Famous Composers
This composer of "Moonlight Sonata" was a crucial figure in the transition from the Classical to the Romantic era in music.
Who is Ludwig van Beethoven?
This part of a piano holds the tension of the strings and is crucial for maintaining pitch and stability.
What is the frame?
This type of piano is named for its small size and fits well in limited spaces, such as apartments.
What is an upright piano?
This type of musical composition is for solo piano, typically made up of multiple movements, with contrasting styles and structures. The name originates from the Italian word for "sound".
What is a sonata?
This term describes the person who plays the piano.
What is a pianist?
Known for "Minute Waltz", this Polish composer was primarily a pianist and is famous for his works that feature the piano.
Who is Frédéric Chopin?
These are pressed by the pianist's fingers to produce sound and are typically made of wood covered with ivory or plastic.
What are the keys?
Known for its curved body and horizontal strings, this piano type is common in concert halls.
What is a grand piano?
This type of short, lyrical piano piece is often meant to evoke a specific mood or scene, exemplified by Chopin's compositions.
What is a nocturne?
The standard modern piano has this many keys.
What is 88?
This Italian composer's best-known compositions include "Clair de Lune" and "Arabesque No. 1".
Who is Claude Debussy? (Note: Debussy is actually French; this is a trick question to test attention to detail.)
Found in grand pianos, this pedal, also known as the damper pedal, lifts all the dampers off the strings simultaneously.
What is the sustain pedal?
This electronic version of a piano can mimic various sound instruments and often has weighted keys to simulate a real piano feel.
What is a digital piano?
A challenging classical form that features a theme repeated in several variations, as heard in Beethoven's "Diabelli Variations".
What is theme and variations?
This city is known for its legendary piano-making history, home to brands like Steinway & Sons.
What is New York?
A key figure in the early 20th century, this Russian composer created the famously challenging "Piano Concerto No. 3".
Who is Sergei Rachmaninoff?
This mechanism in a piano causes hammers to strike the strings when a key is pressed and not stay in contact with them.
What is the action?
This very large type of grand piano often exceeds 9 feet in length and is used for major concerts.
What is a concert grand piano?
This dance form, strongly associated with Chopin, is typically in triple meter and originated in Poland.
What is a mazurka?
This musical instrument is the predecessor to the modern piano and has a quill-plucking mechanism.
What is a harpsichord?
This Austrian composer, known for his symphonies and operas, also wrote a series of piano sonatas during his Classical period.
Who is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
This part of a grand piano, made of wood, enhances the resonance of the sound produced by the vibrating strings.
What is the soundboard?
This antique, smaller version of a grand piano often has ornate styling and a unique, harpsichord-like tone.
What is a fortepiano?
This musical piece by George Gershwin blends classical with jazz elements and is famously performed with orchestral accompaniment.
What is "Rhapsody in Blue"?
This jazz singer and actor donated a nine-foot Steinway piano to New York University in honor of his dentist, an NYU alum, in 1979.
Who is Frank Sinatra?