Have you written for the August Create Challenge yet? Warm up with this quiz.

Do you know the old joke?

What's the difference between a vacuum cleaner and a saxophone?

You can tune a vacuum cleaner.

Ah, musicians. And everyone's a critic. Check out your knowledge of these musical instruments – and their sometimes odd features. Fill in the blanks.

1. The ______________ have been classed as a weapon of war.
2. In Mozart's Requiem, the composer used a ____________ to represent the Last Trump of Judgement Day.
3. Although the Australian _______________ is made of wood, it is classed as a 'brass aerophone'.
4. The ____________ , the official musical instrument of South American football matches, has been banned from the 2014 World Cup stadium by host Brazil. (Fans throw them onto the pitch.)
5. Speaking of the World Cup, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa featured the popular but noisy ______________.
6. Benjamin Franklin invented a musical instrument called the __________ ____________. An urban legend in the 18th Century claimed its ghostly tones drove musicians insane.
7. A _________ is a musical instrument you play without touching it.
8. Björk's 2011 performance piece, Biophilia, features a song called 'Thunderbolt' that uses the high-tech ___________ _______ __________, a form of plasma speaker also called a 'Zeusaphone'.
9. Visitors to Renaissance Fayres are used to the buzzing sound of the capped reed instrument called the ______________. They're making a comeback, for reasons unknown.
10. In some parts of the world, people who can't afford violins sometimes play the musical ____________.

Think you're in tune? Check out the answers.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

26.08.13 Front Page

Back Issue Page