Musical instruments, their construction, playing methods, and characteristic sounds. Performer biographies belong in Artists, musical styles in Music Genres, and general sound physics in Acoustics.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
Which plastic soprano instrument pitched in C was widely adopted in 1960s music class?
The plastic soprano recorder in C cost under two dollars and taught standard notation.
Which small wooden piece holds violin strings above the body?
The bridge carries string vibration into the body, so its fit shapes the tone and volume.
Which Soviet leader tried the theremin during a 1922 Kremlin demonstration?
Lenin was so impressed that he sent Léon Theremin on a tour of the Soviet Union to promote electrification.
Which 1945 Alfred Hitchcock thriller features the theremin in its score?
Composer Miklós Rózsa used the instrument's sliding, wordless wail for the film's dream sequences.
Which instrument did Robert Moog's first company sell as build-it-yourself kits?
Moog built his first theremin at 14, and a 1954 article he wrote about building one drew so many kit orders that he started his first company.
Léon Theremin designed a listening device hidden inside which gift to the US ambassador?
The seal had no battery of its own: Soviet agents had to beam radio energy at it from outside to switch it on.
Which violinist became the most famous virtuoso of the theremin?
Rockmore trained as a violinist before arthritis ended her bowing career, then built theremin technique for concert stages.
Which woodwind instrument plays the tuning A that an orchestra tunes to?
The oboe gives the tuning A because its steady, piercing tone is easy for every player to hear.
Which feature lets a chromatic harmonica play sharps and flats?
Pressing the button shifts a slotted slide that redirects air to extra reeds tuned a semitone higher.
How does a xylophone's sounding pitch compare to its written notes?
Players read lower written notes, but the audience hears them an octave higher and brighter.