KS2 Musical Terms | Which Words are in a the Vocabulary

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Music Quiz - Musical Terms (Questions)

This KS2 Music quiz is all about musical terms. Musical terms are descriptive words for written music and vocabulary.

There are thousands of words used to describe music. A great many are Italian words. This quiz looks at just a few examples of the basic musical vocabulary you should know. The more you progress in music, the more words you will need to learn so try to remember these basic ones off by heart. It will really help as you move up the grades.

In addition, it will also mean you know a few Italian words!

Test your knowledge with this quiz on musical terms.

These are the words which make up a song.

[ ]	Melody
[ ]	Harmony
[ ]	Lyrics
[ ]	Verse

This is the instruction that tells a musician which sharps and flats to play.

[ ]	Key signature
[ ]	Time signature
[ ]	Chord
[ ]	Dynamics

This is the family that is played by hitting or scraping the instruments.

[ ]	Woodwinds
[ ]	Percussion
[ ]	Strings
[ ]	Brass

The dynamic for 'grow gradually louder' is ____.

[ ]	ritardando
[ ]	andante
[ ]	dolce
[ ]	crescendo

This is the term for 'very quiet'.

[ ]	Pianissimo
[ ]	Allegro
[ ]	Minim
[ ]	Forte

This describes the speed at which music is played.

[ ]	Ostinato
[ ]	Beat
[ ]	Rhythm
[ ]	Tempo

The leading part in a musical composition is called the ____.

[ ]	major key
[ ]	harmony
[ ]	melody
[ ]	harmonics

Another word for this element of music is 'pulse'.

[ ]	Rhythm
[ ]	Beat
[ ]	Staccato
[ ]	Texture

This describes how long a note is held.

[ ]	Scale
[ ]	Tempo
[ ]	Duration
[ ]	Dynamics

10.

This is another word for 'note'.

[ ]	Tone
[ ]	Volume
[ ]	Flat
[ ]	Key

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Essentials

Music Quiz - Musical Terms (Answers)

These are the words which make up a song.

[ ]	Melody
[ ]	Harmony
[x]	Lyrics
[ ]	Verse

Some pieces of music have no lyrics - can you think of any?

This is the instruction that tells a musician which sharps and flats to play.

[x]	Key signature
[ ]	Time signature
[ ]	Chord
[ ]	Dynamics

The key signature tells a musician in which key the music is written - it saves time writing out all the flats or sharps

This is the family that is played by hitting or scraping the instruments.

[ ]	Woodwinds
[x]	Percussion
[ ]	Strings
[ ]	Brass

Tambourines, triangles and whistles are examples of percussion

The dynamic for 'grow gradually louder' is ____.

[ ]	ritardando
[ ]	andante
[ ]	dolce
[x]	crescendo

When a noise becomes quite loud, it is often described as 'rising to a crescendo'

This is the term for 'very quiet'.

[x]	Pianissimo
[ ]	Allegro
[ ]	Minim
[ ]	Forte

Forte means to play loud

This describes the speed at which music is played.

[ ]	Ostinato
[ ]	Beat
[ ]	Rhythm
[x]	Tempo

Tempo is the Italian word for time

The leading part in a musical composition is called the ____.

[ ]	major key
[ ]	harmony
[x]	melody
[ ]	harmonics

The melody is what you most probably hum or sing when listening to a song - harmony is its accompaniment

Another word for this element of music is 'pulse'.

[ ]	Rhythm
[x]	Beat
[ ]	Staccato
[ ]	Texture

Although it may slow down or speed up at times, the beat is steady and predictable, like your heartbeat

This describes how long a note is held.

[ ]	Scale
[ ]	Tempo
[x]	Duration
[ ]	Dynamics

This is an easy one to remember if you already know the meaning of duration

10.

This is another word for 'note'.

[x]	Tone
[ ]	Volume
[ ]	Flat
[ ]	Key

This is an easy one because tone is an anagram of note!