Musical Instruments Trivia Questions & Answers – Can You Keep the Beat?

Do you know your trumpet from your trombone? Can you identify an instrument just by its shape or sound? This fun and educational Musical Instruments Trivia quiz covers classical, modern, and world instruments. Perfect for music students, pub quizzes, or a fun classroom activity.
Answers are provided below – ready to strike a chord? Let’s play!

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🎵 Musical Instruments Trivia Questions

🎻 Strings & Orchestral

1. What instrument has four strings and is played with a bow?
2. Which string instrument is the largest in an orchestra?
3. What is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family?
4. What instrument is also known as the “fiddle” in folk music?
5. Which instrument uses a bow made of horsehair?
6. What instrument is held between the knees and played with a bow?
7. What instrument looks like a violin but is slightly larger and tuned lower?
8. What is a harp made of?
9. Which instrument has pedals and many strings and is played while seated?
10. What is a stringed instrument from Japan that resembles a zither?

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🎺 Brass & Woodwind

11. What brass instrument uses a slide instead of valves?
12. What instrument is known for its long, curled tubing and mellow tone?
13. What is the smallest brass instrument in the orchestra?
14. Which woodwind instrument uses a double reed?
15. What instrument has a single reed and is common in jazz?
16. What metal woodwind instrument is shaped like a J and used in jazz?
17. What instrument is similar to a clarinet but has a lower pitch and curved bell?
18. What is the oldest known woodwind instrument?
19. Which instrument is often associated with shepherds and folk music?
20. What woodwind instrument has holes covered by keys and is often silver-colored?

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🥁 Percussion

21. What instrument consists of two round heads stretched over a shell and played with hands?
22. What percussion instrument is struck with mallets and has metal bars?
23. What is the large drum in the orchestra called?
24. What are the small brass discs called that are clashed together?
25. What is the name of the long hollow instrument from Australia?
26. What percussion instrument has tubes suspended from a frame and creates a bell-like sound?
27. What instrument is made of wooden bars arranged like a keyboard?
28. What’s the difference between a xylophone and a marimba?
29. What’s the name of the small percussion instrument that jingles when shaken or struck?
30. What are “timpani” also known as?

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🎹 Keyboards

31. What instrument has black and white keys and strings inside?
32. What is an electric version of the piano?
33. What keyboard instrument uses air and pipes to produce sound?
34. Which instrument combines keys and buttons and is strapped to the body?
35. What is the name of the portable keyboard often used in synth music?

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🌍 World Instruments

36. What Indian stringed instrument is played by plucking and often used in classical Indian music?
37. What African instrument uses a gourd and metal tines and is played with the thumbs?
38. What Chinese instrument has 21 strings and is played flat?
39. What traditional Scottish instrument uses air and pipes?
40. What Japanese drum is large and played with sticks?
41. What instrument is shaped like a UFO and played with the hands?
42. What Andean instrument consists of tubes of different lengths?
43. What Middle Eastern instrument resembles a guitar and has a pear-shaped body?
44. What Hawaiian instrument has four strings and a small body?
45. What Latin American percussion instrument is a hollow gourd with ridges?

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🎤 Modern & Pop Instruments

46. What electric instrument is often used in rock bands and has six strings?
47. What instrument produces sound by blowing air through reeds and pressing keys, used in ska and reggae?
48. What small percussion instrument do drummers use to keep rhythm and it usually sits between their legs?
49. What handheld percussion instrument is made of wood and used in Latin music?
50. What keyboard instrument became famous in the 1980s and uses digital sounds?

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✅ Musical Instruments Trivia Answers

Strings & Orchestral

1. Violin
2. Double bass
3. Violin
4. Violin
5. Violin or cello bow
6. Cello
7. Viola
8. Wood and nylon or gut strings
9. Harp
10. Koto

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Brass & Woodwind

11. Trombone
12. French horn
13. Trumpet
14. Oboe or bassoon
15. Clarinet
16. Saxophone
17. Bass clarinet
18. Flute
19. Pan flute
20. Flute

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Percussion

21. Bongo drums
22. Glockenspiel
23. Bass drum
24. Cymbals
25. Didgeridoo
26. Chimes or tubular bells
27. Xylophone
28. Marimba has resonators and a deeper sound
29. Tambourine
30. Kettledrums

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Keyboards

31. Piano
32. Electric piano or digital piano
33. Organ
34. Accordion
35. Keytar

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World Instruments

36. Sitar
37. Kalimba or thumb piano
38. Guzheng
39. Bagpipes
40. Taiko drum
41. Handpan
42. Panpipes
43. Oud
44. Ukulele
45. Güiro

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Modern & Pop

46. Electric guitar
47. Saxophone
48. Snare drum
49. Claves
50. Synthesizer