Piano 101: Do You Have the Chops(ticks)?
Written by Susanna Henke
Last updated · 6 min play time
Test your knowledge of the basics with this fun Piano 101 quiz!
Quiz written by
Susanna Henke: Piano Basics Quiz Questions
20 Questions · 427 Plays · 1 Comment
Question 1
The centrally located note on a standard piano keyboard that students typically learn first is called "Middle ?"
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AA
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BC
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CB
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DF
C
Why is Middle C so important? For one reason, it marks the border between keys played with the left hand and those with the right hand.
Question 2
How many keys does a standard piano have?
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A76
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B49
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C88
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D61
88
Pianos started out with fewer keys, but as composers became increasingly accomplished and aspirational over the years, more and more keys were added. It wasn't until the late 1880s that the Steinway piano company manufactured the first 88-key model. Other manufacturers followed and this has been the norm ever since.
Question 3
In which century was the piano invented?
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A17th century
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B18th century
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C2nd century
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D19th century
18th century
At the dawn of the 18th century, a famous Italian luthier (instrument maker) for Florence's ruling Medici family named Bartolomeo Cristofori decided to update the familiar harpsichord. The new instrument looked similar but was distinct in that it used a hammer mechanism to strike the strings.
Question 4
The name piano is a shortening of pianoforte, a combination of the Italian words piano and forte. What's the English translation of those two words?
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Asoft, loud
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Bhard, soft
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Crock, roll
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Dkeys, strings
soft, loud
The first written description of a piano was by Italian poet and journalist Scipione Maffei, who described the new instrument as "gravicembalo col piano, e forte," which translates to "harpsichord with quiet and loud".
Question 5
Which of a piano's three pedals is used most frequently?
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Aright
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Bmiddle
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Cfourth
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Dleft
right
The right piano pedal is called the sustain (or damper) pedal. Like it sounds, the pedal's function is to sustain a note even after the player lifts their finger off of a key. The other pedals are the soft pedal (left) and the sostenuto pedal (middle).
Question 6
Which of these is NOT one of the differences between a grand piano and an upright piano?
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Aupright pianos are easier to play
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Ban upright piano is cheaper
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Cthe direction of the strings
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Da grand piano has faster action
upright pianos are easier to play
In fact, grand pianos are considered much easier to play than uprights. This is for two reasons: the grand's horizontal layout means it doesn't rely on springs to release the hammer and it uses a repetition lever, allowing the pianist to play much faster than on an upright.
Question 7
Adagio, Allegro and Leggiero all describe which aspect of a piece of music?
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Alyrical content
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Btime signature
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Ctempo
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Dbeat
tempo
Tempo determines the speed of music. While tempo can be indicated numerically as beats per minute, it can also be expressed using traditional Italian music vocabulary. Some of the most common tempos are <i>Allegro</i> (lively or fast), <i>Forte</i> (strong, powerful), and <i>Leggiero</i> (lightly).
Question 8
What's the name of this music symbol?
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Asharp
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Bhashtag
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Cpound
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Dflat
sharp
Like its brother the flat symbol (which looks like a "b"), a sharp symbol tells the pianist to adjust the pitch of the accompanying note slightly. Sharp means to go one pitch higher and flat means one pitch lower. Typically, this means playing one of the black keys adjacent to the note.
Question 9
What's the correct name for the horizontal lines in the background on sheet music?
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Astave
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Bstaff
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Cneither of these
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Dboth of these
both of these
Same thing! Brits typically say stave, while Americans use staff more often.
Question 10
What's the name of this essential tool for beginning pianists?
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Athermometer
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Bmetronome
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Charmonograph
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Dtuning device
metronome
Metronomes help pianists learn to stay on tempo. While many use electronic versions today, this old school model relies on a swinging pendulum.
Question 11
Which of these is NOT an element of proper piano position?
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Abench facing keyboard
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Bknees just under keyboard
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Celbows bent and slightly lower than keys
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Dcurved fingers
elbows bent and slightly lower than keys
In fact, elbows should be slightly higher than the keys. Other elements of good piano posture include sitting up straight, leaning slightly forward and letting arms hang loosely from shoulders. And whatever you do, don't copy Tori!
Question 12
What kind of symbol is the far right note?
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Ahalf note/minim
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Bwhole note/semibreve
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Cquarter note/crotchet
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Deighth note/quaver
half note/minim
In sheet music, a note symbol tells you <i>which</i> key to play (by where the note is placed on the horizontal lines) as well as <i>how long</i> to play it (by its shape). A whole note (American)/semibreve (British, rest of world) is played for four beats, so the half note/minim is played for two, and so on.
Question 13
The vertical lines on sheet music are called bar lines. What is the section between two bar lines called?
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Ameasure
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Boctave
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Cset
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Dscale
measure
When transcribed onto sheet music, compositions are typically divided into measures (aka bars) that group strings of notes together, creating reference points so that the piece is easier to follow.
Question 14
The stack of two large numbers pictured here is called a time signature. What is the most popular time signature?
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A3/4
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B11/19
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C4/4
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D6/8
4/4
In fact, 4/4 time is used so frequently it's sometimes called "common time".
Question 15
Which notes make up the fundamental chord of C Major?
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AC, F, H
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BC, F, G
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CC, D, G
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DC, E, G
C, E, G
Piano teachers often have their students learn the C Major chord first, since "middle C" is usually the first key the students learn.
Question 16
How many notes make up a chord?
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A1 or more
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B4 or more
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C3 or more
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D2 or more
3 or more
A chord is three or more notes played simultaneously (or nearly so). The most common chords are triads, which means a combination of a root note and the third and fifth interval notes above it.
Question 17
What does the top number of a time signature tell you?
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A# of notes per measure
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B# of beats per measure
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C# of white keys per measure
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D# of pauses per measure
# of beats per measure
The top number in a time signature tells you how many beats to count per measure (almost always between 2-12) and the bottom number tells you which type of notes the measures contain.
Question 18
What do you call this sequence of notes?
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Ameasure
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Bscale
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Csymphony
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Dbridge
scale
Every good beginning piano student is sure to know this one. Scales are a sequence of notes organized in a specific way. The two key scales in pop music are the major scale (cheerful!) and the minor scale (gloomy :/)
Question 19
What do the mnemonics "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" and FACE help piano students remember?
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Athe notes of a harmonic triad
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Bthe order of notes on sheet music
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Cthe time signature of pop music
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Dthat practice makes perfect
the order of notes on sheet music
On sheet music, the top group of five horizontal lines (called the treble clef) are assigned to E on the bottom, and continuing up to G, B, D and F. The spaces in between the lines start with F at the bottom, then A, C, and E.
Question 20
In which instrument category does the piano belong?
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Awoodwind
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Bpercussion
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Cbrass
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Dstring
percussion
Not so obvious, is it? Even though the piano has upwards of 200 strings, it's considered a percussion instrument because the sound is made by the hammers hitting the strings.
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