2,000 years.

The pipa is held pointing upward, with the left hand moving up and down the frets while pushing, twisting, and pulling the strings. The right hand's five fingers pluck the strings.

Liu Fang is a well-known pipa player who performs solo concerts internationally. She started playing at a young age, becoming a prodigy, and played for Queen Elizabeth II at age eleven.

Pipa players used to play with their fingernails, but modern materials like nylon-wound steel strings are too tough for fingernails. Players now wear plastic false nails to pluck the strings.

A pipa typically has four strings. The pipa's short, bent neck has up to 30 frets extending onto the soundboard, offering a wide range of 3½ octaves.

A chordophone is a musical instrument that produces sound by vibrating strings. These strings can be played with a bow, plucked by fingers, or struck with hammers.

Lutes, zithers, harps, lyres, and musical bows are the five basic types of chordophones. Each category is defined by the way the strings are arranged.

A lute has strings stretched over a resonator along a neck. Think of guitars and violins as examples of lutes.

A zither has strings stretched over or within/between resonators. It is a broad category with many variations.

A harp has strings slanted within a frame. Many types of harps exist, from small to large.

A lyre has strings raised on a bar, above the resonator. It is a very ancient type of instrument.

A musical bow has strings stretched from one end of a bow to the other. They are used in various musical traditions around the world.

The yangqin, zither, Irish harp, hurdy gurdy, krar, medieval lute, balalaika, berimbau, and sarangi are examples of specific stringed instruments with unique origins and playing styles. The krar is an example of a lyre, and the medieval lute, balalaika, and berimbau are examples of lutes.

A 9th-century Persian court musician known for his musical innovations, including the introduction of new instruments, songs, and dances. He is considered a significant figure in the development of European music.

Ziryab introduced new musical instruments, songs, and dances to Europe. His style combined with Spanish Gypsy music, which influenced the development of the Spanish guitar and Flamenco dance.

Ziryab established music colleges in Cordoba, Spain, where he taught both men and women. This was a significant step towards formalizing music education.

Ziryab introduced new food practices, such as the use of tablecloths and glassware, and the three-course meal (soup, main course, dessert). These practices became customary across Europe through his influence.

Ziryab introduced new clothing styles, hairstyles, and the idea of wearing different clothes for different seasons. He also introduced bleached white clothing for the first time.

A set of tuned gongs, traditionally said to have been formed by the ruler Sang Hyang Guru around 1800 years ago, used to summon gods.

A repeated musical phrase that is an important part of gamelan music, contributing to the unique rhythmic and melodic patterns.

A technique where each instrument in the gamelan plays its own repeated phrase, creating a complex interplay of sounds and melodies that form a complete tune.

A Javanese musical style featuring three sections playing different rhythms, named after the Balinese percussion instruments

A unique feature of the gamelan, the drums create different sounds depending on the size of the beaded knob used to strike them.

A 13th-century Japanese Buddhist chant involving the repetition of "Namu myšbo renge kyo" without musical accompaniment, believed to express the 'Secret Laws'.

A 19th-century Indian musical tradition of traveling minstrels who believe music has spiritual power, focusing on a loving relationship with a personal god.

Chants used by monks throughout Europe, named after Pope Gregory I, influencing Western music.

A Jewish religious poem, meaning "Rock of Salvation", sung during Hanukkah. The modern tune is based on a German folk song.

Music and dance ceremonies held at the Jongmyo shrine in South Korea, honoring the spirits of deceased ancestors.

A South African choir known for their gospel music, characterized by their rhythmic and choruses.

Sufi Muslim dancers known as whirling dervishes, following the teachings of Mevlâna Jalaluddin Rumi, using the Sema, a ceremony of song and dance to honor God.

Songs (waiata) and prayers/invocations (karakia) used by the Māori for welcoming, entertainment, or expressing feelings at events.

A long-necked string instrument with three sets of strings: melody, drone, and sympathetic strings for a jangling sound.

A pair of drums, one made of wood (dayan) and the other of metal (bayan), with different parts producing different sounds.

An instrument with four long strings that are plucked one after another to create a constant, fixed note.

Ravi Shankar, Annapurna Devi, Anoushka Shankar, Alla Rakha, and Zakir Hussain are famous players of the sitar and tabla.

Hindustani music, from northern India, focuses on the solo singer improvising the melody within a raga.

Carnatic music, from southern India, uses a rigid structure with vocals often accompanied by instruments like violin, tambura, and veena.

The three main components of Indian classical music are raga (melody), drone (constant fixed note), and tala (rhythm).

The sitar, tabla, and tamboura are traditional instruments used in Indian classical music. They play the raga, tala, and drone, respectively.

The Baroque era was a period in European music history from 1600 to 1750, known for its emphasis on drama, grandeur, and emotional expression, which contrasted with the more restrained and polyphonic styles of the Renaissance.

The Baroque era saw the rise of opera, a dramatic musical genre where singers act out a story using music and dialogue.

A cantata is a vocal piece, typically for solo voices, chorus, and instruments, that tells a story or explores a specific theme.

A trio sonata is a piece for three instruments, usually two solo instruments and a basso continuo, which is a continuous bass line played by a keyboard instrument and string instrument.

A concerto is a musical form featuring a solo instrument or instruments, like a violin or piano, with an accompanying orchestra. It usually has three movements.

Polyphony is a musical texture where multiple independent melodic lines are played or sung at the same time.

The basso continuo is a continuous bass line played by a keyboard instrument, like an organ or harpsichord, and a string instrument, like a cello or viola da gamba, used to underpin the melody and harmony of a piece.

A canon is a musical form where a melody is repeated by different voices or instruments starting at different times, creating an overlapping effect.

A fugue is a contrapuntal musical form where a short melody, called the subject

A person who writes music.

A long, hollowed-out eucalyptus branch used by First Nations Australians to produce a low-pitched drone sound.

A type of music that uses many independent melodies played at the same time.

A musical genre that tells a story using a combination of solo singers, chorus, and orchestra. Unlike opera, oratorios don't typically feature elaborate costumes or stage scenery.

A musical work that tells the creation story from the beginning of the universe to the Garden of Eden. Soloists portray the archangels and the first humans.

A work that tells the story of British explorer Captain James Cook's life, focusing on his time in Hawaii and his interactions with Indigenous peoples.

An oratorio that tells the story of Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, and his feast. A divine hand appears during the feast and warns him of his impending doom.

An oratorio inspired by World War II that focuses on a young Jewish refugee who triggers riots in Nazi Germany.

A work based on medieval poems that combines chanting, percussion, and theatrical elements. It's a popular and recognizable contemporary composition.

An oratorio that tells the story of the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus Christ, including his birth, miracles, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. It's a classic example of a grand oratorio with a religious theme.

An avant-garde oratorio that features an almost atonal style, using three choruses, a boys' choir, and an organ/brass section.

The smallest and highest-pitched orchestral string instrument, traditionally used to accompany singing and dancing.

The violin is held under the chin with the bow in the right hand, drawn across the strings at right angles. The left hand presses strings on the neck.

A set of tuned gongs that traditionally are said to have been formed by the ruler Sang Hyang Guru around 1800 years ago, used to summon gods.

A repeated musical phrase that is an important part of gamelan music, contributing to the unique rhythmic and melodic patterns.

A musical period between 1750 and 1820, known for its elegance, clear structures, and tuneful melodies.

Known as "Papa Haydn", he established the symphony and the four-part string quartet, inspiring many later composers.

A master of Classical music, he became a music master for the British Royal family. He established a lighter style of Classical music and organized public concerts.

A gifted pianist, he studied with Mozart and later influenced other composers with his innovative and more expressive compositions.

Known for his five-part string quintets, this Italian cello player was a key figure in Classical music.

An Austrian composer who revolutionized opera by focusing on simple and dramatic storylines using music to express the words and drama.

The 18th century was known as the Age of Enlightenment, marked by several political and social changes, revolutions, progress and growth of the middle class' interest in music and the arts.