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Music
Notes, Strings & Symphonies
Instruments, composers and the words written on every score.
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How many strings does a standard violin have?
Reading Music: Scales and Keys
Written music is a set of instructions about pitch and time, and almost all of it rests on a handful of rules. These ten questions cover the rules that do the most work.
About this topic
Music notation was built up over centuries by people solving one problem at a time, which is why it looks more complicated than it is. Underneath, it does two jobs: it tells you which note to play, and it tells you how long to hold it. Clefs, key signatures and accidentals handle the first. Time signatures, note shapes and dots handle the second. The theory sitting behind the notation is equally compact. An octave is divided into twelve equal steps, scales are particular patterns picked out of those twelve, and keys are simply scales used as a home base. Get those three ideas straight and most of the vocabulary stops being mysterious.
Questions & answers
Reading Music: Scales and Keys: all 10 questions and answers
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
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1How many semitones make up an octave in standard Western tuning?
- A Ten
- B Twelve Correct
- C Seven
- D Eight
Answer: B. Twelve
Why: The octave is divided into twelve equal half-steps, which show up on a piano as seven white keys and five black ones. Splitting it into twelve identical steps is a deliberate compromise called equal temperament, adopted so that music can be played in any key without retuning.
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2A major scale is built from which pattern of steps?
- A Tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, semitone Correct
- B Tone, semitone, tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone
- C Tone, tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, semitone
- D Semitone, tone, tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone
Answer: A. Tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, semitone
Why: That pattern is what makes a scale sound major, whichever note you start on. Starting the same pattern on a different note is exactly why key signatures exist, since sharps or flats are needed to preserve the spacing.
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3How many sharps are in the key signature of D major?
- A One
- B Three
- C Four
- D Two Correct
Answer: D. Two
Why: D major needs F sharp and C sharp to keep the major pattern of steps intact. Sharps are always added in the fixed order F, C, G, D, A, E, B, so a key signature can be read at a glance.
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4What does a dot placed immediately after a note head do?
- A Doubles the length of the note
- B Marks the note to be played sharply detached
- C Lengthens the note by half its value again Correct
- D Halves the length of the note
Answer: C. Lengthens the note by half its value again
Why: A dotted half note lasts as long as three quarter notes rather than two. A second dot adds half as much again, so a double-dotted note lasts one and three quarters of its original length.
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5The interval from C up to G is known as what?
- A A minor sixth
- B A perfect fifth Correct
- C A perfect fourth
- D A major third
Answer: B. A perfect fifth
Why: It spans seven semitones and five letter names, counting both ends, which makes it a fifth. It is one of the most consonant intervals available, because the two frequencies sit in a simple three-to-two relationship.
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6The treble clef fixes the position of which note on the staff?
- A The G above middle C Correct
- B The F below middle C
- C Middle C itself
- D The A above middle C
Answer: A. The G above middle C
Why: The curl of the symbol wraps around the second line up, marking it as that G, which is why it is also called the G clef. The bass clef is an F clef, and its two dots sit either side of the line for the F below middle C.
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7A time signature of 3/4 tells the player what?
- A Four beats in every third bar
- B Three whole notes in each bar
- C Three bars of four beats each
- D Three quarter-note beats in each bar Correct
Answer: D. Three quarter-note beats in each bar
Why: The upper number counts the beats in a bar and the lower number names the note value that gets one beat. The waltz is the best-known music built on this pattern.
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8Which marking asks a player to become gradually quieter?
- A Sforzando
- B Ritardando
- C Diminuendo Correct
- D Crescendo
Answer: C. Diminuendo
Why: Diminuendo, sometimes written as decrescendo, is drawn as a wedge closing from left to right. Ritardando is a different instruction altogether, since it asks for a gradual slowing of tempo rather than a change in volume.
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9Which minor key is the relative minor of C major?
- A G minor
- B A minor Correct
- C E minor
- D D minor
Answer: B. A minor
Why: A minor uses exactly the same notes as C major and shares its empty key signature, with no sharps or flats. A relative minor always begins on the sixth degree of its major scale.
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10What does a natural sign do to a note?
- A Cancels a sharp or flat Correct
- B Raises the note by a semitone
- C Lowers the note by a semitone
- D Holds the note for twice as long
Answer: A. Cancels a sharp or flat
Why: The natural returns a note to its unaltered pitch, overriding the key signature or an earlier accidental. Accidentals apply only until the end of the bar they appear in, after which the key signature takes over again.
Read alongside this quiz
Why some notes sound right together
Harmony is not a matter of taste alone. Simple ratios, overtones, and the compromise hiding inside every piano.
7 min readFrequently Asked Questions
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