Violin Quiz – How Much Do You Really Know?

A Stradivarius violin made by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona can sell for millions of dollars, and this violin quiz explores the instrument behind the legend. Learn about tuning in fifths, horsehair bows and rosin, the scroll and f-holes, pizzicato, Niccolò Paganini, the concertmaster's role and how the fiddle and violin are the same instrument.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Stradivari
In which Italian city did Stradivari work?
Strings
What are the violin's four strings from low to high?
Bow
What is a violin bow traditionally strung with?
Rosin
Why do violinists apply rosin?
Pizzicato
What does pizzicato mean?
Holes
What shape are the violin's sound holes?
Paganini
Which virtuoso was rumored to have made a pact with the devil?
Concertmaster
Who is the concertmaster in an orchestra?
Fiddle
What is the difference between a fiddle and a violin?
Scroll
What is the carved spiral at the top of a violin called?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: In which Italian city did Stradivari work?
Answer: Cremona
Amati and Guarneri worked there too.
Q2: What are the violin's four strings from low to high?
Answer: G D A E
They are tuned in fifths.
Q3: What is a violin bow traditionally strung with?
Answer: Horsehair
Rosin helps it grip.
Q4: Why do violinists apply rosin?
Answer: To help the bow grip strings
It is made from pine resin.
Q5: What does pizzicato mean?
Answer: Plucking the strings
It is Italian.
Q6: What shape are the violin's sound holes?
Answer: f-shaped
They let sound out.
Q7: Which virtuoso was rumored to have made a pact with the devil?
Answer: Niccolò Paganini
His skill astonished audiences.
Q8: Who is the concertmaster in an orchestra?
Answer: The leading first violinist
They tune the orchestra.
Q9: What is the difference between a fiddle and a violin?
Answer: Only the playing style
They are the same instrument.
Q10: What is the carved spiral at the top of a violin called?
Answer: The scroll
It sits above the pegbox.

Violin Quiz – The Singing Strings

The violin developed in sixteenth-century Italy and became the leading voice of the orchestra. Its four strings, G, D, A and E, are tuned in fifths and played with a bow strung with horsehair, which players coat with rosin for grip.

Cremona was home to master makers such as Amati, Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari, whose instruments can sell for millions. Violins have f-shaped sound holes, a bridge supporting the strings and a carved scroll at the top. Players also pluck the strings, a technique called pizzicato.

Niccolò Paganini's dazzling skill led to rumors of a pact with the devil. In orchestras, the concertmaster leads the first violins. In folk music, the same instrument is called a fiddle, with only the playing style differing.

What This Quiz Teaches

Musicians and music lovers will enjoy these questions.

Where Stradivari worked
How the strings are tuned
What the bow uses
What pizzicato means
What a concertmaster does

Did You Know?

Violins come in fractional sizes for children.
The viola is slightly larger.
Vibrato adds warmth.
Bows were refined by François Tourte.
Electric violins exist too.