🎼 Reading music quiz
Let's see what you know about reading music: the staff, the notes, the beats and the signs.
Getting the questions ready…
The answers, and why
- How many lines are on a music staff? Five. The staff has five lines, and notes sit on the lines and in the spaces.
- The musical alphabet goes from A to... G. Music uses seven letters, A B C D E F G, then starts again at A.
- The treble clef is also called the... G clef. Its curl wraps around the G line.
- In 4/4 time, how many beats does a whole note last? Four. A whole note lasts the whole bar: four beats.
- In 4/4 time, how many beats does a half note last? Two. A half note is half a whole note: two beats.
- What does f (forte) mean? Loud. Forte is Italian for strong: play loudly.
- What does p (piano) mean in music? Soft. Piano is Italian for soft. The piano got its name because it can play soft and loud.
- What does tempo mean? How fast the music goes. Tempo is the speed of the beat. A metronome keeps it steady.
- Three or more notes played together make a... Chord. A chord is notes played at the same time. C, E and G make a C major chord.
- How many sharps or flats are in the C major scale? None. C major uses only the white keys on a piano.