Music Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
Name: ………………………………Score: ……… / 20
- Reggae is a musical style originating from?
- A. Cayman Islands
- B. Cuba
- C. Jamaica
- D. Haiti
- Fatal Bazooka is a band from which country?
- A. Slovenia
- B. France
- C. Turkey
- D. Ukraine
- Which French singer of Armenian descent wrote 'La Bohème' and 'Hier encore' ('Yesterday When I Was Young')?
- A. Charles Trenet
- B. Charles Aznavour
- C. Georges Brassens
- D. Yves Montand
- Which rock group released the album 'Dark Side of the Moon' in 1973?
- A. The Doors
- B. Led Zeppelin
- C. Pink Floyd
- D. Deep Purple
- How many strings does a classical guitar have?
- A. 6
- B. 8
- C. 5
- D. 4
- Which country does the musical style 'Fado' come from?
- A. Brazil
- B. Spain
- C. Cape Verde
- D. Portugal
- Which composer wrote 'The Rite of Spring'?
- A. Claude Debussy
- B. Béla Bartók
- C. Igor Stravinsky
- D. Maurice Ravel
- Which singer is famous for the album 'Back to Black'?
- A. Lana Del Rey
- B. Adele
- C. Duffy
- D. Amy Winehouse
- What is Wagner's largest opera?
- A. Parsifal
- B. Lohengrin
- C. The Ring of the Nibelung
- D. Tristan and Isolde
- Which musical genre was born in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century?
- A. Rock
- B. Blues
- C. Country
- D. Jazz
- Which group released the album 'A Night at the Opera'?
- A. The Beatles
- B. Rolling Stones
- C. Queen
- D. The Who
- Which Italian composer wrote 'The Four Seasons'?
- A. Verdi
- B. Puccini
- C. Vivaldi
- D. Rossini
- Which musical genre is based on loops and electronic sounds?
- A. Techno
- B. Folk
- C. Jazz
- D. Classical
- Which composer wrote the 'Requiem in D minor'?
- A. Mozart
- B. Schubert
- C. Bach
- D. Beethoven
- Which composer was deaf at the end of his life?
- A. Vivaldi
- B. Beethoven
- C. Bach
- D. Mozart
- What is the name of the keyboard instrument used in churches?
- A. Synthesiser
- B. Harpsichord
- C. Organ
- D. Piano
- What is Miles Davis's instrument of choice?
- A. Piano
- B. Saxophone
- C. Trumpet
- D. Drums
- Which composer wrote the 'Gymnopédies'?
- A. Maurice Ravel
- B. Erik Satie
- C. Claude Debussy
- D. Francis Poulenc
- Which instrument is nicknamed the 'king of instruments'?
- A. The violin
- B. The piano
- C. The pipe organ
- D. The harp
- How many keys does a standard acoustic piano have?
- A. 88
- B. 61
- C. 92
- D. 76
Answer key — Music Quiz
- C. JamaicaReggae was born in the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1960s.
- B. FranceFatal Bazooka is the parody project of French comedian Michaël Youn, poking fun at the codes of rap and R&B.
- B. Charles AznavourCharles Aznavour (1924–2018) is one of the most important figures in French chanson, with over a thousand songs.
- C. Pink FloydReleased in March 1973, Dark Side of the Moon stayed in the charts for over 900 weeks.
- A. 6The six nylon strings of the classical guitar are tuned E, A, D, G, B, E from low to high.
- D. PortugalBorn in the working-class districts of Lisbon in the 19th century, fado sings of ‘saudade’, a blend of longing and melancholy.
- C. Igor StravinskyOn 29 May 1913, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the premiere of The Rite of Spring by the Ballets Russes caused shouting and scuffles in the audience.
- D. Amy WinehouseReleased in 2006, Back to Black revived 1960s soul, driven by songs such as ‘Rehab’.
- C. The Ring of the NibelungThe Ring of the Nibelung links four operas into about fifteen hours of music.
- D. JazzJazz was born in New Orleans, a cosmopolitan port where blues, gospel, ragtime and brass bands mixed.
- C. QueenReleased in 1975, A Night at the Opera borrows its title from a Marx Brothers film.
- C. VivaldiNicknamed ‘the Red Priest’, Antonio Vivaldi was both a priest and a virtuoso violinist.
- A. TechnoTechno was born in the mid-1980s in Detroit, the car city, with three young DJs nicknamed the ‘Belleville Three’.
- A. MozartCommissioned anonymously in 1791 by a count who wanted to pass it off as his own, the Requiem was unfinished when Mozart died on 5 December 1791.
- B. BeethovenBeethoven began to lose his hearing at around 28 and became almost completely deaf.
- C. OrganThe organ works by sending air through pipes of different sizes, from a few centimetres to more than 10 metres.
- C. TrumpetMiles Davis changed the face of jazz several times, from cool jazz to jazz-rock.
- B. Erik SatieComposed in 1888, the three Gymnopédies take their name from dances of ancient Greece.
- C. The pipe organWith its powerful sound and polyphony, the pipe organ is traditionally nicknamed the 'king of instruments'.
- A. 88A standard piano has 88 keys (52 white and 36 black), just over 7 octaves.