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500+ Music Trivia Questions & Answers

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Very Easy Music Trivia Questions

These Music trivia questions are perfect for beginners, young kids, and toddlers. If you want to play Music trivia with children, try these very easy difficulty questions to get started.

1.) What musical instrument is primarily played by drumming with sticks?

  • Drums
  • Flute
  • Piano
  • Violin

2.) What is the name of the musician who is famously known as the 'King of Rock and Roll'?

  • Bob Dylan
  • Elvis Presley
  • Freddie Mercury
  • Michael Jackson

3.) What do you call a group of musicians playing string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments together?

  • Band
  • Choir
  • Orchestra
  • Quartet

4.) What instrument is known for its keys and is often played in churches?

  • Drums
  • Guitar
  • Organ
  • Trumpet

5.) In a choir, what is the highest vocal part?

  • Alto
  • Bass
  • Soprano
  • Tenor

6.) What instrument is typically responsible for keeping the rhythm in a rock band?

  • Drums
  • Flute
  • Trumpet
  • Violin

7.) Who is known as the 'King of Pop'?

  • Bob Dylan
  • Elvis Presley
  • Freddie Mercury
  • Michael Jackson

8.) What instrument is commonly associated with jazz music?

  • Cello
  • Harp
  • Saxophone
  • Violin

9.) What type of music is The Beatles famous for?

  • Classical
  • Hip-hop
  • Jazz
  • Rock

10.) What musical symbol represents silence?

  • Clef
  • Note
  • Rest
  • Sharp

11.) Which pop star released the album '1989'?

  • Adele
  • Lady Gaga
  • Rihanna
  • Taylor Swift

12.) What instrument does a pianist play?

  • Drums
  • Guitar
  • Piano
  • Saxophone

13.) Who is famous for the song 'Imagine'?

  • George Harrison
  • John Lennon
  • Paul McCartney
  • Ringo Starr

14.) What type of music is associated with DJ and club culture?

  • Classical
  • Country
  • Electronic
  • Folk

15.) Which song features the lyrics 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'?

  • London Bridge
  • Mary Had a Little Lamb
  • Row, Row, Row Your Boat
  • Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

16.) What Bob Marley song's title translates to 'No Woman, No Cry'?

  • No Woman, No Cry
  • One Love
  • Redemption Song
  • Three Little Birds

17.) Which instrument is commonly played with a bow?

  • Flute
  • Piano
  • Trumpet
  • Violin

18.) Who is known as the "King of Pop"?

  • Elvis Presley
  • Madonna
  • Michael Jackson
  • Prince

19.) What famous band was John Lennon a member of?

  • The Beach Boys
  • The Beatles
  • The Doors
  • The Rolling Stones

20.) Which female artist performed "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"?

  • Beyoncé
  • Jennifer Lopez
  • Rihanna
  • Shakira

21.) Which 1990s band was fronted by musician Kurt Cobain?

  • Nirvana
  • Pearl Jam
  • Smashing Pumpkins
  • Soundgarden

22.) What is the name of the famous US music award given for album of the year?

  • Emmy
  • Grammy
  • Oscar
  • Tony

23.) What instrument consists of a series of wooden bars struck with mallets?

  • Accordion
  • Harp
  • Organ
  • Xylophone

24.) Which famous Beatle was known for his round glasses and peace activism?

  • George Harrison
  • John Lennon
  • Paul McCartney
  • Ringo Starr

25.) Which artist is known for the moonwalk dance move and the album "Thriller"?

  • Elvis Presley
  • Freddie Mercury
  • Michael Jackson
  • Prince

Easy Music Trivia Questions

These Music trivia questions are perfect for kids in elementary school. If you want to play Music trivia with schoolchildren, try these easy difficulty questions to get started.

26.) What genre of music is characterized by the use of a twelve-bar chord progression?

  • Blues
  • Jazz
  • Pop
  • Rock

27.) Which instrument is traditionally used in a Scottish march?

  • Bagpipes
  • Guitar
  • Harp
  • Timpani

28.) What is typically the lowest sounding instrument in an orchestra's string section?

  • Cello
  • Double Bass
  • Viola
  • Violin

29.) In musical notation, what symbol is used to indicate sharp notes?

  • #
  • %
  • &
  • b

30.) Which instrument has 88 keys and is often featured in concertos and sonatas?

  • Accordion
  • Harpsichord
  • Organ
  • Piano

31.) What is the name of the famous Austrian composer known for 'The Magic Flute'?

  • Franz Schubert
  • Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

32.) Which instrument, commonly associated with jazz music, is often played alongside the piano and drums?

  • Double Bass
  • Saxophone
  • Trombone
  • Trumpet

33.) What is the term for the speed of the underlying beat in a piece of music?

  • Dynamics
  • Harmony
  • Pitch
  • Tempo

34.) In music, what is the term for a gradual increase in loudness?

  • Crescendo
  • Decrescendo
  • Legato
  • Staccato

35.) Which instrument is commonly associated with strumming either with a pick or fingers?

  • Cello
  • Guitar
  • Trumpet
  • Violin

36.) What do you call the person who leads an orchestra or choir?

  • Composer
  • Conductor
  • Librarian
  • Soloist

37.) What string instrument is smaller and higher-pitched than a cello?

  • Double Bass
  • Harp
  • Tuba
  • Violin

38.) Which singer is often referred to as the "Queen of Pop" due to her influence in pop music during the late 20th century?

  • Adele
  • Beyoncé
  • Lady Gaga
  • Madonna

39.) What large brass instrument is part of the symphony orchestra's low brass section?

  • French Horn
  • Trombone
  • Trumpet
  • Tuba

40.) Which handheld, bellows-driven keyboard instrument is commonly used in folk music?

  • Accordion
  • Clavichord
  • Harpsichord
  • Piano

41.) Which pop artist released the album 'Thriller,' one of the best-selling albums of all time?

  • Elton John
  • Michael Jackson
  • Prince
  • Whitney Houston

42.) Which band recorded the song "Hey Jude"?

  • Queen
  • The Beach Boys
  • The Beatles
  • The Rolling Stones

43.) Who is known as the "King of Rock and Roll"?

  • Chuck Berry
  • Elvis Presley
  • Jerry Lee Lewis
  • Little Richard

44.) What is the highest female singing voice?

  • Alto
  • Baritone
  • Soprano
  • Tenor

45.) Which of these is a genre of music originating from Jamaica?

  • Blues
  • Reggae
  • Samba
  • Tango

46.) Who was the lead singer of Queen?

  • Bono
  • David Bowie
  • Freddie Mercury
  • Mick Jagger

47.) Which musical term indicates a slow tempo?

  • Adagio
  • Allegro
  • Presto
  • Vivace

48.) What is the main instrument traditionally used in Flamenco music?

  • Flute
  • Guitar
  • Piano
  • Violin

49.) Which band is known for the album "The Dark Side of the Moon"?

  • Fleetwood Mac
  • Led Zeppelin
  • Pink Floyd
  • The Doors

50.) Who composed "The Four Seasons"?

  • Antonio Vivaldi
  • Franz Joseph Haydn
  • Georg Friedrich Handel
  • Johann Pachelbel

Medium Music Trivia Questions

These Music trivia questions are perfect for older kids, teenagers, and adults. If you want to play Music trivia with friends and family, try these medium difficulty questions

51.) What type of performance involves a singer who communicates a story through both singing and acting?

  • Ballet
  • Concerto
  • Opera
  • Symphony

52.) What is the term for a male singer with a very high voice that uses falsetto?

  • Baritone
  • Bass
  • Countertenor
  • Tenor

53.) What is the term for a piano piece with a slow tempo and expressive melodies?

  • Etude
  • Nocturne
  • Prelude
  • Rondo

54.) What instrument does Yo-Yo Ma primarily play?

  • Cello
  • Guitar
  • Piano
  • Violin

55.) Which composer is known for his nine symphonies?

  • Franz Schubert
  • Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

56.) Which music festival is famously known as "three days of peace and music"?

  • Coachella
  • Glastonbury
  • Lollapalooza
  • Woodstock

57.) Who adapted the melody of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" into a piano composition?

  • Franz Schubert
  • Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

58.) Who is known for the song "Like a Rolling Stone"?

  • Bob Dylan
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Johnny Cash
  • Neil Young

59.) Which classical composer is known for his symphonies and was born in Bonn, Germany?

  • Franz Schubert
  • Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

60.) What type of musical composition is most commonly associated with Antonio Vivaldi?

  • Cantata
  • Concerto
  • Sonata
  • Symphony

61.) Which band released the album 'Dark Side of the Moon' in 1973?

  • Led Zeppelin
  • Pink Floyd
  • Queen
  • The Beatles

62.) Which music style, originating in Jamaica in the 1960s, is characterized by a slower tempo and a focus on groove and rhythm?

  • Calypso
  • Mento
  • Reggae
  • Ska

63.) Which 19th-century composer is known for the '1812 Overture' and the ballet 'Swan Lake'?

  • Frédéric Chopin
  • Johannes Brahms
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
  • Richard Wagner

64.) Which British rock band was formerly known as 'The New Yardbirds'?

  • Fleetwood Mac
  • Led Zeppelin
  • The Smashing Pumpkins
  • The Who

65.) Who is the French composer known for the orchestral work 'Boléro'?

  • Camille Saint-Saëns
  • Claude Debussy
  • Erik Satie
  • Maurice Ravel

66.) What is the musical term for a series of notes that ascend or descend in a specific order of whole and half steps?

  • Arpeggio
  • Chord
  • Harmony
  • Scale

67.) Which famous American singer known for his deep voice was nicknamed 'Ol' Blue Eyes'?

  • Bing Crosby
  • Elvis Presley
  • Frank Sinatra
  • Johnny Cash

68.) Which singer famously sang the theme song for the 1964 James Bond film 'Goldfinger'?

  • Adele
  • Nancy Sinatra
  • Shirley Bassey
  • Tina Turner

69.) What is the main compositional technique utilized in a Fugue, especially in the works of J.S. Bach?

  • Counterpoint
  • Dissonance
  • Harmony
  • Melody

70.) Which composer is known for his opera 'The Barber of Seville'?

  • Gioachino Rossini
  • Giuseppe Verdi
  • Richard Strauss
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

71.) In what opera by Richard Wagner is the piece 'Ride of the Valkyries' found?

  • Die Walküre
  • Parsifal
  • Tannhäuser
  • Tristan und Isolde

72.) Who was the lead vocalist of the band The Doors?

  • Jim Morrison
  • John Lennon
  • Mick Jagger
  • Robert Plant

73.) Which iconic guitarist is known for his innovative use of feedback and the wah-wah pedal in the 1960s?

  • Carlos Santana
  • Eric Clapton
  • Jimi Hendrix
  • Jimmy Page

74.) What is the term for a rhythm pattern that accents on the weaker beats or off-beats?

  • Cadence
  • Legato
  • Ostinato
  • Syncopation

75.) What is the term for a gradual increase in tempo?

  • Accelerando
  • Allegro
  • Crescendo
  • Staccato

Hard Music Trivia Questions

These Music trivia questions are perfect for teenagers and adults. If you want to play Music trivia with family and friends, try these hard difficulty questions for a fun challenge.

76.) Which ethnic group primarily associated with Flamenco hails from southern Spain?

  • Basques
  • Catalans
  • Galicians
  • Gitano (Romani people in Spain)

77.) Which musical scale is sometimes referred to as the 'Gypsy scale'?

  • Dorian scale
  • Hungarian minor scale
  • Ionian scale
  • Pentatonic scale

78.) In music theory, which scale consists of only whole note intervals?

  • Chromatic scale
  • Harmonic minor scale
  • Pentatonic scale
  • Whole tone scale

79.) Which 20th-century composer is known for his use of twelve-tone serialism?

  • Arnold Schoenberg
  • Claude Debussy
  • Igor Stravinsky
  • Sergei Prokofiev

80.) Who was the composer of the opera 'Turandot', known for the famous aria 'Nessun Dorma'?

  • Giacomo Puccini
  • Gioachino Rossini
  • Giuseppe Verdi
  • Richard Wagner

81.) What is the name of the German opera composer credited with the development of leitmotif?

  • Franz Schubert
  • Johannes Brahms
  • Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Richard Wagner

82.) Which ancient Greek philosopher is also known for his contributions to music theory, particularly regarding the mathematical ratios of intervals?

  • Aristotle
  • Plato
  • Pythagoras
  • Socrates

83.) Who composed the Lieder cycle 'Die Winterreise'?

  • Franz Schubert
  • Johannes Brahms
  • Richard Strauss
  • Robert Schumann

84.) What is the term for a musical composition for a solo instrument intended to showcase a performer's technical skill, primarily during the Baroque and Classical periods?

  • Caprice
  • Concerto
  • Fugue
  • Sonata

85.) Which composer wrote the 'Symphonie fantastique', a program symphony?

  • Felix Mendelssohn
  • Franz Liszt
  • Hector Berlioz
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

86.) Which scale is frequently used in flamenco music and contains both major and minor qualities?

  • Harmonic minor scale
  • Mixolydian scale
  • Pentatonic scale
  • Phrygian dominant scale

87.) Which composer is known for the composition of the ballets 'The Firebird' and 'Petrushka'?

  • Claude Debussy
  • Igor Stravinsky
  • Maurice Ravel
  • Sergei Rachmaninoff

88.) Which Italian composer is renowned for developing the early Baroque opera and 'L'Orfeo'?

  • Antonio Vivaldi
  • Claudio Monteverdi
  • Giovanni Gabrieli
  • Girolamo Frescobaldi

89.) In Western classical music, which period is characterized by the development of atonal music and twelve-tone technique?

  • 20th-century
  • Baroque
  • Classical
  • Romantic

90.) Which jazz musician is credited with pioneering 'modal jazz' with albums like 'Kind of Blue'?

  • Charlie Parker
  • Duke Ellington
  • John Coltrane
  • Miles Davis

91.) Who composed the orchestral suite 'The Planets', premiered in 1918?

  • Aaron Copland
  • Gustav Holst
  • Igor Stravinsky
  • Sergei Prokofiev

92.) Which composer innovated the prepared piano technique, among other experimental approaches to sound?

  • John Cage
  • Philip Glass
  • Steve Reich
  • Terry Riley

93.) In music, which type of scale divides the octave into 24 equal parts, commonly used in Arabian traditions?

  • Blues scale
  • Chromatic scale
  • Hijaz scale
  • Quarter tone scale

94.) Which Russian composer is known for his contributions to the development of late Romantic symphonic music and works like 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini'?

  • Igor Stravinsky
  • Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
  • Sergei Rachmaninoff

95.) Whose symphonic poem 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' opens with the famous 'Sunrise' fanfare, later used in '2001: A Space Odyssey'?

  • Bedřich Smetana
  • Gustav Mahler
  • Johannes Brahms
  • Richard Strauss

96.) Who was the influential classical composer of the 20th century known for serialism and the piece 'Pierrot Lunaire'?

  • Alban Berg
  • Anton Bruckner
  • Anton Webern
  • Arnold Schoenberg

97.) Which French composer is renowned for his impressionistic music, including 'Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faune'?

  • Camille Saint-Saëns
  • Claude Debussy
  • Gabriel Fauré
  • Maurice Ravel

98.) Who composed the minimalist opera 'Einstein on the Beach', known for its unconventional form and lack of a traditional narrative?

  • John Adams
  • Philip Glass
  • Steve Reich
  • Terry Riley

99.) Which ethnomusicologist and composer was instrumental in collecting Eastern European folk music and integrating it into classical compositions?

  • Antonín Dvořák
  • Béla Bartók
  • Leoš Janáček
  • Zoltán Kodály

100.) What is the name of the Russian composer whose operas include 'Boris Godunov', noted for its distinct Mussorgskian harmony?

  • Alexander Borodin
  • Dmitri Shostakovich
  • Modest Mussorgsky
  • Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Very Hard Music Trivia Questions

These Music trivia questions are perfect for adults, college students, and advanced students. If you want to play Music trivia with friends, family, or colleagues, try these very hard questions to test your knowledge about Music at its limits.

101.) Which 20th-century composer is noted for his use of microtones in works such as the 'String Quartet No. 4'?

  • Benjamin Britten
  • Iannis Xenakis
  • Leonard Bernstein
  • Olivier Messiaen

102.) Which composer is associated with the pioneering work in musique concrète, a form of electroacoustic music?

  • Edgard Varèse
  • Karlheinz Stockhausen
  • Luigi Russolo
  • Pierre Schaeffer

103.) Which composer involved in the Fluxus movement wrote 'Contemporary Music for Contemporary Music'?

  • John Cage
  • La Monte Young
  • Philip Glass
  • Steve Reich

104.) Who was the primary architect of the twelve-tone technique that revolutionized 20th-century classical music?

  • Anton Webern
  • Arnold Schoenberg
  • Claude Debussy
  • Igor Stravinsky

105.) What is the name of the 18th-century treatise by Jean-Philippe Rameau that serves as a cornerstone for modern music theory?

  • Gradus ad Parnassum
  • Harmonices Mundi
  • Musica Enchiriadis
  • Traité de l'harmonie

106.) Which composer is credited with the first use of the term 'symphonic poem' to describe orchestral music that evokes a narrative or artistic idea?

  • Franz Liszt
  • Hector Berlioz
  • Johannes Brahms
  • Richard Strauss

107.) Which composer is known for translating bird songs into his compositions, especially evident in his work 'Catalogue d'oiseaux'?

  • Béla Bartók
  • Maurice Ravel
  • Olivier Messiaen
  • Paul Hindemith

108.) What is the name of the complex harmonic and melodic system that characterizes Middle Eastern classical music?

  • Maqam
  • Pentatonic scale
  • Raga
  • Tala

109.) Which 20th-century composer developed the concept of 'micropolyphony' in his works, a technique that involves complex interwoven tonal clusters?

  • György Ligeti
  • John Cage
  • Karlheinz Stockhausen
  • La Monte Young

110.) In the late Romantic period, which Russian composer is known for creating the 'Mystic Chord' in his harmonic language?

  • Alexander Scriabin
  • Igor Stravinsky
  • Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
  • Sergei Rachmaninoff

111.) Which composer from the Second Viennese School was known for innovative rhythmic structures and 'pointillism' in music?

  • Alban Berg
  • Anton Webern
  • Arnold Schoenberg
  • Pierre Boulez

112.) Which 20th-century composer's theories on 'pitch multiplicity' expanded the concept of musical harmony beyond the traditional tonal structures?

  • Elliott Carter
  • Milton Babbitt
  • Olivier Messiaen
  • Pierre Boulez

113.) What musicological term refers to the ancient Greek belief that the harmony of celestial bodies produces a form of music inaudible to the human ear?

  • Astrosonics
  • Celestial Harmonies
  • Harmony of the Spheres
  • Star Symphonies

114.) What is the original meaning of the term 'fugue', referring to its musical form?

  • Interwoven melodies
  • Musical finale
  • Solemn song
  • To chase or flight

115.) Which medieval French composer and poet is known for the foundational treatise 'Ars Nova', which defines a new style of polyphonic music?

  • Guillaume de Machaut
  • Leonin
  • Perotin
  • Philippe de Vitry

116.) Who is considered the 'Father of Musicology', known for his studies on the correct interpretation of Renaissance vocal music?

  • Charles Burney
  • Edward Dent
  • Guido Adler
  • Johann Forkel

117.) Who composed the opera 'Lulu', exemplifying the expressionist musical idiom of the Second Viennese School?

  • Alban Berg
  • Anton Webern
  • Arnold Schoenberg
  • Ferruccio Busoni

118.) Which German-speaking composer is known for his twelve-tone technique and composed the opera 'Wozzeck'?

  • Alban Berg
  • Anton Webern
  • Arnold Schoenberg
  • Richard Strauss

119.) What is the name of the medieval monk credited with the invention of modern musical notation using a staff and note heads?

  • Franco of Cologne
  • Guido d'Arezzo
  • Hildegard von Bingen
  • Philippe de Vitry

120.) What is the title of Arnold Schoenberg's 1912 melodrama which includes an ensemble of five performers and employs Sprechstimme?

  • Erwartung
  • Gurre-Lieder
  • Pierrot Lunaire
  • Verklärte Nacht

121.) In classical music, the Baroque composer Rameau is credited with pioneering what key theoretical development?

  • Functional harmony
  • Polytonality
  • Serialism
  • Twelve-tone technique

122.) What is the specific compositional system introduced by Olivier Messiaen known for its use of non-retrogradable rhythms?

  • Indeterminacy
  • Integral serialism
  • Minimalism
  • Modes of limited transposition

123.) Which opera by Alban Berg, completed posthumously and premiered in 1937, is considered an epitome of the music drama genre?

  • Die tote Stadt
  • Lulu
  • Moses und Aron
  • Wozzeck

124.) Which style did Luigi Nono frequently use to incorporate his political beliefs into his compositions?

  • Aleatoric music
  • Concertante style
  • Electronic music experimentation
  • Serialism

125.) Which composer devised a twelve-tone technique that structures compositions around twelve pitches?

  • Arnold Schoenberg
  • Béla Bartók
  • Dmitri Shostakovich
  • Igor Stravinsky

127.) Which composer developed the concept of "musique concrète", revolutionizing the way musical sounds are produced and captured?

  • Karlheinz Stockhausen
  • Luciano Berio
  • Pierre Boulez
  • Pierre Schaeffer

+375 more Music trivia questions

Looking for even more Music trivia?

TriviaBear has over 500 Music trivia questions and answers for you to enjoy, ranging from easy to very difficult, and we're adding more every day.

Music trivia is a fun way to test your knowledge about songs, artists, and different genres of music! If you love quizzing yourself with trivia questions related to your favorite tunes, you’re in the right place. You can find interesting facts and answers that will make you sound really cool at parties. So, get ready to discover some awesome music trivia with me!

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