Instruments, composers, hit songs and how sound works.
About this quiz
This Music Quiz mixes classical, pop, jazz and folk with the science of sound. You'll meet instruments from the pipe organ and the violin to the banjo and the didgeridoo, the composers behind famous works, and the stories behind well-known songs and albums.
Sound itself is a theme: tunes that stick in your head, a gadget that drives teenagers away, the quietest rooms on Earth and the loudness war in recording studios. Each of the 10 questions gives you 20 seconds, and the fact that follows often explains how the music or the sound actually works.
Try a few questions
Tap an answer to check it, or open the answer underneath.
The gentle tingling relaxation some people feel from whispering or soft tapping sounds is known online by which acronym?
- SONAR
- RADAR
- MIDI
- ASMR
Answer: ASMR
Did you know? ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response, a tingling that spreads over the scalp and neck for some listeners. Millions watch videos of whispering, crinkling and tapping designed to trigger it.
The European Union's anthem, taken from Beethoven, is officially performed how?
- Without any words
- Twice through, always
- Only by a solo violin
- At half the written tempo
Answer: Without any words
Did you know? Schiller's German text was dropped so that no member state's language would be favoured over another. The wordless arrangement was made by Herbert von Karajan.
The most expensive musical instruments ever sold are usually violins made by which craftsman?
- Bartolomeo Cristofori
- Antonio Stradivari
- Adolphe Sax
- Leo Fender
Answer: Antonio Stradivari
Did you know? Violins made by Stradivari in the early 1700s sell for millions, one reportedly for around 16 million dollars. Scientists still debate whether their prized sound comes from the wood, the varnish, or simply their legend.
Michael Jackson co-patented a special shoe in 1993 that allowed him to do what on stage?
- Glide backwards without moving his feet
- Lean forward at an impossible angle
- Light up with every step
- Spin continuously for a full minute
Answer: Lean forward at an impossible angle
Did you know? US patent 5,255,452 describes a heel with a slot that hooks onto a peg rising from the stage floor, letting the wearer tilt 45 degrees with straight legs. Jackson used it to recreate the gravity-defying lean from the 'Smooth Criminal' video, which had originally relied on wires.