The Language of Music
Tune in to rhythm, notation and musical forms with a friendly guide to the ideas behind the sound.
Tune in to rhythm, notation and musical forms with a friendly guide to the ideas behind the sound. Take ten thoughtfully chosen questions at your own pace. Each answer comes with a short explanation to help you connect the facts and remember something new.
What does tempo describe?
Your question-by-question study guide
Prefer to read, or revisit what you learned? Explore every question below. Open an answer when you’re ready.
1. What does tempo describe?
- The height of a stage
- The material of a string
- The number of audience members
- The speed of music
Reveal answer and explanation
The speed of music — Tempo indicates the pace of the underlying musical beat.
2. What does forte mean in musical directions?
- Short
- Soft
- Loud
- Slow
Reveal answer and explanation
Loud — Forte directs performers to play loudly; piano directs them to play softly.
3. How many lines are on a standard musical staff?
- Seven
- Five
- Four
- Six
Reveal answer and explanation
Five — The five lines and their spaces provide positions for written notes.
4. What is a duet written for?
- Two performers
- Three performers
- Four performers
- A full orchestra only
Reveal answer and explanation
Two performers — A duet features two performers or two principal musical parts.
5. Which composer wrote The Four Seasons?
- Frédéric Chopin
- Claude Debussy
- Gustav Mahler
- Antonio Vivaldi
Reveal answer and explanation
Antonio Vivaldi — Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos.
6. What is an octave in a common diatonic scale?
- A group of eight drums
- A very slow tempo
- The interval spanning eight scale degrees
- A pause of eight minutes
Reveal answer and explanation
The interval spanning eight scale degrees — An octave reaches the next note with the same letter name at a higher or lower pitch.
7. What does crescendo mean?
- Playing without rhythm
- Gradually getting louder
- Gradually getting faster
- Stopping immediately
Reveal answer and explanation
Gradually getting louder — A crescendo increases loudness over a passage.
8. Which genre is strongly associated with improvisation and swing?
- Jazz
- Gregorian chant
- March music only
- Plainchant
Reveal answer and explanation
Jazz — Jazz often features improvisation and rhythmic approaches including swing.
9. What does a rest indicate in written music?
- A repeated melody
- A louder note
- A change of instrument
- A period of silence
Reveal answer and explanation
A period of silence — Rests specify silences with rhythmic durations, just as notes specify sounds.
10. Which composer continued composing after profound hearing loss?
- George Gershwin
- John Philip Sousa
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Scott Joplin
Reveal answer and explanation
Ludwig van Beethoven — Beethoven created major late works despite severe and eventually profound hearing loss.