Q 01/05

In which key is the most common trumpet pitched?

A) B♭

B) E♭

C) C

D) F

Answer · why

A) B♭

B♭ is a fairly recent standard: the first valved trumpets were usually pitched lower, in F, and the smaller B♭ model became near-universal only in the...

Q 02/05

In the Book of Joshua, the walls of which city fell after priests blew trumpets for seven days?

A) Jericho

B) Babylon

C) Nineveh

D) Jerusalem

Answer · why

A) Jericho

Jericho: seven priests carried rams'-horn trumpets around the city for six days, then circled it seven times on the seventh, when a long blast and a g...

Q 03/05

Straightened out, about how long would the tubing of a standard trumpet be?

A) 1.5 feet

B) 5 feet

C) 15 feet

D) 45 feet

Answer · why

B) 5 feet

About 5 feet: the tube runs roughly 148 cm, and trumpets have been folded into a compact loop since about 1500, after longer straight ones grew too un...

Q 04/05

What produces the sound of a trumpet?

A) Air blown across an edge

B) A struck stretched membrane

C) A vibrating cane reed

D) Lips buzzing in a mouthpiece

Answer · why

D) Lips buzzing in a mouthpiece

Lips buzzing in a mouthpiece is what makes an instrument 'brass', not the metal: the saxophone is built of brass but, sounded with a reed, counts as a...

Q 05/05

What is the musical term for the placement and shaping of a wind player's mouth on the instrument?

A) Embouchure

B) Vibrato

C) Portamento

D) Tessitura

Answer · why

A) Embouchure

Embouchure comes from the French bouche, 'mouth'; by tightening or relaxing it, a trumpeter can sound several different notes without moving a finger.