Q 01/05

How many keys does a standard modern piano have?

A) 61

B) 76

C) 85

D) 88

Answer · why

D) 88

That is 52 white and 36 black. The Imperial Bösendorfer adds nine extra bass keys for a total of 97, giving it a full eight octaves.

Q 02/05

Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the piano around 1700 while employed by the Medici as what?

A) Keeper of the Instruments

B) Court composer

C) Master of the Chapel

D) Royal organ builder

Answer · why

A) Keeper of the Instruments

He was an expert harpsichord builder, and his innovation was hammers that strike the strings and fall away, letting the player control volume. Three o...

Q 03/05

Which piano maker's Imperial model has 97 keys instead of the usual number?

A) Steinway

B) Bösendorfer

C) Yamaha

D) Fazioli

Answer · why

B) Bösendorfer

The nine extra keys sit at the bass end and are often coloured black so pianists don't lose their bearings.

Q 04/05

The saxophone is made of brass, yet it belongs to which family of instruments?

A) Brass

B) Percussion

C) Woodwind

D) Keyboard

Answer · why

C) Woodwind

The single-reed mouthpiece is what counts, not the metal. Belgian maker Adolphe Sax patented it on 28 June 1846, hoping to combine brass projection wi...

Q 05/05

The saxophone was patented in 1846 by an instrument maker from which country?

A) France

B) Germany

C) Austria

D) Belgium

Answer · why

D) Belgium

Adolphe Sax moved to Paris and spent much of his life in lawsuits with rivals over his patents. Military bands adopted the instrument long before jazz...