Bing Musical Instruments Quiz – Sounds, Origins and Types
The Bing Musical Instruments Quiz asks you to match their sounds, origins and roles across different styles of music, from the piano, saxophone and violin to the sitar, didgeridoo, bagpipes, ukulele and theremin. Some instruments look familiar but belong to unexpected families.
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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds
Families
Which instrument family does the saxophone belong to, even though it is made of brass?
Families
The piano is sometimes classed as both a string and which other kind of instrument?
India
Which long-necked string instrument from India was made famous worldwide by Ravi Shankar?
Australia
The didgeridoo was developed by which people?
Strings
Which is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the orchestra's string family?
Electronic
Which electronic instrument is played without touching it?
Hawaii
The ukulele developed in Hawaii from small guitars brought by immigrants from where?
Scotland
What do bagpipes use to keep sound going while the player breathes?
Brass
On which brass instrument does the player change notes by moving a slide?
Percussion
Steel drums, or steelpans, were developed in which country?
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Scroll down to see the explanation for each question.
Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions
- Q1: Which instrument family does the saxophone belong to, even though it is made of brass?
Answer: Woodwind
The saxophone uses a reed, like a clarinet, so it counts as a woodwind. Adolphe Sax invented it in the 1840s.
- Q2: The piano is sometimes classed as both a string and which other kind of instrument?
Answer: Percussion
Pressing a key makes a hammer strike the strings. Its full name, pianoforte, means soft-loud.
- Q3: Which long-necked string instrument from India was made famous worldwide by Ravi Shankar?
Answer: The sitar
The sitar has extra strings that vibrate in sympathy with the played ones. George Harrison of the Beatles studied it.
- Q4: The didgeridoo was developed by which people?
Answer: Aboriginal people of northern Australia
Traditional didgeridoos are made from branches hollowed out by termites. Players use circular breathing to keep a steady drone.
- Q5: Which is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the orchestra's string family?
Answer: The violin
The string family includes violin, viola, cello and double bass. Violins are split into first and second sections.
- Q6: Which electronic instrument is played without touching it?
Answer: The theremin
Moving the hands near two antennas changes the pitch and volume. Léon Theremin invented it around 1920.
- Q7: The ukulele developed in Hawaii from small guitars brought by immigrants from where?
Answer: Portugal
Portuguese immigrants from Madeira arrived in the 1870s. The name is often translated as jumping flea.
- Q8: What do bagpipes use to keep sound going while the player breathes?
Answer: An air bag squeezed under the arm
The bag stores air so the drones and melody pipe never stop. Many cultures have their own kinds of bagpipes.
- Q9: On which brass instrument does the player change notes by moving a slide?
Answer: The trombone
The trombone's slide changes the length of the tubing. Most other brass instruments, such as the trumpet and tuba, use valves instead.
- Q10: Steel drums, or steelpans, were developed in which country?
Answer: Trinidad and Tobago
Players first made them from oil drums in the 20th century. The steelpan is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago.
Bing Musical Instruments Quiz – Sounds, Origins and Types
Musical instruments are usually grouped into families: strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion and, more recently, electronic instruments. Some instruments, however, do not fit where people expect.
The saxophone is made of brass but uses a reed, so it belongs to the woodwinds. The piano has strings but is played by hammers, so it is sometimes classed as percussion too. In the orchestra, the violin is the smallest and highest of the strings, and the trombone uses a slide instead of valves.
Instruments also tell stories about where they come from. The sitar from India became famous through Ravi Shankar, the didgeridoo comes from Aboriginal Australia and the ukulele developed in Hawaii from Portuguese guitars. Steel drums were born in Trinidad and Tobago.
Some instruments surprise with how they work. Bagpipes use an air bag to keep sound going, and the theremin is played without being touched at all.
Each of the ten questions in the Bing Musical Instruments Quiz gives you three choices and a short explanation once you answer. The timer runs for 150 seconds, so try to trust your first instinct on the easy ones and save time for the tricky questions near the end. You can replay the quiz as often as you like. Many players find that the second attempt goes much better, because the explanations help the facts stick. Share the quiz with a friend and compare your results.
Play the quiz and see how well you know the world's instruments.
What This Quiz Teaches
- Instrument families
- Instruments that break the rules
- The orchestra's string section
- Instruments from around the world
- Brass and woodwind differences
- Electronic instruments
Quick Facts
- The guitar is one of the world's most popular instruments.
- The pipe organ is one of the largest instruments.
- Drums are among the oldest instruments.
- The harp has existed for thousands of years.
- A grand piano has about 230 strings.
- The flute is a woodwind even when made of metal.
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